There are not many office buildings in the City where, just five feet in the door, you receive a personalised greeting, but Addleshaw Goddard’s client services team would put The Ritz to shame.
How to stand out in a crowded field? That is the question plaguing most law firms as they battle to grow in such a crowded legal market. Every new instruction is essential, as the partners’ goal is to ensure that the revenues they post exceed those of the previous period.
But what is that catches a potential client’s eye? Many of the top law firms’ talent will be the cream of the crop and will also be full-service across several jurisdictions.
And with magic and silver circle law firms eyeing up the ‘Global Elite’ title, with full growth strategies at their forefront, how can a firm remain competitive?
Addleshaw Goddard is betting on an approach to help set it apart from the crowd: office client services.
Addleshaw’s 5-star approach to client care
Hospitality and travel firms have long understood the critical importance of customer service. A trip on a long-haul flight in business or first class on airlines ranked for high-quality customer service, such as Qatar Airways or Emirates, builds loyalty with passengers who feel valued and comfortable.
Ian Pigeon and the client service team
This is the approach Addleshaw Goddard has focused on. From the minute you set foot inside the front door of the firm’s office, you experience the greeting you would get at a 5-star hotel, even if the surroundings are little more corporate.
Speaking to City AM, Ian Pigeon, the firm’s head of client services, explained that, particularly since Covid, many organisations have forgotten or neglected to use their buildings to enhance their brand.
Pigeon, who oversees 150 team members, emphasised the importance of making clients feel valued and creating a memorable experience for them while they are in their lawyers’ offices.
The approach his team has to customer service is to treat “clients like best friends”.
One of his many examples of this was when a regular client came in early one morning and, upon being greeted by the receptionist, revealed they were tired because their daughter had woken them up at 3am, excited about her fifth birthday. When they left the law firm later that day, they were handed a bag that contained a large M&M cookie for the client’s daughter, which the team had its own chefs prepare.
Pigeon stated that it was “unplanned and improvised” by his team to “improve the customer experience”. It was a token that “didn’t really cost the firm much money”, but from the feedback from the client it clearly left an impression.
The ‘last one per cent’ in a decision
Pigeon explained that his team “wants to be that last 1 per cent when clients are making that decision to come to Addleshaw Goddard”.
The team has multiple gifts on site, from knitted baby boots to hand over to new parents, to personalising the meeting room with food featuring their company logos, or, if they do an extra search, their favourite treats or teas.
The team even has several 3D printers across the firm’s offices to create more imaginative gifts.
However, it is not just being that 1 per cent in the client’s mind; all of the team’s creations have the Addleshaw Goddard logo rolling alongside it. When some of his team’s more imaginative endeavours find their way on to LinkedIn or other sites, the firm’s brand is also being highlighted.
However, to get to this point, Pigeon explained that it “comes from a huge amount of work”, highlighting the importance of “empowering their staff”.
The client services team are trained and are “given the freedom to act on their own initiative”, even nipping out to buy gifts or special ingredients.
“We have £200 cash in every office… the managers have credit cards with more if needed… it is not about the money, it is about the trust issue,” he stated.
To empower its staff, the firm has an awards system that recognises their contributions to client experiences, with the winner receiving an extra three days’ annual leave and £1,500 for a hospitality experience.
New era at 41 Lothbury
The client service team have been working on the relocation of Addleshaw’s new flagship London office at 41 Lothbury, moving from Milton Gate. The firm has decided against the trend of skyscarpers at Bishopsgate, instead opting for a Grade II listed building at the heart of the City.
The firm just moved into the building on Monday, taking up 130,000 sq ft, with planned move-in days for each department, with a launch party in early February.
The office has a lot more space, but as Addleshaw is on a growth path, the view is to fill up the office.
Food at the ‘winter garden’ at 41 Lothbury
Pigeon, already an encyclopedia of building history, pointed out the building was once the home to London and Westminster Bank (now NatWest). Now more than 600 staff members, including lawyers, are set to walk through the same main entrance that opened in 1834 into a lobby that has a mix of neoclassicism and modern architecture.
The new office also has a ‘winter garden’ located on the sixth floor, with scenic views of St Pauls, the client services team will be expected to flourish when the firm hosts a client event.
With two kitchens for the firm’s chefs, including Chef Rob, clients will be served “premium event-style cuisine”, including North Atlantic halibut, along a modern bar where Mo serves a red grape cocktail using his own family recipe.
The office move was tactical. The firm’s 2030 strategy is to gain a greater influence in London, and where better to do that than 10 feet from the Bank of England?
Speaking to City AM, managing partner Andrew Johnston said, “As a firm with a 250-year history with a reputation for innovation, the opportunity to reimagine a heritage building as a sustainable workplace for the future aligned well with our brand identity.”