Through our relationships with General Counsel and in-house legal teams, together with our knowledge of the in-house market, H4 Partners is well placed to assist law firms develop long term, value-added relationships with their in-house clients.

In our experience, the law firm/in-house client relationship can be at risk, or even break down entirely, through lack of understanding on both sides of the key drivers in the relationship. We work with law firms and their clients in a structured, positive manner to help create long term robust relationships which are efficient, cost-effective and add significant value for everyone concerned.

Maximising and enhancing the value of existing client relationships yields considerable benefits, yet is often not prioritised in the same way as developing new client relationships. Investment in a well thought-out client care project can pay for itself almost immediately through client relationships saved or secured and new instructions gained. We advise law firms on all aspects of client care, and use specially formulated interview techniques to assess current client relationships and provide effective and practical solutions. The result enables partners to provide best in class client service.

Another service we offer is a facilitated half- or full-day ‘client relationship event’. This event is similar to a team awayday event – the team, for these purposes, being key players within the in-house legal team and key players from the Law Firm that is their external Counsel. The event is an opportunity for the law firm to meet their in-house client on neutral territory and work through any bugbears within their relationship. Often a series of relatively minor issues can build up in the law firm/in-house client relationship – individually trivial, these issues can ultimately derail the relationship if not taken seriously and ventilated. Without an opportunity for these issues to surface they can often simmer away unnoticed, and not be recognised until it is too late.

The service includes a series of one-to-one interviews with participants prior to the event. These interviews will flag up any major concerns, which can be dealt with appropriately, prior to the event.