Furthermore, most families felt uncomfortable with the attorney
they had retained, which had a direct impact on their interest in pursuing the
process. Clients typically express such unease when they perceive service
professionals as poor listeners. Interestingly (and perhaps related),
dissatisfaction among clients has escalated in the three years between studies,
while concern among attorneys has diminished.
It’s worth noting that roughly half of families surveyed in both
studies felt their estate plans were too complicated to implement. Ironically,
most affluent families expect sophisticated and intricate strategies from their
attorneys in order to protect their wealth. Nevertheless, many T-and-E lawyers
clearly fail to assess their clients’ level of knowledge about estate planning
and their comfort with complexity, and do a feeble job explaining abstract legal
concepts to laypeople.
Adding insult to injury, it seems that many trusts-and-estates
lawyers possess further weaknesses when it comes to client interaction. Most of
the families surveyed said they were unable to determine if the final plan
presented by their attorney was, in fact, going to help them accomplish their
objectives (Exhibit 4). Their lawyers did not (or could not) explain how the
plan would work and their role in the process. Clients felt further alienated by
the lawyers’ overuse of legal jargon and condescending behavior. Further
analysis revealed that the perception of arrogance came about from consistent
use of legal terminology, a "presumptuous air of authority" and an unwillingness
to devote extra time to helping clients understand the details of their plan.
Across the board, clients rated trusts-and-estates attorneys much
lower in 2006 than they did just three years earlier, underscoring the lawyers’
inability to communicate the value of their work and the financial pressure
facing attorneys with a largely transactional business model.
As noted previously, affluent clients assume great risk when
they choose not to implement an estate plan. Our research shows, however, that
trusts-and-estates attorneys also have much at stake when they leave their
clients unsatisfied.
We all recognize that one bad experience can have an insidious and
lasting effect and, in this case, can cast a pall over both the attorney and the
law firm as a whole. Very few of the clients surveyed expect to work with the
lawyer or the firm again—and a similarly low number would refer a family member,
friend or business associate to the firm (Exhibit 5). What’s worse is that,
instead of simply choosing to work with another attorney or directing their
colleagues and confidants elsewhere, these dissatisfied clients will advise
other people to avoid the professional or firm altogether.
These simple actions, while imperceptible to the
trusts-and-estates attorney, can have a compounded effect and cause business to
flatline or suffer. The structure of the trusts-and-estates business has become
less client-oriented in recent years, and, therefore, less client-friendly—while
the wealthy have become more astute and demanding purchasers of professional
services. Russ Alan Prince is president of Prince & Associates, a market
research and consulting firm for the affluent, and the author of more than 35
books on related topics. Hannah Shaw Grove, an author and columnist, is an
expert on the behavior, concerns and finances of affluent
consumers.
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