Clients come to law firms because they need help finding and implementing solutions – each employee is in essence a legal solution provider and a problem solver. And in a crowded and the unpredictable business climate of today, it is more important than ever to embrace and anticipate changes to meet the shifting needs of clients. Most importantly, we always need to put our clients first and ensure that every employee embraces a client-centric mindset.

Being a great lawyer doesn’t guarantee you a solid book of business anymore. Neither does having a law degree from one of the top schools in the country. None of these fancy credentials matter if you don’t have the right people skills (or emotional intelligence) to connect with clients on a personal level, especially now. 

Because clients regularly hire outside counsel who they’ve known for many years – from law school, a prior firm, a friend of a friend or a past matter – cultivating relationships should be at the heart of everything you do – especially now. It’s important to treat everyone with whom you come into contact as if they could be a future client or referral source, which is a helpful guiding principle in how to interact with your professional network.

Here’s how to develop a more client-centric mindset and build stronger relationships despite the barriers we are facing today during this worldwide pandemic.

Repeat after me, someone else’s perception is not your reality. Now say this over and over until you actually believe it.

Here’s the thing about the statement, people will say things about you based on their viewpoints or life experiences that aren’t necessarily true. They may form an opinion of you based on erroneous or partial information, believe rumors about you that are untrue or say mean things about you for different reasons such as jealousy, insecurity, selfishness or having a hidden agenda.

Whatever it is, what somebody thinks about you is not your reality. You must have strong self-confidence and values so that you do not let others opinions negatively affect you. You certainly can listen to constructive criticism from those who care about you, and if there are shreds of truth in it, take it for what it’s worth and use it to make yourself a better person. But do not take what other people say about you at face value and base opinions about yourself on it especially if you disagree with what they say or it’s mean spirited in nature. You know yourself better than anyone else, and you shouldn’t be swayed by what others think about you from their vantage point, especially if they’re not coming at it from a place of good.