In the legal profession, few things are more valuable that client feedback--and nothing is more meaningful than a client’s appreciation.

For the fifth consecutive year, The BTI Consulting Group has named Womble Carlyle one of its Most Recommended Law Firms. The BTI recommendations are based on interviews with in-house counsel at organizations with at least $1 billion in annual revenues. The Most Recommended Law Firms are those in-house counsel say have made a deep and genuine commitment to understanding clients’ business needs. Of the 650 law firms researched, only 40 have been named Most Recommended Law Firms for five consecutive years. Many of the other firms earning this distinction are among the industry’s largest, and these firms typically charge significantly higher rates than Womble Carlyle.

“Outstanding client service is more than a core value at Womble Carlyle--it is the reason we are in business,” said Womble Carlyle Chair and CEO Betty Temple. “It is a goal we must meet again every day, but the BTI report is a nice validation that clients appreciate our efforts.”

Temple herself has been recognized individually as a BTI Client Service All-Star.

According to BTI, corporate clients surveyed listed the following traits for a Most Recommended Law Firm:

• Embrace their clients’ new metrics and measures;
• Ask for feedback on their performance on a regular basis;
• Change their approach in how they deliver legal services including client input in designing the new approach;
• Educate clients in new, high-value topics in a detailed, customized manner;
• Set performance goals for themselves which are tied to client goals;
• Bring up succession plans before clients ask;
• Increase investment in understanding their clients’ businesses; and
• Deliver noticeable year-to-year improvement in client service for three years or longer.

Click here to read news coverage of the 2016 BTI Most Recommended Law Firms report at Law360.com.