As lawyers, we are often amazed at how we are perceived by our clients and the public generally. We hear jokes about lawyers’ greed and lack of ethics. We cringe because the stereotype doesn’t fit.
I don’t know about you, but I wonder as I write this how such a strong and persistent stereotype developed and sustained itself. The lawyers I know work hard to serve their clients well while respecting the ethical matters that arise in the course of representation.
For this reason, I believe that much of the negative impression of lawyers stems from the fact that the general public does not know what we do or how we do it. In most cases, they don’t have any experience or any context for understanding the value of a lawyer’s education and experience.
So, how do we help clients to better understand the value offered by lawyers and how best to maximize that value for their money? We can communicate some key elements of our profession and expectations of a relationship with a lawyer.
Our Profession
Each person we encounter has some opinion of “lawyers” as a generic class based on personal experience, the media or other sources. Most, though, do not have an understanding of our profession and how our training prepares us to serve them.
I remember a KCBA Solo Section meeting where media coach Lorraine Howell of Media Skills Training discussed the “elevator pitch:” How do you answer when someone asks, “What do you do?” Most of us start with, “I’m a lawyer …”
Howell’s response was that as soon as the word “lawyer” comes out, people stop listening as they already know what lawyers do — they watch “Law and Order.” To a lawyer, this concept may be counterintuitive as we recognize the diversity in our profession and that transactional lawyers differ from litigators and family lawyers differ from real estate lawyers who differ from personal injury lawyers.
We recognize that training and experience drive differences among legal professionals — our clients may not. For this reason, it is important for us to spend a little time with clients discussing how we provide value in an attorney-client relationship.
Early communications with clients should include a conversation about how to maximize the value of our relationship. Many clients believe that the legal research and legwork they’ve performed prior to coming in the door will increase efficiency and they don’t understand why that is not the case.
A recent prospective client arrived with really “good, solid documents” he wanted to use for a funding transaction. Because, in his opinion, these documents came from a trusted source, the cost of creating the investment package should be lower. I carefully explained that regardless of how “good” the documents were, I must review them in light of my experience and knowledge and recommend changes where necessary. The cost of this work balanced against drafting the documents myself, using my own library and experience, would probably be equal. This analysis of the process of how we work made sense to the client.
In a similar scenario, a prospective client arrived with a 65-page lease and was surprised when informed that it would take two to three hours of time and cost in the ballpark of $500. In both situations, I found the appropriate answer was to walk the client through the process of how we, as lawyers, and I, more specifically, need to approach the project.
First, I need to review the documents, again, in light of my education and experience. It’s also important to note that I need to read every page of the documents. If I don’t read every page, the client and I are exposed to the liability that something might be missed. I also pointed out that every transaction is different and, although many parts of documents appear to be “boilerplate,” the “boilerplate” changes from transaction to transaction based on the facts and circumstances.
After reviewing the documents in light of the facts and circumstances and the legal implications, we must communicate our opinions to the client and discuss the pros and cons of various strategies with the client. Finally, we will incorporate any changes into the documents for the client. I wrapped up with, “two to three hours of time is not really a lot.” I could visibly see the client register this and understand how the process must work.
Sometimes walking a client through the steps of the transaction helps him or her gain a better grasp of what we as lawyers do, and that education and experience drive the value in the relationship.
Expectations of the Relationship
Each lawyer’s practice differs in intake, operations and billing activities. As lawyers, we know that unmet expectations often create the greatest liabilities. An engagement letter and discussion of your relationship with the client is a critical first step to setting expectations.
Billing practices are at the forefront in most clients’ minds when sitting in the attorney’s office. Specifically mention how short phone calls and emails will be billed and what expenses to expect. If you’ve had billing disputes with clients over specific practices, ensure you address these in your engagement letter and discussion with new clients.
In recent months, I’ve had a couple of clients complain about a small fee for legal services I provided them via an email exchange initiated by them. Despite the fact that they initiated contact with a legal question and were provided legal advice, they felt it was just a “quick question.” As I’ve run into this a few times, I discuss this with clients at engagement and have also implemented an internal process to deal with these types of requests.
Yet even when you explain to clients what your practice is, you are often not heard because the client feels intimidated and overwhelmed with the situation and being there in the first place. Encourage clients to ask questions and recognize that this might be a new experience for them.
I explicitly tell clients that they shouldn’t be surprised by a bill; and if they are, they should call me on it. Not only does this give them confidence to call, but lets me know where I’m failing to communicate.
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Many clients have little experience working with lawyers and no context as to what the relationship will bring. Recognizing this fact, the impetus is on us, as the lawyers, to set the expectations — to offer information to eliminate fears of cost and provide a roadmap with the steps necessary to handle their matter.
We all know that “Law and Order” doesn’t tell the whole story; it’s our job to share this insight with our clients.
Michelle Bomberger is the managing attorney at Equinox Business Law Group PLLC, a law firm working with business owners and entrepreneurs to accelerate the growth of their companies. She can be reached at 425-646-2360 or michelle@equinoxbusinesslaw.com.
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