At TCDI, we believe that strong partnerships are the foundation of exceptional outcomes, especially in a complex field like legal technology. For more than 37 years, we’ve had the privilege of working side-by-side with clients who trust us to deliver secure, scalable, and smart solutions tailored to their evolving needs. But more than just a service provider, we aim to be a true partner: one that listens, collaborates, and drives success together.
In this blog, we share a candid conversation between Ned Adams, Senior Director of Legal Services at TCDI, and one of our long-time clients (who, for confidentiality reasons, wishes to remain anonymous). Together, they explore what makes a true partnership thrive to deliver successful outcomes for all involved. It’s an inside look at how a people-first approach and deep technical expertise come together to create lasting value.
1. What characteristics are you looking for in a partner?
CLIENT: A strong partner shares a common vision for success, delivers high-quality service, and demonstrates accountability. To us, it is also important to have a partner that exhibits problem-solving skills, flexibility, and technical expertise. This type of partnership truly fosters mutual trust.
NED: I am so glad that we get to talk about this topic. TCDI has many successful partnerships, which is equal part client and equal part TCDI. We believe that the core relationship begins before any work is done and continues throughout the lifecycle of a project. Whether it lasts one week or 10+ years, when the parties collaborate, great things can happen.
2. What are you looking for from a project team?
CLIENT: An effective project team is proactive and responsive. We value the ability to communicate effectively, handle stress well, and understand the business processes. Overall, a good project team consistently embraces a growth mindset for continuous learning.
NED: Well said, and I would use a lot of the same terms for our valued clients. The partnership is reciprocal in so many ways. We know that client project teams also have a lot of demands on their time, so we aim to build a strong partnership and sense of understanding from Day One. TCDI project teams have redundancy built into the processes to help prevent single points of failure. We also start with a strong foundation of technical and documentation skills, and we build on that foundation by asking questions along the way to help clients address varied and complex problems.
3. How does a partner demonstrate value?
CLIENT: A valuable partner reduces stress, simplifies tasks, meets deadlines, and actively seeks opportunities for process improvement.
NED: If only we could take all the stress away! TCDI strives to work with clients to define problems and collaborate to identify the best solution. Leveraging the right people and the right processes creates efficiencies, which in turn, meets deadlines and creates positive outcomes. It’s the best kind of snowball effect! If TCDI is not making the lives of our clients better, then we are not doing our jobs.
4. What role does the client have in creating a partnership with a vendor?
CLIENT: Clients play a key role by planning and communicating consistently. By integrating vendors into the team, we can share context beyond task assignments.
NED: We agree! When clients consistently plan and contribute additional context to our tasks, it makes a huge difference on our end. The most successful clients do both, and when that last minute unplanned deadline hits, we know it is the outlier. Active collaboration and integration of both project teams is invaluable to a successful outcome. Investing in the people in the project, along with iterative and direct feedback, is also critical to building trust.
5. How do you develop trust with your vendors?
CLIENT: Trust is built through honest feedback, transparency, fostering relationships with team members, and consistently delivering high-quality work.
NED: I’ve noticed that communication, feedback, and transparency keep showing up in our conversation. That is not an accident. We know that projects have workstreams on both sides, and building relationships with these values in mind helps build trust. Feedback loops from both parties and the willingness to listen are also critical aspects in a successful partnership. Wins help, but trust in people and processes builds the foundation in a healthy way.
6. What is the correct amount of communication with a vendor?
CLIENT: Regularly scheduled meetings are essential, and we appreciate when those are also supplemented by ad hoc discussions as needed to address emerging issues.
NED: In a world of increasing ways to communicate, talking and seeing people (via virtual meetings) are beginning to be underutilized. Email is good at reporting facts, but it does not convey tone well and isn’t as helpful in building relationships. Striking a balance is important. TCDI meets with some clients 3 days a week, while others meet less often. The cadence should be the best fit for the project and ebb and flow with the project needs. At an individual level, I enjoy placing and receiving phone calls from clients. It’s another opportunity to tackle a problem, improve what we are doing, or just listen. Many times, just saying the problem out loud can lead to a quick resolution or to discovering the next steps to pursue. If we are not making our clients’ lives easier, then what are we doing? (Twice in 6 questions!)
7. How do you approach projects that do not go as well as you wanted?
CLIENT: We find it is important to address challenges promptly and transparently, collaborate on solutions, and leverage established trust and relationships to navigate difficult conversations.
NED: Part of being a good partner is to say the hard parts out loud. Projects don’t always go well, and delivering bad news doesn’t mean the sky is falling. I have been fortunate to rely on some tenets that TCDI uses to train employees from the Lean Six Sigma processes. TCDI looks at a problem as the difference between what is and what should be. Identifying the root cause of a problem helps us adjust processes to keep the problem from occurring again, and it can also bring to light processes that can be improved to create efficiency. The approach to something that did not go well should be the same as when something does go well: Be available. Be transparent. Be collaborative. Be proactive. What did we learn, and what can we improve?
8. How do you combine your internal processes with those of a vendor?
CLIENT: To combine processes with vendors, we find it’s important to align on end goals, communicate clearly, and collaborate to integrate internal and vendor processes effectively.
NED: Listening to clients describe their processes and working with them to define processes in common can create a lot of value. TCDI values relationships where the parties work together to define processes. One-size-fits-all does not apply here. We find that the willingness to collaborate creates value, and documenting those processes is important.
9. What are the X-factors that create partnerships?
CLIENT: Successful partnerships are built by fostering personal connections, creating a virtual team environment, and aligning efforts toward shared goals.
NED: Thanks so much for this discussion about partnerships. It is easy for us to think that the goal for an individual project is to be on time and on budget. And although that is important, building a partnership goes much deeper and creates more value for both parties. Investing at the personal level and creating personal connections is key. Having conversations with the client by asking how they are doing, what is causing them stress, if they are overwhelmed, will give the project team clues for how to better help. True partnership is more of a feeling and doesn’t have measurables. It can be elusive, but when it is achieved, it makes you want to run through walls for your clients. They deserve it!
Ned Adams
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Ned has been fostering partnerships and helping clients tackle complex legal matters with TCDI for over two decades. He is passionate about building personal connections with clients to better understand their challenges and develop innovative eDiscovery solutions.
Regardless of the size, complexity, or duration of a matter, Ned leverages his project management experience to help clients navigate a successful solution. He guides organizations and law firms through every step of the EDRM, ensuring their matters are handled as smoothly as possible. As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, he thrives on developing workflows and processes that maximize efficiency, reducing time and cost for our clients. Learn more about Ned.
