Meeting and Exceeding Your Legal Clients' Expectations

Clients expect lawyers to do six things:
 

• Understand what the client wants to do.
• Explain what is needed from the client.
• Determine the role each lawyer will fill.
• Estimate a timetable, fees, and costs.
• Adjust unrealistic client expectations.
• Determine special handling procedures.

Understand what the client wants to do.


Elementary, you say? Admittedly — yet this is exactly where the first, most haphazard, and most devastating assumption is most often made. A frequently heard client complaint is that the lawyer did not understand what needed to be done in the first place, "He never understood the problem! No wonder he could not hope to get me out of it." Coupled with this complaint is the oft-heard remark that: "My lawyer never even told me of that alternative. I only learned from Terry at a dinner party that I could. . . ." Both of these examples illustrate the danger of assumptions. Lawyers must ascertain what the client wants and establish the ground rules for the engagement. Some lawyers are so consumed by the desire to impress a new client with their achievements for others that they neglect to realize that the client wants to know what they can do for them — and now. These lawyers not only assume that they know what the client wants, but also fail to listen to the client's actual goal or problem. Their war stories are just cocktail talk, and they miss the opportunity to discuss their experience and expertise in the context of the client's problem.

You must determine where you are going before you begin: what does the client want to accomplish? Though you may not yet have direct client contact, it is imperative that you understand how your assignment fits into the supervising attorney's workplan to reach that client's goal. Experienced lawyers recognize that their clients value their judgment as well as their legal skills. Indeed, that judgment is a crucial resource to clients: it assists them in examining and clarifying the practical aspects of a goal that may dominate the legal issues. It also allows some clients to recognize and resolve problems that they have not otherwise seen. To tap this resource, however, you must know what the client wants to accomplish.

What the client really wants to accomplish is often not easily determined. The lawyer must pay close attention to how the client expresses his or her desires and needs. In some instances, the client will accurately identify problems. A lawyer will most often find this happy circumstance when dealing with the client's corporate law department attorneys, who are sophisticated consumers of your firm's legal services. Non-lawyer clients, however, may not communicate precisely or neatly frame their objectives for the lawyer. Clients often do not separate or accurately label their thoughts. Instead, some clients may express a desired result, a strategy or means to achieve a result, a short or long range plan, or a combination of all of these. Others think aloud and express their thoughts as conclusions or directives, while still others use legal jargon incorrectly to state objectives. Some clients state what they believe will achieve the objective, while they re-main completely unaware of other available means for achieving that goal. Two possible situations are likely if a lawyer is instantly ready to "gather the facts": the lawyer has either accepted what the client has said without analysis or has decided what the client should want instead of listening to what the client is saying.

Lawyers must also ask questions to figure out what clients want to accomplish. If clients say what they wanted or otherwise expresses a solution or action, but does not offer an objective, careful lawyers back up and determine exactly what that client really wants to do. They ask questions and restate the responses elicited to clarify the objective. These questions are tools used to refine the client's concerns, to clarify why the client has emphasized certain facts, and to determine whether what the client is saying is what is really meant: Is there more than one way to interpret what the client is saying? This process ensures that the lawyer will understand what the client means and will also prompt the client to elaborate upon, clarify, or rethink answers. Concerns, facts, and the overall goal are revealed in the process. When this is not done, formidable problems can occur.

CONSIDER:

The client, a computer entrepreneur, asked the company's regular outside lawyer to draft employment contracts for several executives. The client stated that a four-year contract with a "noncompete" provision was all that was necessary. The client did not offer any additional information except that the contracts should be ready for signing within a week. Before this conversation, the client had never mentioned the subject of employment contracts or expressed concerns about retaining key employees. The lawyer conducted a brief inquiry that focused only upon a few substantive issues in addition to dates, times, places, and names. Based on the client's responses to these questions, the lawyer prepared and timely sent the employment contracts to the client.

Actual result:

Each executive reacted to the noncompetition provisions with disbelief and refused to enter into the contract.

What went wrong?

