“~80% risk clinically significant cancer.”
The doctor wrote those words on a sticky note and attached it to my family member’s MRI report. The delivery felt abrupt: we were being told there was a strong likelihood of cancer, without a clear explanation of what that meant. We were shocked—and left wondering why something so significant was on a sticky note rather than in the report itself.
This doctor had trained at Yale Medical School. We had reason to believe he knew what he was doing. However, as we waited for the biopsy to be scheduled, we began having doubts about the other aspects of quality medical care.
At first, waiting felt understandable. Scheduling involves moving parts, and we wanted to give them time. However, after a couple of weeks, we started pushing for a date.
Eventually, we received a scheduling call. It would be about two months before we would have results. Having a date helped, but it felt far away. Given our experience thus far, we decided to explore other options.
Another practice called us back the same day and immediately followed up with an email. They scheduled us for the next week and gave us clear information about what to expect.
The original provider took our insurance. The new practice was out of network. We paid more. A LOT more.
We chose that practice because we trusted it more.
Thankfully, my family member's biopsy revealed there was no cancer. As I was processing this experience, it made me think about how clients choose lawyers and what they need throughout the process. Expertise matters enormously. But when someone places something important in your hands, expertise is only part of what they need to trust you.
What are the three components of client trust?
In their foundational paper, An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust, researchers Roger Mayer, James Davis, and F. David Schoorman identified three factors of perceived trustworthiness: ability, benevolence, and integrity. Their model concerns trust between parties in organizational settings. Applying it to a law firm’s client relationships gives us a useful way to examine the experience we create. Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman, 1995.
The three factors become questions your clients may be asking:
Can you help me?
Do you care about me?
Will you follow through?
A client can believe you know the law while remaining uncertain whether you understand their concerns or will follow through. Each factor deserves attention.
Ability: Can you help me?
Lawyers invest years in developing expertise. Your education, experience, and judgment give clients important reasons to choose you.
But clients may have limited ability to assess your technical work while it is happening. They may not know whether a motion is persuasive or a contractual provision is well drafted. They can more readily assess whether your explanation makes sense and whether they understand their options.
Consider a consultation in which you accurately explain the law using terms the client doesn’t understand. You may leave feeling you gave a thorough explanation. The client may leave unsure what happens next.
Explain the issue, the available choices, and your recommendation in plain language. Distinguish what you know from what remains uncertain, and give the client room to ask questions. Your expertise becomes more useful when they understand how it applies to their situation.
Benevolence: Do you care about what happens to me?
Benevolence describes the belief that someone wants good for you beyond their own financial interest. Clients look for evidence in how you listen and respond.
Do you understand what they are worried about? Do your recommendations reflect their priorities? Can they ask a basic question without feeling foolish?
Two clients with similar legal matters may have different concerns. One may prioritize speed. Another may care most about preserving a relationship, managing costs, or understanding the impact on their family. Ask what matters to this person before assuming you know.
Our new medical practice demonstrated care through specific actions: a same-day callback, an immediate email, an appointment the following week, and clear preparation information.
A law firm cannot always offer an earlier court date or a quick resolution. What it can do are things like acknowledge a difficult wait, explain the next step, and make sure the client knows where to turn with questions.
Integrity: Can I trust your words and commitments?
Integrity involves adherence to principles the other person finds acceptable. Consistency between words and actions is one way people judge it.
If you promise an update Friday, send it Friday. If the answer is still pending, say so. If you cannot meet a commitment, explain that before the client has to chase you.
Be honest about limits, too. An optimistic estimate presented as a certainty can create an expectation you cannot control. Explain what depends on the court, opposing counsel, or another party so the client understands the commitment you are actually making.
Think about the promises your whole firm makes. Your website may promise attentive service. Your intake team may promise a return call. You may promise to keep the client informed. Each needs a process and a person responsible for carrying it through.
What Bar Complaints Reveal About Client Trust
Bar complaints offer a useful window into where client trust breaks down.
Texas offers one example. The State Bar says most grievances it receives come from clients who feel their matters are being neglected or their calls and emails are not being returned. State Bar of Texas: Complaint & Response.
Florida’s report on 2024 complaints likewise placed neglect and inadequate communication among its leading categories. These are complaints, rather than findings that every allegation was substantiated, but they show how frequently the experience of being a client becomes a serious concern. Florida Bar, 2025.
Clients may not see the work happening behind the scenes. When communication stops, they are left to interpret the silence.
In our situation, staff illness helped explain the delay. But we learned that through the primary care doctor after weeks of waiting. When your firm faces a disruption, consider what clients need to hear, who will contact them, and who will cover the next step.
Does responsiveness affect who gets hired?
Early in my law practice, the spouse of an international sports star came to my office. It was in a basement with no windows. She sat on an old pleather couch.
She hired me.
When I asked how she had ended up in my office, she said:
“Well you were the first person who called me back.”
That answer has stayed with me. Before she could experience my legal work, she had experienced my response. Calling her back gave her a reason to continue the conversation.
Research supports the importance of responsiveness in hiring preferences. Clio’s 2022 Legal Trends Report used hypothetical lawyer choices to examine what influenced consumers. Reviews had the greatest influence; responsiveness and location tied for second. This examines stated choices rather than proving that more trustworthy firms generate more revenue. It still gives firm owners a practical reason to pay attention. Clio, 2022 Legal Trends Report.
Our family’s decision involved a meaningful cost difference. We were willing and able to pay substantially more for the practice we trusted. That is our experience, rather than a universal pricing rule. But it illustrates how much confidence in a provider can matter when the stakes feel personal.
Give clients reasons to trust the whole firm
You have worked hard to become an expert lawyer. Your clients also need to experience your care and dependability, from their first inquiry through the end of the matter.
Look at the last promise your firm made to a client. What happened next?
The Client Trust Assessment below helps you examine those moments across your client journey and choose one practical improvement.