How Running A Law Firm Is Like Being A Parent, Part VII (Clients)
This is my final installment in a series of posts which examines how parenting skills can lead to good lawyering. This post discusses the last three ‘Nanny 911’ commandments, and how they apply to the attorney-client relationship. You can read about commandments 1-4 here and commandments 5-8 here.
9. Positive Reinforcement Works Much Better Than Negative Reinforcement. Praise, pleasure and pride accomplish far more than nagging, negatives and nay-saying.
Many times, clients come to lawyers when they’ve got a problem or they’re in trouble. Frequently, the problem is of the client’s own making. Sometimes, the client makes the problem worse during the engagement. But focusing on the negative doesn’t help the relationship. Nor does making the client, or even your adversary, the ‘bad guy.’ Instead, focus on how you can change things for the better. Focus on what the client did right (for example, coming to you) and how you can work together to get the best result or help the client build something bigger. Remind the client that you’re in it together and that you’re there to help the client in a constructive way. Concentrate on the end result you’d like to achieve and what you can do together to achieve it.
10. Manners Are Universal. Good behavior goes everywhere.
Think you can treat one client poorly and ‘get away with it?’ Think again. No matter how frustrating the relationship is, there’s no excuse for poor manners with a client. You can be sure that your poor manners with that client won’t stay a secret for long. People love to complain and share their stories, particularly ‘horror’ stories. There’s already so much negative press out there about lawyers – don’t add to it by losing your cool with a client or treating them poorly.
Good behavior gets noticed. When you’re with your clients, no matter how well behaved you are with your clients, they’re going to notice how you treat others, too. The client will notice if you’re disrespectful to the judge, if you treat employees poorly, or if you’re rude to the wait staff in the restaurant. Wherever you are, your behavior reflects on you – good or bad. And clients are likely to assume that the way you treat others is the way you’ll treat them, too.
11. Define Your Roles As Partners. It’s not your job to keep your clients attached to you. It’s your job to let them know who is the ‘right’ person for the job.
Make sure you introduce your whole team to your clients. Let the client know what each person’s role in their case is, and why you’ve given that person ‘control’ over a certain aspect of the engagement. Don’t let the client think you’re the only person that they can or should deal with if you’re getting help working on their matter. Let the client know that they can trust the other members of your team to help them in your absence.
Your clients should know what their role is in the engagement as well – whether it’s to be accessible to answer your questions, to provide you with documents, information, evidence, etc. Every relationship has two sides, and both sides need to be aware of their contribution to the success of the endeavor.
Finally, as lawyers, we have an obligation to advise a client when we can’t handle a particular engagement, or when a particular matter is outside of our area of expertise. Although lawyers are often afraid to ‘turn away’ business, doing so can actually enhance the relationship with the client, who will see you as honest and trustworthy, with the client’s best interests at heart. You’ll become a resource for your client, and the client is likely to look favorably upon you, seek out your advice in the future, and refer others to you. You can become a particularly valuable resource to clients if you establish a network of lawyers in other practice areas to whom you can confidently refer your clients. If the client trusts you enough, sometimes the client will request that you stay on the matter and retain co-counsel, providing you with business and an education. It just isn’t worth committing malpractice or ruining your reputation just because you’re afraid to admit to a client that a matter is outside of your area of expertise.