Did the lawyer ever find out the client's concern or objective? Did the client give the lawyer any basis for understanding the problem that the client hoped to "solve"? No. The client simply had directed the lawyer to take an action the client thought would solve an undisclosed concern. The client's ambiguous and sketchy responses to the few questions asked should have alerted the lawyer to the potential prematurity of this "plan." The lawyer had inadequate information to assess whether an employment contract and noncom-petition provision was an appropriate solution. To

avoid this problem, the lawyer should have clarified the client's objective. Here, the lawyer did not under-stand the client's concern: that if its new, valuable technology were disclosed to competitors, the company would lose its competitive advantage. The client was seeking to protect the company's proprietary in-formation and not to prevent an individual from joining a competitor. The technology had been developed by a consortium of outside consultants and it was unlikely that an individual executive could immediately hurt the company's business without this technology.

What should the lawyer have done?

What are some questions the lawyer could have asked to understand what the client really wanted to accomplish? Here are some suggestions.
 

• Why do you want employment contracts for executives who have already been on board for a couple of years?
• Are you happy with the performance of these executives?
• How valuable are they to the company?
• Are they loyal?
• Is morale good?
• Do you want to change the compensation arrangements?
• Have you discussed with them the possibility of employment contracts?
• Are you concerned that they will compete with you?
• What are your goals for the company over the next few years?

In this case, the client's responses would have prompted the lawyer to evaluate and discuss a nondisclosure agreement as a solution. Why didn't the client simply present the lawyer with the problem and ask the lawyer to suggest an appropriate solution? There are probably a variety of reasons. This client wanted every idea acted upon yesterday. By the time he called his lawyer, he was impatient for action and believed he knew what that action should be. The first solution that popped into his head was a legal buzzword, "noncompete," and a common legal housing for that provision was the employment contract. Perhaps colleagues on the golf course had mentioned the need for employment contracts in their companies and this client seized on their solution out of context and attached it to his problem. Probably this client would have been receptive to questions, but would not have thought to initiate a discussion to flesh out his objective.

Some clients may not be receptive to open ended questions, believing they already know what they want and only need legal assistance to draft documentation. In such a situation, the lawyer can begin with narrow questions to guide the client into recognizing that there are more decisions to be made first. For example, the lawyer might ask, "How did you handle. . . .?"

The point is that the lawyer should double check the client's solution. Remember, if the client becomes dissatisfied with his earlier solution, he will not hesitate to ask the lawyer why he did not tell him about alternatives; nor will the client hesitate to tell friends that the lawyer was not very good. The client will have to live with the legal effect and the lawyer may have to live without new business from the client or referrals. When the objective is understood by lawyer and client alike, however, the likelihood of a good outcome is increased.

CONSIDER:

A client calls and asks the partner to begin foreclosure proceedings against a tenant of a large warehouse the client owns. The partner delegates this assignment to an associate but first directs the associate to find out whether litigation is the best solution for the client.

What went right?

The client expressed a request in terms of a solution, rather than presenting the partner with the problem. The associate knows that the tenant has occupied the premises for at least two years because the associate had previously drafted the lease agreement for the warehouse. To determine whether litigation is the best solution, what questions would you ask the client?

Here the associate covered the following:
 

• Whether the leasing arrangement with the tenant has been satisfactory over the past two years.
• How many payments the tenant has missed.
• How many late payments the tenant has made.
• What has caused the tenant's financial problems and the extent to which they are being resolved.
• How easy it would be to get another tenant.

The associate learned that the tenant recently suffered some financial problems because of overestimating inventory for the summer season. Although the tenant has tried to come current on lease payments, the tenant is still two months behind. Before this inventory problem, the client had paid promptly. The tenant has maintained the property in excellent repair. Warehouse vacancies in the area are high and the client is concerned about having cash flow difficulties from meeting debt service on the property during the period it would probably be vacant until another suitable tenant is located. Before encountering difficulties, the tenant had indicated a desire to exercise an option to renew the lease and to negotiate a second option; the client had been willing to enter into such an arrangement.

What alternatives would you encourage the client to explore before deciding what to do?

