On Wednesday 16th October, Gericó Associates organised an exclusive breakfast meeting with Marketing, Communication and Business Development managers from various business law firms at the Baker McKenzie offices in Madrid.

The debate was led by our managing partner, Marc Gericó and our Of Counsel, Mireya Berteau, and included the participation of Fernando Ortega (Siemens), Fernando Díaz Barco (Sacyr), Julio Pérez (Baker McKenzie), Leonor Abad (Repsol), Margarita García (Clifford Chance Spain), Begoña Ilardia (Garrigues), Ana Tortosa (Freshfields), Katia Yacobi (Uría Menéndez), Celia Domínguez (CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo), Carmen Castillo (Ceca Magán Abogados) and Tatiana López (ECIJA).

During the session, the latest news on the Gala Nacional del Derecho – Legal Marcom Awards, which will take place on 29 November in Madrid, were shared, and the session focused on key client management and key account management, as well as client feedback and loyalty strategies. In addition, the event reflected on marketing, communication, reputation management and business development in the legal sector.

During the session, the internal procedures for contracting legal services by companies were discussed. Fernando Díaz Barco, Director of Legal Consultancy at Sacyr, indicated that ‘the aim is for them to compete on a level playing field, as a small or boutique firm, despite its excellent quality, is not fair to put it in competition with a large firm’. Leonor Abad, Industrial Legal Director at Repsol, pointed out that ‘we have framework agreements with the firms, but that does not mean that you cannot hire firms with which you do not have framework agreements. We collect the experience with each firm and the assessment of each colleague. Each director has the autonomy to hire the firm he or she wants, but we always ask for at least three offers’.

Fernando Ortega, General Counsel Legal & Compliance at Siemen, added that ‘loyalty is not only good for the firm, but also for me, because when conflicts of interest arise, I will never have the firm on my side. Loyalty takes time and that generates an internal cost’.

During the breakfast, there were also discussions on how to identify and select strategic customers, Key Account Management techniques to maximise value, as well as the importance of customer feedback to improve service, insights analysis and loyalty actions.

Client feedback 

In this regard, Celia Domínguez Capaz, Head of Business Development at CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo, said that ‘Spanish partners are still afraid to open the door to other profiles to provide client feedback, to achieve that point of objectivity and make the client feel comfortable. This is one of the difficulties. In any case, it is evolving and you find more and more open profiles that are breaking down this barrier’. In this sense, Margarita García, Head of Client and Business Development at Clifford Chance, underlined that there are often barriers to client feedback, ‘such as considering that you are stealing time’, but it is key to find the how because ‘ client feedback is fundamental for differentiation’. Katia Yacobi, Director of Business Development and International Relations at Uría Menéndez, pointed out that ‘there are many ways to do it, there is no one way better than another. The important thing is to listen and then do something with the feedback you receive, because if you don’t do anything about it, it’s a nuisance’.

Meanwhile, Begoña Ilardia, Communication, Marketing and IR manager at Garrigues, pointed out that “in our case, client feedback is always provided by a person who has not been involved in the transaction. It is fundamental’. Likewise, Ana Tortosa, Business Development, Marketing & Communications Manager at Freshfields, stressed that it is important ‘to focus on strategic clients, but also to think about clients who are not very captive and those clients with whom there is a rift’.

Regarding the debate on how to approach client feedback, Carmen Castillo, Director of Marketing and Communication at Ceca Magán Abogados, pointed out that ‘ask yes to all of them, and if you detect something, go a little deeper’. Tatiana López, Director of Business Development at ECIJA, stressed that ‘each firm has completely different attributes and we have a very hybrid communication with the client. In day-to-day matters, always online, but in strategic matters it should always be face-to-face’.

Thank you all for participating!