Knowledge

A Letter to the Chronically Unhappy Client

You, the client who easily blame lawyers for their lack of responsivness and availability, the practical irrelevance of their advice, their inability to focus on the right issues, and the excessive number of hours they bill: what about you? It takes two to tango, and it takes two to make any relationship work. The best lawyer in the world cannot make a relationship work if you, the client, do not do your share.

Speaking about responsivness and availability, how responsive and available are you to your lawyer? Do you return his phone calls? Reply to his emails? Do you actually read what he writes to you in emails and memos? Do you take the time to meet, discuss and give feedback? Do you meet agreed deadlines and comply with timetables, and if you don’t, do you give him notice in advance? Do you make request in advance or do you wait until the last minute and call “urgent matter” what is simply the result of your lack of organisation and planning? How much of your quality time and energy do you allocate to working with your lawyer? Do you actually manage or at least co-manage the relationship?

Speaking about irrelevance of advice and lack of focus on the right issues, what about your performance in this area? Do you give practical instructions and specifications? Do you provide the facts and supporting documents in an orderly way? Do you give clear objectives and priorities? Do you actually know what you need and what you want?

Speaking about wasted time and inflated invoice, what do you do to help your lawyer use his time effectively? Again, are you clear about what your needs and expectations? Do you provide the information and feedback that allows a time-effective performance? Do you manage meetings so as to make them time efficient? Are you consistent in your requests or do you give contradicting directions?

When things do not work as well as hoped, blaming the other is always easier than taking responsibility and changing ourself. In today’s legal market, with such an intense competition among suppliers of legal services, it is very tempting and easy for clients to put all the blame on the lawyers whenever the relationship is not satisfying, and just pick another lawyer. Unfortunately, by doing so, they ignore and fail to remedy their own shortcomings in making the relationship work. Of course, this strategy does not lead to any lasting improvement, but only to an endless cycle of mutal disappointments.

The current assumption in the market is that lawyers must live up to or exceed clients’ expectations, and the clients must live up to nothing else than paying the bill. This unbalanced standard does not lead to healthy, productive, cost-effective relations. Clients must assume their share of responsibility in making the lawyer-client relationship work.

Antoine Henry de Frahan | 17 July 2006 |