Here, by refraining from blindly obeying the client's original directive, the attorney discovered the client's unstated concern — cash flow and a new lease agreement — and objective — protecting his immediate interests. The associate absorbed this information and said, "From what you've just told me, it appears you are really concerned with securing a steady stream of income from the property to cover your debt service. Do you really want to get rid of this tenant if we can arrange a workout?" By asking questions first, the associate was able to guide the client to focus on the real objective — securing an uninterrupted cash flow from the property — and then to consider an alternative solution to protect his immediate interests. The associate and client arranged for the tenant to pay a reduced rent that would cover the client's debt service, to escalate rent in the tenant's option year, and to renegotiate the option.

APPLYING THIS EXPECTATION TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Find out how your assignment fits into the supervising attorney's strategy to accomplish the client's objective.

Ask yourself:
 

• How does my assignment fit into the client's overall objective?
• Do I understand the client's definition of a "win?"
• What are the client's priorities and concerns?
• Do I know the supervising attorney's strategy as it affects my assignment?

Explain what is needed from the client

While a client has a duty to cooperate, it is up to the lawyer to inform that client in a timely manner of what is needed and expected. For example, to save time in analyzing a tax litigation case, the lawyer might ask the client to organize receipts, records, and other written material by certain classifications. Some other outside advisors do this routinely. In working with a new client, CPAs educate the client on record keeping as a matter of course, to make their staffs efforts more efficient. When requesting such information or documents, explain why it is necessary or helpful, if its relevance is not readily apparent to the client. Give the client deadlines to avoid any misunderstanding on when the requested information is needed and expected. Also consider presenting clients with the option of obtaining data that lawyers and staff could gather less cost-effectively than the client. Send a letter confirming what the client has been requested (and has committed) to do and when you expect the task to be completed. Depending on the circumstances and the time frame, you may also want to calendar a date by which you should follow up on the client's progress.

Sometimes lawyers advise clients to wait until the lawyers have taken an action or checked on something before going ahead with a plan. Some lawyers, however, will instruct a client cryptically, "Don't do anything until you hear from me." Such a directive, if not coupled with an estimate of when the client will hear from the counselor, is often impractical from the client's perspective. The client's business continues and the client may have to make decisions that affect, or will be affected by, the situation the lawyer is handling. This type of directive also has the effect of excluding the client from the process; the lawyer may have lost sight of who is the principal and who is the agent. Clients expect at least an estimate of when they will hear from the lawyer and — absent an explanation of what the client can do, should not do and why — the client may ignore the instruction. These negative directives are confusing, uninformative, and provide no basis from which the client can judge whether an action taken during the interim will be innocuous or harmful.

APPLYING THIS EXPECTATION TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Determine and communicate clearly to the supervising attorney, or client (if appropriate):
 

• What you need from the client or other source. Why you need it. When you need it.
• Calendar your follow-up date.
• Follow up on progress, receipt.

Specify which role the lawyer will play

Clients often have definite ideas about the role they want their lawyers to play in an engagement. Therefore, the lead attorney must discuss and determine the role(s) and style that counsel are to assume. The roles vary from case to case and may even change during the course of a single transaction or case. How the lead attorney determines the team's roles and style is similar to how he or she figures out the client's objective. Knowledge of the client's business and operating style, gained from either the client or members of the firm, is crucial to accurately assessing that client's expectation of the lawyers' role.

One thing is certain: the client does not expect the lawyers to be disinterested referees in the process. In addition to giving legal advice, supervising attorneys and associates often play the following roles:

Sounding Board Quarterback Coordinator Educator Stress Manager Litigator General Counsel The originating or responsible attorney may also serve the client in the capacity of a "liaison partner."

A client may call upon a lawyer to brainstorm, analyze, and investigate ideas that are still in an early stage. For example, a large grocery chain makes the services of a trauma team available to its store employees who were in the store during a robbery and murder. Management is considering extension of this service to customers who were also present. The executive vice president decides to brainstorm with counsel before looking into the idea further. Counsel investigates how some other corporations faced with similar situations have handled them and then discusses pros and cons and potential liability is-sues and damages exposure with the client.

Quarterback

Occasionally, clients present a situation and expect it to be handled with a minimum of their own involvement. The client expects the lawyer to understand the objective, figure out an appropriate course of action, map out a strategy to reach that objective, and obtain the result. The lawyer must be careful to read this expectation correctly because other clients expect to be involved in some or all of the above steps and will be dissatisfied if the lawyer presumes this to be his or her role exclusively.

