Law firm innovation leaders often talk about the “voice of the client.” As in: Outside lawyers should be listening to the pain points of clients in order to develop solutions for them.

But what happens when the client is silent?

Two recent surveys—one from the law firm side and one from the client side—suggest there is something of a communication breakdown between law firms and clients. Put bluntly, clients want cheaper legal services, but it gets left to law firms to determine just how to accomplish that. That can lead to law firms pursuing innovation that is not aligned with what clients want.