Client Appreciation: A New Spin on a Familiar Idea, by Rosemary J. Frenza, J.D., Attorney and Mediator, Legacy Law Center in Ann Arbor, MI

April 13, 2011

On the off chance that any of my Wealth Counsel colleagues from warmer climes are unaware of conditions in the Midwest, southeast Michigan in mid-February is not full of sun and ripe for delightful outdoor activities (I've shocked you, I'm sure). Some people from our wonderful state enjoy all that our winters have to offer, including skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling. Our law practice, however, has a significant number of retirement-age clients, and for those clients, and for the rest of us who prefer to reserve our outdoor recreation for the warmer months, February has little to offer. It was this observation that led us to plan a new and more entertaining client appreciation event than we've held in the past.

Don't get me wrong; our firm has held several successful client appreciation events before. In prior years, we've had a weekday evening educational program, with our owner and managing partner, Terry Bertram, giving a presentation over light refreshments, and sometimes inviting an allied professional to speak. This year, though, to combat the winter blues and give everyone something to smile about, we decided on an almost totally entertainment-based program. It was held on February 9, and it was a smash.

It all started with our staff social worker, Kathi Racinski, who mentioned that she had been to a recent wedding and seen a performer named Mario Messina. Mario is a renowned local singer and performer who dons different personas during his act, such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and even Elvis Presley. I was initially skeptical of hiring someone like Mario to perform at a law firm event, fearful that it might seem a little undignified. But I was outvoted, and I'm so glad. We quickly developed an evening program around Mario's performance.

We held the event at Weber's Inn, a historic, local favorite restaurant and boutique hotel in Ann Arbor that is well-suited to large events. The event lasted from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. We offered a large table of desserts, as well as coffee, tea, and other soft drinks. At the beginning of the event, I, as our newest attorney, introduced myself and the other members of our team and welcomed everyone. Then Mr. Bertram did a very brief PowerPoint presentation about one of the vital aspects of our practice, about which we are trying to educate our clientele: life care planning. After only 10 minutes, Terry introduced Mario, who then gave a stirring, one-hour performance that had the crowd cheering, laughing and applauding (my personal favorite number was a rousing version of "Fly Me to the Moon", in the style of Old Blue Eyes himself). He dazzled everyone, joking with the gentlemen and gently flirting with the ladies as he sang and told tame and appropriate, but very funny, jokes.

Now is probably a good time to mention one of the most remarkable things about the evening: despite the fact that the temperature outside was 4 degrees (no, that's not a typographical error, it was truly 4 degrees), we had well over 100 attendees. After Mario finished performing, Terry briefly closed the evening by thanking everyone for joining us. There was no further marketing pitch.

As all of the members of our law firm stood at the exit, saying goodnight to our guests and handing out candy jars with our logo printed on them (and filled with Valentine's candy, of course), we were overwhelmed by the attendees' enthusiasm. Everyone who left had a big smile on his or her face and told us that they loved the program or that it had been a great break in a cold, gray week. It didn't hurt that the week before the event, we had sent the gift of a special book of inspirational quotations to those clients who had re-signed a membership to our annual maintenance program. I overheard more than a few clients who had already received their books telling their table-mates that they loved them and were very pleased to have received the gift.

Finally, a wonderful result of the evening was that many clients told us the event reminded them that it was time to come in to our offices and have their estate documents reviewed. Many have already made appointments. This year's event will be hard to top, but I think that for next year, we've found a winning formula.

Rosemary J. Frenza is an attorney and mediator with Legacy Law Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She specializes in estate planning and administration; guardianship, conservatorship, developmental disability and mental health law; elder law; and elder and probate mediation.

Legacy Law Center
Terrence A. Bertram, PLLC
2950 S. State Street, Suite 300
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Phone: (734) 995-2383
Fax: (734) 995-0522
www.legacypllc.com