By Andrew Dick
December 4, 2025
Trust is the foundation of every great client relationship, but it isn’t built overnight and it isn’t maintained passively. General counsel consistently tell me that trust is earned in small, repeated moments: the prompt response to an urgent text, the candid note when something slipped, talking points to prep the CEO on a new issue before they had to ask. This article distills those moments into seven practical ways outside counsel can earn and sustain trust — drawn from recent conversations with over a dozen general counsel about what they value most in their outside counsel.
These are habits, not hacks. They’re about showing judgment under pressure, tailoring advice to business realities, and making the GC’s job easier. When you do those things consistently, you become more than a legal technician, you become the steady voice they want to call when it matters most.
Clients don’t expect perfection, but they do expect accountability. At some point, everyone misses a nuance, misreads a preference, or has a deadline wobble. What the GC notices is how you respond. Do you surface the issue first, propose a fix, and absorb the cost — or do you ignore and hope it goes unnoticed? Owning mistakes builds credibility because it signals maturity, control, and respect for the relationship.
Accountability also includes proactive prevention. If a risk materializes on your watch, share what you’ve changed so it doesn’t happen again — e.g., you’ve updated your checklist, revised your staffing plan, or implemented a tighter review protocol. Trust deepens when clients see that your willingness to own mistakes and course correct is fast and sincere.
Try this: Use a three-step script when something goes wrong: (1) Name it plainly. (2) Fix it right then, providing several options. (3) Prevent it next time by amending processes. Then send a short note noting these decisions and the safeguard you’ve implemented.
The GC’s audience isn’t you — it’s the CEO, the board, and the business leaders who need to act. If your work product requires the GC to translate, simplify, or reframe for that audience, you’re creating friction. Trusted counsel anticipate the internal conversation and equip the GC to navigate it deftly.
That means executive-ready deliverables (clear, concise, visual where helpful), practical recommendations over issue-spotting, and an understanding of how decisions get made inside the company. It also means recognizing the GC’s political capital. Sometimes the best way to help is to deliver quietly, let them take the mic, and celebrate their win.
Try this: With every analysis, include a brief “Board-ready” summary: key risks, options with tradeoffs, and your recommendation in plain language. Offer to join the meeting — and be equally ready not to if your presence complicates the internal dynamics.
Responsiveness, preparation, and care should never depend on the size of the matter or the hourly rate. GCs watch for consistency: Do you bring the same energy to a small vendor dispute as you do to a headline-risk investigation? Do associates show up prepared, even on short calls? Do you consistently deliver on time without reminders?
Service parity across matters signals that your standards are internal, not conditional. It also reduces anxiety for the GC because they don’t have to guess which version of you will show up.
Try this: Establish service baselines for your team (e.g., acknowledge client emails within four business hours, send a daily status note on live matters, and run emails and work product through a short quality checklist before sending). Then hold your team accountable to those baselines to make sure you meet or exceed them.
Clients remember who kept their head when the stakes were high. Composure isn’t about being detached; it’s about being methodical, transparent, and steady under pressure. When a regulator calls or a headline hits, the GC needs a partner who can triage issues, communicate clearly, and protect decision-making time for executives.
Calm is contagious. If you’re organized and even-keeled, the internal team tends to mirror that posture. Conversely, if you scramble or overshare stress with the client, you amplify anxiety and erode trust.
Try this: In fast-moving situations, run a 24-hour rhythm: send a morning priorities email (three bullets, owners, deadlines), schedule an afternoon checkpoint call, and prepare an evening recap with next-day plan. Document decisions in real time to ensure clarity and alignment.
Trust grows when clients feel seen. Keep an institutional memory of the client’s people, history, and preferences — how the CFO views risk, the plant that’s under expansion, the new product coming to market, the board member who obsesses over data privacy, the GC’s preference for bullet points over lengthier memos. Small details compound into a reputation for care.
This isn’t just about etiquette. It’s operational. When you retain context, you accelerate the next matter, reduce onboarding time, and make fewer unforced errors. You also avoid asking the GC to repeat themselves — an easy way to drain goodwill.
Try this: Maintain a client playbook: a living document with the client’s org chart, decision-making norms, document templates, and personal preferences. Share a light version with the client and ask for feedback. Update after every matter.
Trusted counsel connect dots, flag adjacent risks, and suggest next steps — without turning a simple question into a 20-page memo. Aim for thoughtful over-delivery: a little more value than requested, targeted to the business problem, and proportionate to the moment.
If you’re asked for a template, add a short how-to guide. If you advise on a new policy, include a rollout plan and change-management risks. If you spot an operational gap during diligence, propose a lightweight fix or an introduction to someone who can help.
Try this: When sending any deliverable, append a “Two for Tomorrow” box: two realistic follow-on actions the client can take immediately, with owners and time estimates. Make it practical and actionable — and keep it to five lines.
Vendors answer the question that was asked. Partners help refine the question — and anchor it to business strategy. Trusted outside counsel bring context: what peers are doing, what regulators care about this quarter, where litigation trends are moving, and how operational realities will affect execution. They also build human connection. People trust lawyers who know their world and care about their success.
Acting like a partner starts with taking the time to understand the business and helping the GC frame options that balance legal risk with commercial realities. It means considering timeline and cost, weighing customer and reputational impact, and recommending a path that fits the organization’s risk appetite.
Try this: Periodically propose a quarterly check-in, free of charge, anchored to the company’s strategic goals as they relate to expansion, margin, product, or talent. Prepare a few open-ended questions and plan to be in a listening and learning mode. Leave with a clear list of ways to be helpful, even if none are billable today.
Great advice and work product opens doors. Trust keeps them open. Own mistakes and fix them fast. Equip the GC to win internally. Show the same care on small matters as on marquee ones. Bring calm to chaos. Remember what matters to management and the business. Deliver a little more than asked. And act like a partner, not a vendor.
Do those things consistently, and you won’t just be the lawyer they call for answers; you’ll be the trusted partner they rely on when judgment matters most.
Andrew Dick is VP of Strategic Initiatives at The L Suite, where he runs Client Quotient™, an on-demand learning platform with GC insights to help law firms understand what clients want.
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