As attorney Martin A. Clayman sees it, a client’s experience with a law firm is akin to dining at a fine restaurant — either it’s compliments to the chef, or there was a fly in the soup. And the easiest way for customers to express such sentiments is by filling out the comment card on the table.

At Bloomfield, Conn.-based Clayman, Tapper & Baram, providing clients a similar ability to voice their opinions and rate the firm’s performance via written surveys is an increasingly important step to achieving its client retention and referral growth goals, Clayman said.