Attorneys may be expected to guide and coordinate client participation and actions. In litigation, attorneys coordinate as well as direct clients' activities surrounding discovery requests. This role, of course, is not limited to coordination in layman's terms. The lawyer does not say to the client, "Give me everything you have on this particular issue that is relevant." The lawyer asks for files and determines what is relevant. In instructing the client to answer interrogatories, the lawyer does not merely transmit the other side's interrogatories without instructions in a cover letter. Instead, the lawyer's instructions, depending on the situation, may go something like, "I need you to sketch out answers to interrogatories 6 through 10, 16, 18, and 22; please send your answers to us by. . . ." Or, "I will call in the next five days for your answers. Then I will incorporate your answers and send your responses to the interrogatories to you for review." This role often is conducted in tandem with the role of educator. It is up to the lawyers not only to inform the client of their expectations but also to clarify or explain them in a timely manner. In this example, the lawyer would explain to the client that the answers to these interrogatories are required by law and that the lawyer already has the information to draft answers to those interrogatories that are not listed.

On the business or transactional side of the practice, an attorney must often coordinate various activities of third parties as well as those within the firm to complete and formalize a business deal, even though certain responsibilities for negotiation rest with the client and other advisors. For example, in a complex combination of several existing partnerships coordination involves accounting, valuation, engineering, and economic analyses that must be integrated and made a part of the contract for the client to close the deal on time. Obviously, an attorney's function here extends beyond pure legal advice.

Educator

A lawyer's role as educator includes two aspects. First, lawyers can assist the client in understanding the ramifications of alternatives and recommended action. In this role, the lawyer enables a client to make a more informed decision. The role of "assault team member'' (see "Litigator" below) sometimes evolves into that of an educator. The attorney may decide that there are more effective approaches for attaining the client's ultimate goal and, therefore, undertakes to educate the client to consider these alternatives to reach the result.

Second, an attorney can prepare the client to handle the same or similar circumstances in the future by making the client familiar and comfortable with the legal aspects of recurring situations. For example, you can prepare or review standard forms, or train an employee to handle anticipated events such as documenting routine corporate actions. You may also use newsletters or an in-house seminar to update a client on procedures that need to be changed because of new laws or agency regulations.

In most instances, a client appreciates the education and the opportunity to become self-sufficient to handle recurring situations without calling the lawyer each time. Acting in the role of educator can be a process for weaning the client from dependence upon the attorney. This approach, however, often generates increased respect for the attorney's expertise and economic sense and can prompt the client to use the attorney more often in developing plans and procedures.

Stress Manager

Do not misunderstand this role as "the lawyer as nanny." Admittedly, a client may choose an attorney partly to eliminate stress and to manage potentially troublesome pressures on the client's own time, resources, or patience. In the litigation process, attorneys "take the heat" from opposing counsel, and, in fact, deflect the more unpleasant aspects of litigation from the client (onto the attorney). A client may want the attorney to reinforce its positions in unpopular situations or transactions. For example, when the employee relations department of a company is dissatisfied with house counsel's opinion that sets forth certain steps that should be taken before terminating an employee, the company's law department engages outside counsel to give a presentation to the employee relations department that reinforces the law department's advice.

Litigator

A lawyer's role as litigator can take on a range of tones and approaches, depending on what the client wants: What is a "win" to that client? Litigation often affects other areas of a client's business and cannot be viewed as an isolated occurrence. Priorities in exploring alternative dispute resolution or in pursuing litigation vary among clients and as a case progresses. For example, a client may want to settle quickly to remove the specter of contingent liability before undertaking a transaction. Or, the client may want to resume or continue a relationship with the other side but teach a lesson at the same time. The latter situation would dictate a restrained tone; a different approach would be required if the client insisted that its adversary's case was without merit. Clarifying the role, in turn, lays the groundwork for assessing strategy in managing the litigation: what should and should not be done.

Frequently the firm team is called upon to be a member of "the A team." Its function as a member of the client's "assault team" is often to act as an enforcer or a "hired gun." When lawyers are placed in this role, the client expects aggressive representation because he or she is firmly committed to litigation. Clients often articulate such a plan of action with a variation of "I want you to fight this," or "I want this guy off my back.

