Introducing the Client Performance Index™ (CPI):
Measuring How Law Firms Perform for Life Sciences Clients
Clients experience law firms very differently than firms describe themselves.
From a client’s perspective, performance is shaped by service breadth, work quality, industry understanding, responsiveness, and value—not by practice labels or office counts. To make those performance signals more visible and comparable, I’ve developed the Client Performance Index™ (CPI).
The CPI evaluates 265 law firms serving the Life Sciences sector, using a structured, client-centered framework that focuses on how firms actually perform for Life Sciences clients.
What the Client Performance Index Measures
Each firm’s CPI score is derived from seven performance dimensions, all grounded in client experience and sector relevance:
Life Sciences Industry Leadership
Measures the extent to which the firm is perceived as a leader within the Life Sciences sector.Service Breadth
Assesses the range of legal services the firm provides to Life Sciences clients across regulatory, transactional, IP, litigation, and compliance needs.Work Quality
Reflects perceived quality, rigor, and consistency of legal work delivered to Life Sciences clients.Client Service Score
Evaluates responsiveness, accessibility, and overall client service excellence.Value for Fees
Captures client perceptions of value delivered relative to fees charged.Industry Knowledge
Measures the firm’s collective understanding of the Life Sciences industry, including regulatory, scientific, and commercial dynamics.Business Acumen
Assesses the firm’s ability to understand and advise on Life Sciences business issues—not just legal ones.
These seven factors are combined into a Client Performance Index™ (CPI) score.
Why the CPI Matters
Life Sciences companies operate in complex, high-stakes environments where legal advice must be commercially informed, industry-aware, and execution-oriented.
The Client Performance Index™ helps:
Clients compare law firms based on real performance indicators
Law firms understand how they are experienced by Life Sciences clients
Firm leadership identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities to improve client outcomes
What’s Available
The CPI is available as:
A Client Performance Index™ summary, benchmarking all 265 firms, and
Firm-specific overview reports, providing a detailed breakdown of performance across all dimensions in conjunction with the Sector Leadership Index.
The CPI is not about rankings for their own sake. It is about making client performance visible, comparable, and actionable in the Life Sciences sector.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions regarding a firm’s score or ranking among other firms.
James J. Stapleton is the Managing Principal of Client Sciences and the creator of the Sector Leadership Index and the Client Performance Index. He challenges the way the legal market evaluates expertise, arguing that clients use industry sector expertise as a primary lens into their law firm selection.
After more than three decades building AmLaw 100 law firms and global professional services firms PwC and Arthur Andersen—and advising on over 7,500 law firm/client transitions—Mr. Stapleton now helps law firms communicate their industry credibility and aids clients in cutting through marketing claims to identify firms with genuine sector immersion.
Mr. Stapleton can be reached at 408-440-7660 or james.stapleton@clientsciences.com.
