"We can aways always find time to fix mistakes, but we don't invest the time to prevent them from happening at all."
-- partner in a Walker Clark client law firm in Europe
What is quality assurance?
Our approach to quality assurance is to identify and reduce -- or even eliminate -- the causes of errors and rework in the practice of law. In short, the goal is to meet your clients' needs and expectations the first time and every time, while also improving the profitability of your practice.
Today, it is the client -- not the lawyer -- who defines quality in legal services. Clients define quality in terms of specific deliverables that they expect from their lawyers. If you fail to meet these needs and expectations, you will lose clients -- no matter how technically brilliant your work might be.
Quality assurance is not the same thing as quality control. Although after-the-fact inspection of details is needed often in the practice of law, it does not guarantee quality.
Demonstrate quality. Don't just talk about it.
A serious, functioning quality assurance system can differentiate a law firm from its competitors in ways that translate to compelling competitive advantages in the eyes of clients and prospective clients. Every law firm claims to deliver "quality" legal services. With our advice and support, your firm can prove that you actually do it.
For in-house counsel, a functioning quality assurance program can help you to demonstrate -- in clear and unmistakable terms -- the value that you add to your company's business success. In short, you will be able to position the law department as an indirect profit center, rather than a cost center.
What are the possible results?
Quality assurance produces clear, measurable, and dramatic results. Here are a few examples:
- Increase the productivity and fee-generating capacity of a practice group without adding new fee earners or staff.
- Reduce unbillable rework and error correction.
- Improve client satisfaction and long-term loyalty.
- Improve the average fee yield per hour.
- Improve your realization rates.
These results and others like it can be achieved by any law firm or law department, of any size, anywhere in the world through a modest investment in quality assurance.
starting the quality journey
Walker Clark members have been advising the legal profession on quality assurance since 1990.
That experience teaches us that each legal services organization -- law firm, corporate law department, or government legal agency -- has its own set of quality assurance challenges and opportunities. We also understand that the practice of law is different from other businesses and professions. This is why we are able to custom-design and deliver our quality assistance support at a lower cost than general consulting firms offering "off the shelf" methods.