I'm tired of being pushed around, so let's fight back." Be alert, however, to any change in the client's attitude toward an adversary. A client's situation is fluid, not static. Some time after a client has directed that a pleading be filed, the intensity of emotion may have lessened. Or, a business opportunity may have arisen — with the adversary! As the supervising attorney makes adjustments in tone and strategy, do not be surprised if you are instructed to adjust your style or tactics accordingly.
Sometimes the supervising attorney may determine that the client's objective is inappropriate. A client may have an unrealistic or naive view of the probability of a "win" in light of the case's lack of merit or he may misunderstand the lawyer's function. The lawyer may be faced with a situation requiring delicate handling: let the client blow off steam until he or she is ready to deal with the facts and the cost of company time. The lawyers may need to immediately expand their roles to include the functions of educator-counselors to explain why the particular suit appears to be a good candidate for early resolution, while they continue to represent the client aggressively. One client recently remarked of his lawyer, "Our lawyer is outstanding; he tells us when it is more cost-effective not to pursue a legalistic solution." It is also essential to keep the client advised of progress and status so that the client may reassess objectives and strategy at regular intervals. Of course, if the lawyer determines through reasonable inquiry that a client's claim or defense is frivolous, the lawyer would be subject to sanctions were he or she to proceed. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11.

CONSIDER:

In a custody modification action, the client proposes joint custody to the former spouse. Initially, the spouse appears receptive. A week later, the client abruptly informs the lawyer that joint custody is not really important; he wants to go to court to "run her through the mill." The lawyer explains that the purpose of the modification statute is to protect the best interest of the child. The lawyer refuses to pursue the action simply for the client to gouge the custodial parent. The lawyer withdraws.

General Counsel

Often a client, without a developed legal department, wants an attorney to monitor the client's ongoing operations and advise it about the legal aspects. This may include fielding questions or complaints or providing legal guidance in everyday matters. In general, clients also expect attorneys to keep abreast of current legal developments and advise them of matters that affect them personally or professionally. Accessibility is a primary expectation of a client who wants this type of service.

Liaison Partner

Some clients expect the attorney who originated the business to remain in touch with the progress of a matter even if another lawyer is handling the day-to-day work or is the lead attorney and formulates overall strategy. This liaison role provides the client with an emergency lever to correct any problem that the client would be uncomfortable discussing with the lawyer actually handling the matter, he fill this role effectively, a liaison partner must be accessible and have the power internally to facilitate changes in personnel or in strategy as needed to maintain client satisfaction. The originating partner must also stay in touch with the lawyers who are handling the client's work. Accounting firms commonly assign an account manager whose responsibility is to stay in touch with a client. The liaison partner is also well positioned to recognize and respond to opportunities to cross-sell the firm's services.

APPLYING THIS EXPECTATION TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Understand for each matter:
 

• The supervising attorney's role and responsibilities.
• Your role
• Your responsibilities Your authority Your accountability
• The client's (and staff's) role and responsibilities.

Give an estimate of the costs and a timetable

Most clients want to know how long their legal work will take and how much it will cost. The days of proclaiming, "I'll do them a good job at a fair price" no longer exist. Sophisticated clients and those with legal departments expect lawyers to estimate the time and cost required to reach the objective or solve the problem. Increasingly, corporate clients and outside counsel spend time at the outset to reduce estimates to budgets that project partner, associate, and legal assistant rates and the time needed to produce the most cost-effective allocation.

Time Estimates

Clients usually have a belief, an expectation, or a requirement for the amount of time in which the legal services should be performed and the objective reached. Absent a discussion about how long an assignment or a matter will take to complete, the client and lawyer may hold vastly different perceptions.

