Doing The Ordinary Better Than Everyone Else Is A Hallmark Of Client Service

Ari Kaplan spoke with David Kempston, a Minnesota-based plaintiff's workers’ compensation lawyer, who is the self-published author of That's Why They Call It Practicing Law.

Ari Kaplan spoke with David Kempston, a Minnesota-based plaintiff’s workers’ compensation lawyer, who is the self-published author of That’s Why They Call It Practicing Law (March 22, 2017), which is about improving the attorney-client relationship.

Ari Kaplan: Tell us about your background and what prompted you to write That’s Why They Call It Practicing Law?

David Kempston: I’m a transplanted West Coaster. I spent about 20 years evenly between California and Washington. Then I married an Iowan and we compromised so I’ve been in Minnesota for the last 28 years. I attended the University of Minnesota Law School and have predominantly worked in the field of workers’ compensation, spending the last 21 years as a plaintiff’s lawyer. A lawyer I went to work for two decades ago emphasized customer service and he would tell us to: “Be like Dayton’s.”

Dayton’s was an iconic retail department store in downtown Minneapolis and it was known for its legendary customer service. It got me thinking and over the years, I’ve noticed that clients often don’t recognize good lawyering, but they do recognize and respond to great client service. I ended up mining the concept a little bit, gave a couple of seminars, and it was in my head for about five years. I kept thinking about it and my wife encouraged me to write the book.

Ari Kaplan: What does the book address?

David Kempston: The book covers the basic elements of improving the attorney-client relationship. Law is a people business and if you focus on improving the attorney-client relationship, you are going to provide better representation to your clients. I identified 22 practice pointers on how to do just that and the underlying idea is that you want to do the ordinary things better than everybody else.

Sponsored

Ari Kaplan: Why is it necessary in the current market for lawyers to focus on client service?

David Kempston: Whether you are in big law, medium law, or small law, lousy client service can cause you to lose clients. There is also a perception with lousy client service that you are providing sub-par representation.

Ari Kaplan: You mentioned that the book is organized into over 20 sections. How are they divided?

David Kempston: Each section reflects a different aspect of the relationship. I start by reminding attorneys that the relationship isn’t about them. Then, I move into setting realistic expectations because unmet expectations cause problems. I move into trusting your gut. Each of the points directly impacts how you relate to your clients.

I like to say that there is a reason for that we do not call it Perfecting Law because we never nail it completely and we can always improve. The idea is that if we are willing to listen, learn, and do the work of self-examination, we can improve our people skills. In the process, we can improve the client service that we provide over time. The result is that you are going to be a better lawyer and do a better job for your clients, who are ultimately more satisfied than they would otherwise have been.

Sponsored

Ari Kaplan: Are there key tactics that have been successful for you over the years?

David Kempston: A key principle in my book is that a lawyer needs to be willing to listen and learn from his or her mistakes. First, you need to be willing to admit you don’t know everything. Second, you need to be willing to do the work. Anybody in any industry knows that to be successful, you’ve got to do the work coupled with a willingness to accept instruction since the wise person listens to input.

The book highlights principles that we know, but emphasizes them in short, readable chapters that will grab your attention. My hope when you read the book is that you take away one, two, or three things and use those to improve your practice.

Ari Kaplan: Given your research in this area, how do you see legal practice evolving?

David Kempston: I work in a very small firm with three lawyers and a large support staff so my perspective is perhaps different than some of my friends. A great starting point for understanding the practice of law and where it is going is to recognize that at it’s core, law is a people business that needs to change with technology. Lawyers need to be willing to improve what they do because regardless of changes in technology, the attorney-client relationship is always going to reside at the heart of the practice.

Ari Kaplan regularly interviews leaders in the legal industry and in the broader professional services community to share perspective, highlight transformative change, and introduce new technology and on iTunes.