The top 10 City law firm has appointed Gracechurch Consulting to conduct the review, which is surveying around 100 of Lovells’ largest international clients.
Clients are being asked for feedback about their overall perception of the firm relative to its rivals and how happy they are with the quality of service they are receiving as well as ways Lovells could improve its offering.
The consultation, set to finish early in the new year, comes as managing partner David Harris attempts to improve the external perception of the firm and its market positioning.
Last year the firm reviewed internal issues such as cross-selling, profitability and investment priorities. But the emphasis is now on improving Lovells’ brand perception outside the firm, both for clients and non-clients. The firm’s director of business development, Serena Simmons, is working with Harris on the internal consultation, looking at how the firm can improve its brand value.
The client satisfaction survey comes in the same year that the firm went through a process of ranking its major clients by profitability. The firm counts Barclays, ITV, SABMiller, Lehman Brothers and Lloyds TSB among its largest clients.
In a separate move, which also supports Harris’ drive to boost profits and improve partner performance, Lovells has introduced 360-degree reviews of its partners.
Appraisals are currently underway using the new system, which was introduced at the start of the financial year — with partners nominating up to 20 colleagues ranked both above and below to provide feedback.
Results are compiled by an external agency, CGR Business Psychologists, and then sent to the relevant partners.
Harris told Legal Week: “Having developed a clearer strategy and put in place the elements to achieve that — for example our values and tighter partner reviews — the next stage is to say we need to manage our reputation and develop our position in the market. To do this we need to listen to both our people and our clients.”
Senior partner John Young commented: “More than half the partnership is appraised in any one year and we are trying to make sure everyone is appraised every two years. The 360-degree review by peers is the new element this year — it is the latest attempt to make the process more effective.”