The lawyer's understanding of the client's objectives, motivation, priorities, and other plans that are affected by the matter, is critical in structuring a workable timetable and action plan. When communicating a time estimate, the lawyer should realize that a client may rely upon it. The lawyer can also assume that the client may become dissatisfied with the lawyer's service if dates are missed without explanation, even though the legal work was of high quality. A lawyer is well advised to educate the client about the components of a timeline that are dictated by technical legal requirements or that may change if certain complications occur. Then, if a problem arises, the lawyer can refer back to those earlier discussions and explain the revision to the estimate. Without communication about the process, a client may be surprised to learn that "delays" have occurred and assign blame to the lawyer. For example, when making a settlement offer to a government agency, consider that its normal processing time may be substantially greater than that encountered with another private party. Explain that to the client.

CONSIDER:

The client informs the lawyer that he needs an answer by the middle of the day. Based upon factors he outlines, the client asks the lawyer whether there is an unacceptable risk in his plan to acquire a business.

The lawyer conducts research, confers with another lawyer, and advises the client against the acquisition if the client's only alternatives are to undertake it immediately or to forego it. He explains the risk that the client would inherit two liabilities upon acquisition of the company, and advises that this legal risk is too high based on the limited information the client possesses. He continues his assessment by saying that there might be a way to reduce the risk or the liabilities to an acceptable level if a few more days were available.

The lawyer outlines the strategy to gather necessary information to structure negotiations to reduce the risk, and a timetable for the next week to implement the strategy. With this understanding of the risk, the lawyer's strategy, and the timetable, the client reconsiders his timing objective and concludes that the acquisition would still make sense if delayed a week.

Fees and Costs

Many clients want the lawyer to initiate a discussion of how much their legal services will cost and they want a better idea of price than a range of hourly rates. Clients increasingly expect lawyers to estimate fees and expenses. Some clients assume that a fee estimate represents a maximum amount unless the lawyer clearly indicates otherwise.

In monitoring the work performed on a matter, the lawyer may anticipate that an estimate will be exceeded. If so, prompt communication allows the lawyer and client to reassess the course of action. Conversely, the lawyer's failure to prepare the client for a bill that exceeds the estimate results in a client who is surprised and dissatisfied even though the services were reasonable and appropriate.

A fee agreement or engagement letter defines the initial expectations of the client and serves as the basis for the attorney's work. It is usually the first written communication between the attorney and client. Ideally it addresses the lawyer's understanding of the client's objective, the scope (and limits) of representation and work that the lawyer is committed to perform, and includes a fee arrangement. The fee letter should cover items the client wants to know and discuss, such as the billing schedule, a laundry list of expenses for which the client will be charged (and may have otherwise assumed were part of the firm's overhead) and how they will be handled, who else may work on the matter, their rates, the average rate, or the blended rate (if the matter is priced on the basis of hourly rates rather than billed at a fixed price). If the client has agreed to assume certain responsibilities, it may be appropriate to include them in the agreement. If, however, the agreement is vague on a point or "ground rule," the client or attorney may later cite it in support of an assumption or intention.

CONSIDER:
 

• A new client is forming a mortgage company. He and his partner want to budget attorneys' fees into their pro forma for the start up expenses in their business plan. They ask for an estimate of fees to expect for advice on "routine" questions that will come up during the creation and early months of operation, as separate from the fees for preparation of the documents and filings.
• A client asks for a fee estimate for drafting private placement offering documents and the formation of a limited partnership. The securities lawyer prepares an estimate after conferring with the tax department to obtain their cost estimate for a tax opinion based on the lawyer's understanding of the deal. The lawyer advises that, if the client changes the deal, the fee may change to reflect the new factors.

APPLYING THIS EXPECTATION TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Adhere to deadlines.

Estimate carefully timetables you are asked to prepare. The client and supervising attorney will rely on them.

Anticipate and promptly communicate to the supervising attorney proposed changes in your estimated timetable or
increases in hours needed to complete your assignment.

Develop a sense of the range of fees and expenses for types of matters in which you are involved.

Discuss and adjust the client’s unrealistic expectations

The process of listening to and then questioning a client also assists the lawyer in discovering any unrealistic expectations the client may have about the lawyer's role and responsibilities or his power to achieve an objective. The client may believe, for example, that the lawyer can "make the IRS go away." Or, in a litigation context, a client may believe that as soon as he engages a lawyer or "dumps the problem onto the lawyer's lap," he can relax; the case becomes the lawyer's problem. It is up to the lawyer to educate that type of client about his or her continuing involvement in the case. It may be important for the lawyer to discuss the relative costs that will be incurred if the lawyer performs "footwork" that the client could as readily do.

