Managing Client Expectations

By Client Communications Committee

The SFVBA established the Client Communications Committee to address the number one reason for client discontentneed for better communicationand reduce negative contacts with the State Bar. The Committee, a volunteer group of a dozen veteran practitioners in wide-ranging elds of law, answers written questions from attorney members regarding problems they observed or dealt with that may have been avoided by better attorneyclient communication. Responses are published anonymously in Valley Lawyer.
who Im defending in civil Q: My business clientsparticipating in all decisions. litigation insist on Theyre convinced our defense is dead bang and think my straight hourly fees are outrageous and call my ofce daily. Are they unreasonable, or what? in responses to A: Well try to squeezepublications. Forall of your do inquiries in future now, well our best to deal with your rst, critical point clients participation in all decisions. Clients often have their own preferences so the burden shifts to counsel to sufciently and efciently communicate with the client to realistically manage expectations. Clients who have owned and operated their own business for years know that the advocate who brings law to the party, will never know what they know about their business. Counsel needs to explain to them that rules, precedents, procedure and practice are not always black or white but rather are tools used by the court and counsel to achieve a result. When it comes to anyones expectations, reasonableness is always a factual determination. Thats why judges cant make the call in jury trials. Client participation in some circumstances may seriously handicap their attorneys ability to effectively advocate for them while in other circumstances may even be mandatory. Counsel needs to convince the client that both always have a common goal. American Bar Associations Rule 1.2, Allocation of Authority Comment [1], reminds us that clients have the ultimate authority to determine the purposes to be served by legal representation within the limits imposed by law and the lawyers professional obligations. Theres a wide gap between what (the end goals) and how (the means of attempting to achieve them). Clients facing civil defense may instruct counsel to give no quarter to their adversary. In that situation, attorneys should remind clients that the Los Angeles County Superior Court has rules for Litigation Conduct and Rule 7.12 (a) (3) commands: A lawyer should advise clients against the strategy of granting no time extensions for the sake of appearing tough; (b) (3) states: Papers should not be served in order to take advantage of an opponents known absence from the ofce or at a time or in a manner designed to inconvenience an adversary, such as late on Friday afternoon or the day preceding a secular or religious holiday. Other aspects of the Rules prohibit disparagement and mandate civility. Many courts have similar rules. Clients need to know that TV/ movie lawyers can do things real lawyers can seldom do. Its obvious that a lawyer making evidentiary objections in the middle of a jury trial cant consult with her client on
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its pros and cons. Thats easy to explain to a client, even if the client went to law school. It may be harder for a client to appreciate that even though a clients friend is very empathetic to the clients situation, the person may make a terrible witness or bring along baggage that the trial lawyers believes will harm the clients case. Still, its the trial lawyers job to explain such things to their clients before it becomes an issue. Its important that early on counsel impresses upon the client that she/he is working as diligently as possible to reach the clients desired outcome.
Written questions may be submitted to epost@sfvba.org or SFVBA Client Communications Committee, 21250 Califa Street, Ste. 113, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. The opinions of the Client Communications Committee are those of its members and not those of the Association.

NOVEMBER 2011

Valley Lawyer

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