Client Expectations Are Changing — Is Your Firm Thriving in 2025?
Your legal skills might win cases — but your operations are what win (and keep) clients.
In both the 2024 Clio Legal Trends Report and Thomson Reuters’ legal market research, one theme is loud and clear:
Client expectations are rising fast.
As we enter mid-year 2025, law firms must adapt or risk losing great clients to competitors who feel more modern — even if they aren’t better lawyers.
What Clients Expect
Speed and Responsiveness
Clients expect fast intake, fast responses, and clear timelines.
Transparency
They want updates, not check-ins. And they expect clear billing, not vague invoices.
Digital Convenience
From e-signatures to client portals, modern clients expect legal service to function like other service industries.
Proactive Communication
Silence kills trust. Regular updates (even if there’s nothing new) are now the norm.
What’s Getting in the Way?
Outdated intake processes
Lack of standardized communication workflows
Attorneys juggling operations instead of practicing law
No clear client experience roadmap
How to Modernize Without Overwhelm
This doesn’t mean buying 10 new tools. It means:
Auditing your current systems
Documenting a repeatable client journey
Delegating non-legal tasks to staff or tech
Bringing in operational help (like a fractional COO) to build it for you
The Risk of Doing Nothing
The data shows client loyalty is shrinking — especially for firms that feel outdated or disorganized.
The good news? This is fixable.
You can modernize client experience without becoming a tech company. You just need the right operational foundation.
Want to wow clients and protect your margins? Talk to ING Collaborations — we help law firms scale their systems to meet modern demand.