A client often arrives at the lawyer's office believing that the case is airtight; an outcome of less than total victory is unthinkable. If the final result does not meet that expectation, the client will be frustrated and irritated with or disappointed in the lawyer. The lawyer must be alert to recognize a client's potentially unrealistic beliefs and educate the client about various factors that may work against his position. Similarly, the lawyer must guard against creating an unrealistic expectation by giving the client an overly optimistic assessment of the case. If the lawyer's prediction proves to be wrong, it could result in a call to the grievance committee or damaging grumbling on the street.

A client's unrealistic expectations may stem from a lack of familiarity with litigation rules or processes. A client company involved in litigation in an unfamiliar jurisdiction may erroneously assume that certain favorable rules apply or that the case will come to trial within a short period of time. For example, a client may request that his lawyer file a suit immediately. The lawyer may determine that there is no immediate statute of limitations pressure that precludes reason-able inquiry into the merit of the claim before filing. It is the lawyer's role to explain to the client why the lawyer has an ethical obligation to investigate a key witness before he will draft and file a complaint.

For another example, a client believes that the lawyer will recommend an appropriate insurance product to fund a buy-sell agreement that he and his partners want to create. This is an unrealistic expectation of what the lawyer is going to do in a planning context. The lawyer can, however, correct this misunderstanding by telling the client that she will suggest some insurance brokers for the client to contact to locate a competitive product for this need and then will review the proposals and illustrations prepared by those brokers.

A client may also have an unrealistic expectation of his or her regular lawyer when the client is acting in a capacity other than that of client. Suppose a real estate broker, who is also a regular client, is working with a seller. The broker wants to "send" the seller over to the lawyer's office to "get a letter to put in the file that says. . . ." The lawyer cannot permit the broker to direct his or her professional judgment in rendering an opinion. The lawyer, therefore, makes that clear to the broker. Then if the broker decides to recommend that the seller go to that lawyer, the lawyer can make an independent business decision as to whether to render legal services to the seller. See Model Rules of Profes-sional Conduct, Rules 2.3 and 5.4 (Proposed Final Draft 1981).

Report to the supervising attorney any unrealistic expectations or misunderstandings you find that a client has about:
 

• Responsibilities
• Assessment of probable result
• Cost
• Timetable
• Process

Know how and when to determine special handling procedure

Special handling procedures or instructions frequently govern areas such as communication channels, correspondence, billing format and detail, reimbursable expenses, review, format for written reports, use of client staff, and so forth. During the engagement process the lead lawyer should find out from and discuss with the client any expectations as to procedural rules to be followed by the firm members in performing that client's legal work. Some clients with law departments have formulated detailed written procedures that create a framework or structure for the relationship. Occasionally a client wants some procedures that may be unworkable. By discussing what the client wants or needs, the lawyer and the client can begin to design workable solutions to fulfill those needs.

CONSIDER:

A client company specifies that outside counsel is expected to provide 60 days notice of trial settings. The local court rules in the jurisdiction governing the case, however, give only 30 days notice. After explaining the local rule, the outside lawyer and the client work out another reporting arrangement that satisfies the client's concern that trial strategy and negotiating positions be reviewed and managed properly.

A lawyer who is unfamiliar with the client's operations may find certain procedures unimportant or arbitrary. Be assured, however, that they are important to the client and, if disregarded, will become a source of great irritation.

CONSIDER:

Several weeks before the next statement for professional services was due, the client's chief financial officer mentioned to an attorney who was not the billing partner that he wanted only a composite entry to appear on the bill for preparation of a work product. He explained that it was too time consuming for the department to sort and process large numbers of entries relating to preparation of a group of documents. Upon receiving and reviewing the statement a few weeks later, he was annoyed to see separate entries for successive drafts of documentation. He telephoned the billing partner to complain and learned that his request was news to the partner.

APPLYING THIS EXPECTATION TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Find out whether any special handling procedures govern your:
 

• Communication channels
• Correspondence
• Time reporting increments, descriptions
• Expenses
• Status Reports