What's the experience like at your law firm for the people who matter most - your clients? Isn't it time you asked them?

Many firms and attorneys don't take the time and effort to map clients' journeys through the firm, with the goal of ensuring that they reach their destination as efficiently and effectively as possible.

"I've learned to ask a very simple question that drives this point home: 'How easy are you to do business with?'" says Josh Kubicki, Cincinnati-based chief strategy officer at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. "You may be one hell of a lawyer, but you may be a pain-in-the-you-know-what to do business with, from billing, to reaching you, to communicating, to you using words clients understand. If you're able to make that easier for your clients, you'll be able to capture value."

Kubicki discussed client mapping as part of his presentation at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism's The Future Is Now: Legal Services 2.017 conference in Chicago in May (see http://bit.ly/2tfrOUv).

The process of journey mapping isn't that difficult but requires an ongoing, step-by-step commitment, Kubicki says. First, an attorney or firm needs to take a step back and think about all the different touchpoints - people, processes, and tools - they use in delivering service, he says. Find out how to remove pain points and improve service for your clients in the August Illinois Bar Journal.