Most businesses consider customer satisfaction to be a top priority. Impressing legal consumers, however, is uniquely challenging. People consider hiring an attorney when things could go wrong, are about to go wrong, or have already gone wrong. This means legal consumers often form their opinions while they are under stress.

How can you use this information to improve your practice? Can understanding this stress help you interact with clients better, earn more referrals and, ultimately, grow your practice? This whitepaper takes a closer look.

[ Download "In the hot seat" here]

This is the second of three 2016 whitepapers by Nika Kabiri, PhD, former Director of Strategic Insights at Avvo, which were previously gated but are now being made freely available to download and share.

Many lawyers agree that building a successful law firm or practice requires having great people skills, and legal consumers often tell us that they expect empathy when choosing a lawyer. Under stress, people who might normally be rational, thoughtful, and open-minded can transform into something completely different. Knowing the ways that stress impacts a client's decision-making can help you communicate better and generate better outcomes.

Download "In the hot seat: How understanding client stress can help you grow your business" to see what we learned when we examined client stress and the way legal consumers interact with attorneys when they are under pressure.