The Firm’s 2025 Strategy has the client experience at its heart – a mission that is being kick-started with the establishment of our Client Experience Task Force, the CX Team.

Led by Chair Michael Immordino, the CX Team includes six partners from a broad range of practice areas and regions, including Rebecca Campbell, Gareth Eagles, Germaine Gurr, Jonathan Hamilton and Gregory Pryor, and four Business Services professionals, Chelsea Friend, Judy Ginsberg, Meghann Kelley and Mikki Mahan.

Michael explains: “The role of the CX Team is to give structure and momentum to the client experience improvements we’re implementing as part of the 2025 Strategy.

“White & Case’s decision to put the client experience at the forefront of its 2025 strategy was partly informed by a global survey of around 1,200 clients and potential clients.

“The purpose of the survey was to give us a better understanding of the things clients value and what it takes for us to be considered a trusted advisor,” says Michael.

The same survey questions were also put to 300 partners, associates and Business Services professionals, revealing a significant gap between our perceptions and those of the client.

Michael explains: “Our clients identified prioritization (putting the client first) as the most important element of a great client experience.

“In contrast, our people ranked prioritization thirteenth. None of the clients’ top three priorities were the same as we thought they’d be.

“The client survey and its recent verification has indicated that a perception gap exists between what we believe and what our clients really care about.”

“We are presented with a real opportunity to improve our relations and performance with our clients, and the first step of that journey is our recognition that we need to act. While most firms may have similar issues, taking action will allow us to gain a competitive advantage.

“Based on the survey findings and work done with our consultancy partners McKinsey, we identified four ways White & Case can differentiate from our competitors, improve our clients’ experience and gain this competitive advantage.”

“Focusing on these four areas will be the quickest way to make clients feel prioritized, protected and understood in a way that is distinct from our competitors,” explains Michael. “We are currently analyzing what they mean to us and coming up with recommendations on how to implement them.

“However, these four areas are the starting point. The CX team is investigating the entire client experience in order to spot trends and set benchmarks. The goal is to set up a system where we can make proactive changes that improve our client relationships.”

The CX Team holds multiple meetings every week to plan initiatives.

Michael says: “As a start, we’ve identified three Firm-wide initiatives that we believe could have an immediate impact and start the process of change.”

Michael says: “We chose the client vignettes because they’re a good way of showing people why listening to the voice of the client is important.

“We will share our first client vignette at a Firm meeting at the end of October.”

The task force is also working on the matter framework and kick-off toolkit to ensure we are thinking about what clients value at the start of every matter in a consistent way across the Firm.

Embedding the voice of the client in everything we do is the goal of the third initiative.

Michael comments: “We held many client meetings, starting in August and going through October, but this was just a start.

“We need to make sure that we are getting regular feedback from clients and sharing the things that we hear routinely with our partners and the entire Firm to help us better anticipate our clients’ needs.

“Whatever we introduce needs to be innovative. Our clients are very busy, so we must go beyond traditional feedback channels, encouraging them to share ideas and insight, while also being proactive in a two-way relationship.

“And, of course, if they tell us something needs to be improved, we need to make sure we implement it, or they’re never going to tell us anything again.”

These first three initiatives will be rolled out in the coming months, but there is more to come.

Michael says: “I really want to emphasize that this is just the starting point. This is a long-term journey, not a ‘one and done’.

“Even when we start to see results, we’ll need to adapt to changes in client demands, so we can anticipate their needs in the future or make changes that they request. It’s about constantly evolving our philosophy and approach.”

Michael says: “These initiatives must be consensus built and draw upon the various sources of excellence we have at the Firm.

“We also want to make sure we move away from a culture where we do things on our own – where we build our own practices without sharing best practice.

“Instead, we need to think about the greater good – capturing the best ideas and applying them for all our clients, not just for one. Because, if we share ideas and broaden our client relationships, it benefits everyone.

“From my own experience, I know I’ve succeeded on a project when my client feels comfortable calling any number of my colleagues on a given transaction and where we’ve anticipated every one of the client’s needs before they even ask for it.

“You can only achieve that through a united team effort and consistent project management.”

Michael has two goals for the task force. He says: “Firstly, I want people to appreciate that broadening their client relationships is beneficial to them, the Firm and our clients.

“Secondly, we want us to make a good start on our journey towards an end-to-end experience that our clients truly value.

“We’ll only achieve this through close collaboration across the Firm. Our client experience journey is the responsibility of everyone, including lawyers and Business Services professionals.”