In business law, legal expertise is a basic requirement. But for the client, the quality of the collaboration becomes clear well before the final answer is delivered: does the lawyer take ownership of an issue that is still taking shape, ask the right questions, and make sure everyone knows what happens next after the discussion?
In our previous article, we looked at what companies expect from their legal partner in 2026. In this article, we focus on how our clients describe what it is actually like to work with Folks.
A total of 48 clients responded to Folks’ 2026 customer satisfaction survey. Of them, 43 said they were very satisfied with the collaboration and five said they were satisfied. In a separate recommendation question, our NPS score was 96. We are delighted with the numbers. But the open-ended responses tell us even more about what our clients believe makes for successful collaboration.
“It’s always easy to work with you. The help is fast, knowledgeable and easy to understand.”
The client shouldn’t have to manage the lawyer
Legal questions rarely arrive in a company as neatly defined assignments. A contract may already be under negotiation, an employment matter may require a quick decision, or the terms relating to the introduction of new technology may still be unclear.
The client should not need to formulate a fully developed legal question or know in advance what information is needed to resolve the matter. It is the lawyer’s job to take ownership of the situation: understand the objectives and facts, identify the relevant legal issues and help develop a solution that works in practice.
The client makes the business decisions. The lawyer’s role is to make the options, risks and consequences clear so that the client can make an informed decision.
The value of an approachable legal partner is that clients feel comfortable calling before a situation turns into a problem. A short conversation at the right time can save a significant amount of time, cost and unnecessary investigation later.
In addition to fast, clear answers and a strong understanding of the business, one respondent highlighted the fact that our pricing does not create a barrier to asking for advice. They also summed up the collaboration like this:
“And it’s always a pleasure to work with fun people.”
Different strengths, one shared goal
In the client feedback, Folks was not described simply as a single service. Respondents talked about individual lawyers, the way they work and what it feels like to work with them.
Working with Antti was described as professional, easy and warm, with particular praise for his quick responses and ability to avoid unnecessarily complicated legal jargon.
Feedback on Anna highlighted trust, efficiency, clear communication and a strong understanding of the client’s industry, even under tight deadlines.
Clients who had worked with Katri praised her thoroughness, responsiveness and friendly way of working, which they described as highly valuable to the client.
Kaisa’s particular strength was identifying the heart of the issue: her answers were clear and practical, and her work stayed focused on what mattered.
Those who had worked with Lila praised her knowledgeable and clear advice, as well as the ease with which she takes on questions and keeps matters moving forward.
The same theme came up repeatedly in our clients’ descriptions: the burden of managing the collaboration is not left to the client, and the client does not have to translate a legal answer into practical next steps themselves.
“You’re all absolutely brilliant. We can always reach you at short notice, and things move forward quickly.”
Good communication improves the quality of the work
A pleasant way of working together also improves the quality of the legal work. Difficult and unfinished matters are easier to deal with when there is trust in the relationship. Questions can be raised earlier, uncertainties do not need to be hidden, and the lawyer gains a better understanding of what genuinely matters to the client in the situation. When objectives, concerns and practical constraints are identified early enough, the lawyer can focus their work on what is truly relevant.
A trusted lawyer brings risks to the table and, when necessary, says clearly that a plan needs to change. What matters is that the client understands the reasoning behind the advice and knows what options are available.
Not every situation requires a lengthy legal memo. Sometimes the best legal service is a concise discussion that leaves the decision-makers knowing what to do next and which issues still require further clarification. One of our clients summed up their experience like this:
“The level of service and expertise is such that you never feel you’re paying for something unnecessary.”
The service should work regardless of which lawyer is handling the matter
Strong client feedback is not just a measure of success for us. It also creates an expectation that the service should work equally well regardless of which Folks lawyer is handling the matter.
That means sharing expertise, working smoothly together across the team and making sure that agreed actions, deadlines and client objectives are followed through. At the same time, every lawyer should be able to use their individual strengths and build a way of working with the client that feels natural and effective.
At its best, a lawyer is involved while decisions are still being prepared. Unfinished questions can be discussed early, and solutions can be found before the situation develops into a problem.
If your company is looking for an easily accessible legal partner to support day-to-day matters and decision-making, take a look at our outsourced legal department or our team. You can also get in touch even if you are not yet exactly sure what kind of legal support you need.
- Anna Paimela
- Oct 3, 2025
Updated: Aug 5
The work of a lawyer has always been shaped by change. Laws are reformed, society evolves, and new phenomena challenge established ways of thinking. Rarely, however, has change felt as rapid and fundamental as it does today. Artificial intelligence and digital solutions have become part of lawyers’ everyday work and are changing the foundations on which that work is carried out. They are no longer distant visions, but practical tools reshaping the way the entire legal profession operates.
Artificial intelligence can process vast amounts of information, identify relevant provisions in documents, conduct case law searches in seconds, and detect risks that would otherwise require time-consuming legal analysis. This change will inevitably affect the skills expected of lawyers. Increasingly, lawyers will need curiosity, the courage to experiment, and the ability to ask what technology means for the client and for the industry as a whole. A lawyer who remains interested in the surrounding world and its development is best placed to serve clients effectively. Adaptability is therefore one of the most important skills for lawyers today.
Although artificial intelligence can make parts of legal work faster and more accurate, lawyers remain responsible for critical thinking and for having the courage to say when a machine-generated answer is not enough. As routine tasks are increasingly handled with the help of technology, the lawyer’s true strengths become clearer: interaction, judgement, an understanding of context, and the ability to make choices. As technical work becomes faster, clients can also see more clearly why they want to rely on a particular lawyer, someone who listens, asks questions, and understands their situation as a whole.
The legal services business is built on trust, and personal interaction is at the heart of building that trust. Clients do not always come to the table with a clearly defined legal question. Sometimes they come with uncertainty, concern, or pressure. In those situations, the lawyer’s role extends beyond analysing facts. It involves listening, asking the right questions, and reflecting different options back to the client. A good lawyer can identify and articulate the wider context behind the client’s situation and help the client move forward. This kind of sparring and support is often just as important as the final legal solution.
When clients feel that they have been heard and that their situation has been understood from their own perspective, they gain confidence even when the answers are not straightforward. That experience is not created by data generated by an algorithm. It is created by the presence of another person. Adaptability is closely connected to being present. Lawyers must understand that law does not operate in a vacuum. It is always linked to the client’s day-to-day business, strategic objectives, and decision-making. A lawyer must therefore be able to see not only what the law says, but also how it affects the client’s business and what risks and opportunities it creates. This often requires sensitivity to the client’s needs, concerns, and objectives, as well as the ability to tailor legal advice accordingly. That sensitivity cannot exist without genuine human interaction.
Because personal encounters are at the heart of our work and the best way to strengthen trust, we celebrated Folks’ 10th anniversary in September. The evening gave rise to genuine conversations and moments in which clients and colleagues shared experiences and perspectives, paused to listen, and felt heard themselves. The warm messages we received after the celebration reinforced our sense that we had succeeded in celebrating precisely what makes our work meaningful: connection and human encounters. We hope the photographs convey that feeling to you as well.
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