I realize forming a good relationship with a good lawyer sounds to many like trying to befriend a pit viper.
Yet, whether your lawyer is good can mean the difference between business success and failure.
Few lawyers are top quality. Good lawyers tend to have plenty of work. They also have an above-average craving to forge client relationships that allow them to fully use their legal skills.
Client manners matter. Whether you are a client who is easy and rewarding to work with can determine whether you obtain top-notch lawyering:
It can determine whether the lawyer takes your matter at all. Experienced lawyers have a sixth sense for problem clients. Good lawyers can afford to pass them up.
It can determine whether the lawyer handles your matter personally or passes it off to a colleague.
It can determine which client's calls get returned first and whose work gets done first.
It can determine whether the lawyer will go the extra mile.
It can affect the size of your bill. Contrary to the common cynicism, most lawyers frequently struggle with whether to bill their clients for all of their working time. A lawyer is more likely to cut a bill as a courtesy to a well-liked client.
How to be a favored client. How do you form a good client-lawyer relationship? Consider these tips:
Some prospective clients try to get as much legal advice as possible before (if ever) permitting the meter to be turned on. Good lawyers don't need to give away lots of time. Make it clear from the start you are looking to hire a lawyer.
Always pay bills on time, in full, without undo fussing. If a client habitually complains about bills, a busy lawyer often will fire that client or pass it off to a less busy (and perhaps less capable) colleague.
If you must raise a billing issue, raise it as soon as you get the bill.
Raise any concern about the lawyer's services in the most personal way possible. An in-person meeting is better than a phone call. A phone call is much better than e-mail.
Be available to the lawyer. Return the lawyer's calls and e-mails promptly.
Provide what the lawyer requests (documents, information, access) promptly, completely and in a well-organized fashion.
Don't hide information from your lawyer or sugarcoat it.
Don't wait to take needed action until the last minute. If you deprive a lawyer of nights or weekends because of your tardiness, you'll be disfavored. Also, your legal bills will be lower when you are responsive because the lawyer won't have to spend time getting reoriented with dormant matters.
Make decisions without foot dragging. Almost all options have pros and cons, so accept that the perfect option might not exist. Also, the number of options tends to decrease over time, so you will have a wider range of options if you decide earlier.
Engage mentally with the lawyer.
Some clients think they know it all, so they don't absorb the legal advice they need to understand. Many good lawyers will eventually fire a client who consistently refuses to listen to legal advice or consistently disregards it.
A good lawyer will often put deep thought into what may seem to be a few simple points of advice. Realize that such advice often is the most valuable part of a lawyer's services.
Speak up if you don't fully comprehend what the lawyer is saying.
Don't let your desire to keep the bill down stop you from authorizing a legal services expenditure that might create greater value. Of course, it's fair to scrutinize potential value.
Don't take legal steps behind your lawyer's back. A good lawyer strives to get to the goal quickly but without inappropriate risk.
Don't treat your lawyer like a necessary evil. No one likes his professionalism to be met with contempt.
None of this advice means you must surrender control to your lawyer, or that any lawyer is justified in being a prima donna.
A good lawyer knows that he gives only advice and that legal decisions are ultimately business or personal decisions to be made by the client. You just want such a lawyer to make your legal needs the top priority when the inbox is full and vacation is just a few days away.
John B. Farmer is a lawyer with the Leading-Edge Law Group PLC, which specializes in intellectual property and e-commerce law. He can be reached via www.leadingedgelaw.com.
Leading-Edge Law Group PLC. All rights reserved.
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