What does a distinctive client experience look like? New York Partner Germaine Gurr explains what it means to her.

Delivering a distinct client experience is at the core of the Firm’s 2025 Strategy as we switch focus from aspiring for great service delivery to a more holistic approach that considers the client’s end-to-end experience of the Firm.

That’s something that resonates with New York Partner Germaine Gurr, who has developed close client relationships throughout her career.

She says: “For me, a great client experience begins with responsiveness. When a client reaches out, they need to know we’ll respond immediately, even if it’s only to say: ‘I’ll get back to you’.

“It’s also about understanding the client’s considerations and setting expectations from the outset, making sure they line up with expectations. Having put the right team in place for each matter, we then need to be consistent, responsive, accountable and available, so their client experience is seamless.”

Germaine joined the Firm in 2020 having previously worked as vice president and deputy general counsel for Schneider Electric, continuing the relationship at her previous firm, Holland & Knight, before joining White & Case.

She says: “It helps to have a deep knowledge and appreciation of a client and their needs and, while I had the opportunity to gain an appreciation of Schneider Electric’s business from working in-house, it’s something that we as lawyers should develop with all of our clients, simply by taking an interest in their business and listening to them.

“When we offer them this personal, trusted partner approach, coupled with the international breadth, experience, and expertise of the Firm, the result is an unrivalled client experience.”

Germaine believes it’s important for people to be proactive, offering their clients added value that differentiates the Firm from its competitors.

She says: “We have private equity clients, for example, that rely on us to provide accurate and timely advice, because it gives them the edge on their competitors when acquiring targets and closing deals fast.

“To make that process even most expedient, we work with clients to finesse a set of standard transaction documents they can negotiate with, simplifying the process so it’s easier to close deals in under 30 days. Those documents have brought huge value to the client and strengthened our relationship.”

According to Germaine, delivering a great client experience can’t be achieved without teamwork, both between fellow lawyers and Business Services professionals. She says: “The partnership we have with Business Services is unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere. We work collaboratively to identify opportunities that not only deepen our relationship with the client, but also give the client opportunities to grow.

“Of course, the support of the partnership is also vital, because it’s important to have several touch points between the client and the Firm, so you can introduce the client to people and teams with the right expertise for each project and broaden the relationship.”

Our reaction to problems can also set us apart. Germaine says: “Our goal is to do the best job possible every time, but when mistakes happen, I think it’s important to respond well, admit the error, learn from it and correct it, so it doesn’t happen again.”

It’s also important to adapt to our clients’ changing needs, as Germaine explains: “I’m finding that our clients are more digitally focused than ever before, so we need to adapt and make sure data is organized digitally in a way that suits the client.

“For example, when a deal closes, we always send out an email containing all the closing documents but, in recent times, we’ve also proactively introduced a shared digital space that gives everyone involved access to documents for every deal we’ve worked on, so they don’t have to go searching through their emails months later.

“Increasingly, our clients are also expecting us to track information. They regularly ask us: ‘Do you have a list of the deals we’ve done and the value of those deals?’. So, we’ve worked hard to have that kind of data ready for them, which adds value.

“Another trend I’m seeing is that our clients expect our teams to reflect the diversity of the society we live in, so the progress we’ve made to make the Firm more diverse and inclusive is invaluable.”

When asked for one piece of advice on delivering a great client experience, Germaine says: “Never underestimate the importance of listening to your clients, ask questions and stay in touch regularly.

“Having an eye for detail is also important. There’s a danger that we can be so focused on delivering the best end-result in a matter that we lose track of the little things, such as responding to clients promptly and updating them on progress regularly.”

Germaine is delighted to see the Firm putting the client experience at the heart of its 2025 Strategy. She says: “Anything that makes us look at things from the client’s perspective has got to be beneficial because it gives us the opportunity to differentiate ourselves from the competition.

“To meet clients’ needs now and into the future, we have to be constantly focused on delivering the best advice and putting the right people forward, so our clients experience the best of the Firm and can see the true value of partnering with White & Case.”