For small law firms, soft skills are the key to strengthening client relationships and building a solid foundation of trust and respect. There are five core soft skills that small law firms should develop if they want to keep clients coming back.

#1 – Communication

Every attorney in your law firm should know how to adjust their message, tone, and style to fit the needs and expectations of individual clients. With the proper fit, you can easily share information in a way that the client will understand. It’s important that lawyers avoid getting bogged down in legalese or making assumptions about what a client may know or understand. Instead of making assumptions, ask a lot of questions and make it clear to the client that they are free to ask for clarification on any matter you’ve discussed with them.

#2 – Responsibility

Law firms that are willing to take responsibility for the success and failures of a case will win the respect of their clients. From the first day you take on a case, take full responsibility for any mistakes you make and be willing to do what’s necessary to fix any damage caused by your errors. Even if you can’t fully repair the damage, the client will greatly appreciate that you took ownership of the mistake and attempted to fix it.

#3 – Perception

Get in tuned with your clients—understand what keeps them worried about the case, how their personal life impacts their case, and how they prefer to communicate. For example, a client who is a single parent will have less time and energy than someone who is single and without kids. You wouldn’t want to schedule appointments on weekends if you know your client is a parent who values spending weekends with their family. These little touches go a long way in making the client feel respected by your law firm. It will also reduce the amount of appointment no-shows.

#4 – Organization

Deadlines are important for most legal cases, that’s why good client relations require you to stay organized and on top of deadlines. Stay in constant communication with clients about their responsibilities and the deadlines they must meet. Don’t wait until the last minute and don’t make excuses if you miss a deadline.  But remember, missing deadlines will leave clients feeling annoyed or even angry. This is why you must work hard to manage your time so that clients have one less thing to worry about.

#5 – Investigative

From the moment you take on a client, you should thoroughly investigate their business. What are the products and services they provide? Who are their clients? Who are their competitors? Understanding your client’s business will help put them at ease and open up opportunities for you to address their legal needs in a way that makes sense for their company and their industry.

Building a strong client base isn’t just about sales, marketing, invoicing, and business development. You must also leverage the soft skills of your lawyers.  Leveraging the right soft skills will help build respect and admiration for your firm, and keep new and old clients coming back to do business with you year after year.

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Jane Oxley is President of Smokeball, a productivity and case management software provider that increases efficiency and profitability for solo attorneys and small law firms. Jane’s worked in the legal field for her entire career, spending over 20 years engaged with small law firms. She has a strong affinity with small law firms and the crucial role they play in the communities they serve and is passionate about helping them work towards more productive and less stressful practices.