Telling clients what to expect helps with their confidence in the process
The lawyer was finishing the client meeting. “We’re really pleased to be helping you with this, and I’m glad we all had the chance to meet you. Going forward your primary contact with the firm will be with _____, who will be taking lead. But rest assured that all of us are involved in case strategy, and if anything comes up along the way, anything at all, please feel free to reach out to me directly.”
Unconscious competence
Most clients arrive incompetent about the process. There are four levels of competence. Unconscious incompetence, where one does not know what one does not know. Conscious incompetence, where one knows what one does not know. Conscious competence, where one knows what one knows. And unconscious competence, where one’s knowledge becomes so ingrained one is unaware of the competence. Most potential clients are unconsciously incompetent about hiring a contingent fee lawyer and the legal process. Most (fortunately) never needed to before. One way to establish confidence in the process is to bring a new client from unconscious incompetence to conscious competence. This is not formal legal education. It does mean providing an initial road map and reinforcing that knowledge along the way.
Teaching people about the process helps them understand how the facts fit in as the case comes together. When one explains that a case sits on a tripod of liability, damages, and collectability, and one needs all three, it provides the opportunity to explain the component parts for each element. Explaining how economic damages and non-economic damages differ and how one can calculate economic damages with wage information and medical costs helps the clients understand why the firm is then asking for specific information. It also is a great opportunity to explain how challenging it is to determine case value at the outset. This dovetails directly into the most commonly asked initial question: “What is my case worth?” Our answer: “We don’t know and won’t be able to estimate that for a while, but we do know that based on what happened to you it is worth taking the matter on.”
Sue me
The legal process can be terrifying for some. Explaining how it works – that it is simply a formal process for gathering information and presenting it before a factfinder to decide the outcome if the parties are unable to reach a settlement – takes some of the sting out. Doing a brief overview of the complaint, discovery, depositions, mediation, and trial helps make these elements more digestible when they come to pass later on. It helps with client confidence (“Okay, now we’re at the point the lawyer told me about where they want answers to questions and a bunch of documents.”) Explaining how the best results come from a willingness to see the case through trial, even though most settle, gives the team an opportunity to question the client about their willingness to go to trial. A client unwilling to try a case can significantly hamper negotiating power. Similarly, asking directly about what a client wants from the case can help the team decide if it is an appropriate case for the team. Some clients want blood. Or they want a firm that will intentionally inflict pain, including on opposing counsel. Those clients are usually not good fits for many firms. They can be weeded out at this stage.
Team effort
In a referral-based world, many clients arrive at a firm expecting to work with one specific person: “I was told to ask for Pat Smith.” Most firms though have several different people that will work on a case. Explain the team members’ roles. This is best done with an old-school mailed letter – tell them to stick it on the refrigerator. It’s not the client’s job to remember everyone’s roles. It is the firm’s job to make it easy for the client. One should also explain how the team works together to achieve the best outcome for the client. This frequently means pairing the client with a point person, and that person frequently isn’t the original Pat Smith. If that’s happening, it needs to be explained and done smoothly. An example of where we’ve sometimes seen this fail is in our third-party construction cases where the clients have a workers’ compensation firm. These clients frequently complain that they talk to paralegals instead of lawyers, not realizing that the power and knowledge in workers’ compensations firm lies with the paralegals. When we’ve explained this to our third-party clients, their workers’ compensation relationship typically improves. But that wouldn’t be necessary if the workers’ compensation firm explained this at the outset.
Outro
Back to our lawyer. After the call the lawyer met with the team for a case strategy session. The lead lawyer presented an initial case plan. The team members offered their feedback, resulting in a final case plan. Everyone knew their part. The team headed off to execute and help make sure they’d get the best outcome possible for the client.
Bio:
Miles B. Cooper is a partner at Coopers LLP, where they help the seriously injured, people grieving the loss of loved ones, preventable disaster victims, and all bicyclists. Miles also consults on trial matters and associates in as trial counsel. He has served as lead counsel, co-counsel, second seat, and schlepper over his career, and is an American Board of Trial Advocates member.
