While there are likely thousands of pages written about good (but mostly) bad lawyers–and even more including lawyer jokes–I’d like to take a minute to give my two cents about what would make a great client. This is not meant to be a laundry list of things that annoy a lawyer, and surely not a come-back for all the low-blow jokes lawyers take all the time. What it is meant to be is one lawyer’s opinion on what a client can do that would enable the lawyer to provide more effective service.
1. Put everything in writing. This may sound cliche, but many people handle a lot of their business over the phone or during verbal conversations. What is essential, but rarely happens, is for one or both (or more) of the parties to take a minute and to memorialize the conversation in some sort of writing or e-mail to confirm that both (or more) parties were talking about the same thing and reached the same conclusion, if any. People have poor memories and they get worst as time passes. With a written chronicle a lawyer can more effectively get to the core issues. Related to this…
2. Keep good records. Although you may have a good case or you might be absolutely sure you are right in a dispute, it’s hard to convince someone that wasn’t there (like your attorney) if you do not have a record of it. This is why it is important to keep dated records of financial transactions, or as stated above, of verbal transaction. Always think that you must prove every transaction to somebody who was not there. Would he or she believe you? Why?
3. Establish clear deadlines with your attorney. Nobody likes to be hassled by endless phone calls, just ask your local telemarketer. Likewise, you do not want to be on your lawyer’s bad side for calling twice a day. After all, a lawyer has more than one client. Instead, it’s easier on all parties to ask your lawyer when you should contact your attorney for a status update and the best way to contact each other. Alternatively, you can ask your attorney to send you an e-mail every Friday with an update, for example. Similarly, when your attorney asks from you to produce a specific document or other information that you have in your possession, be clear on when and how you are going to be delivering that information.
4. Adjust your expectations according to your situation. Your attorney is not a miracle worker, and similarly cannot predict everything about your case. However, it is important at the outset of the lawyer’s representation to adjust his/her client’s expectations to fit the client’s specific legal matter. If your attorney has not gauged and guided your expectations, then you should specifically ask the likelihood of your success, and more importantly, how much the lawyer expects it to cost the client, both in terms of time and money.
5. “A lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade.” –Abraham Lincoln. Although something may seem like a “quick question,” it’s helpful to remember that the practice of law is a service. Lawyers neither sell tangible products like a retailer, nor does their service result in a consumable item such as it does in the food industry. Lawyers serve their clients using analytical reasoning and advocacy skills in order to champion his or her client’s best interest. Therefore, instead of asking your lawyer questions as they come up, it’s more effective to sit and think (as objectively as possible) about what your goals are, what you are willing to settle for at the minimum, and what you need to know in order to understand what your legal matter entails. These are very important “big picture” issues to consider even before seeking the advice of a lawyer. What do you want and what are you willing to do to get it? In other words, being impulsive about learning about your case is less effective than truly pondering what you want and how far you are willing to go and then discussing your case with your attorney. In the end it will be less time consuming for everyone involved. That being said…
6. There are no winners in litigation. Litigation is time consuming, stressful, and downright expensive. Nobody really wins in the end. Clients should truly try to distance their emotions from the legal issues as much as possible. Just because you didn’t “stick it to” him or her doesn’t mean you did not “win.” If you are able to settle without litigation then everyone has done his or her job. The best legal advice I can offer to anyone is to avoid litigation. Then again, those that do not take this last piece of advice are the ones that keep people like me in business.
