Client Satisfaction Report 2009

The aim of the report

The Legal Week Intelligence Client Satisfaction Report, now in its sixth year, is both a market trends report and an opportunity to probe an area of particular concern. We cover the full range of decision-makers from private to public sectors and the UK and Europe's leading companies.

The study

Now in its sixth year, the Legal Week Intelligence Client Satisfaction Report will provide the UK's and Europe's leading law firms with the information and data they need to thrive and prosper in the most challenging of business environments. Crucially, this report will provide detailed independent analysis of the performance of the largest law firms in the UK and Europe across an array of carefully chosen criteria, ranging from quality of legal and commercial advice to service delivery, billing practices and transparency. The findings will be based on a detailed survey of more than 500 heads of legal.

Criteria

Featuring two distinct sections, the first half of the report (Market Data) examines size of legal spend, percentages of work being outsourced broken down by industry sector, type of work and company turnover. It also reports on the size and growth of in-house legal teams. In the second half of the report (Law Firm Tables) law firms are assessed across seven distinct performance criteria.

Market Data - how has the percentage of work being outsourced or total legal spend changed over the past 12 months? Which types of legal practice are set to increase and what are the top of the agenda issues for heads of legal for 2009-10?

Law Firm Tables - At the heart of this report will be a detailed analysis of the performance of the top business law firms, as measured by the only people who really count - their clients. What are the most important issues when appointing law firms and how do the firms you currently use match up to that expectation? What is the buying behaviour of senior in-house lawyers in different industry sectors? How are firms faring in terms of quality of legal advice, service delivery, cost and billing practice as well as the provision of value-added services?