Identify Red Flags That Warn of Bad Clients
“Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.” ~ Franklin P. Jones
Every experienced lawyer has had at least one client that she wishes she never took on. Most of us have had quite a few. To stop repeating the same mistakes, make a list of all those undesirable clients. Think back on the initial conversations and meetings you had with them before you signed the engagement agreement. Were there any red flags that you ignored? What do those undesirable clients have in common with each other? Did they quibble over a retainer? Did they fail to bring requested documents to the first meeting? Were they wedded to victimhood? Were they unduly suspicious of you? Did their story seem to have holes in it? Did several of them come from the same referral source? Did you have an uncomfortable feeling about them that you just couldn’t nail down? Did their problem require you to do a lot of work that you don’t enjoy?
Write down whatever you noticed in your review, and keep the list handy. From now on, before you sign up a new client, take a moment to review that “Red Flag List,” and remember how you regretted ignoring it before. Turn mistakes into wisdom, by learning from them.
Post Date: December 15, 2011
Don’t Negotiate Like a Politician
Who knew that lawyers could find good advice about negotiating on behalf of their clients in The Costco Connection? In her article titled Attitude Shift, Rhonda Abrams warns business owners not to negotiate like today’s polarized and ineffective politicians. “Stop thinking of the other side as your opponent,” she advises.
When it comes to negotiation, clients often say that they want a tough lawyer. What they really want is a solution to their problem or the healing of an injury. Their strategy for obtaining that may involve hiring a tough lawyer. Read more
Post Date: November 8, 2011
The Proper Care and Feeding of Referral Sources
Because I work with a lot of different lawyers, people often contact me when they need to engage one. Sometimes a friend needs legal services, and I hear from them later about their satisfaction level with the services received. Often, however, a friend calls on behalf of the potential client. I give them contact info for a couple of appropriate lawyers, which they forward to the client. Usually I give the lawyers I recommend a heads up by email or voicemail…and that’s the last I hear of it.
Over the course of a couple of years, I referred 5 or 6 potential clients to one lawyer. I never even heard whether she got hired. When a new referral request came in, I had a little conversation in my head: “I wonder whether the previous referrals were good matches for her. In any event, she didn’t seem to particularly appreciate them. She never let me know what happened. Did she even say ‘thank you’? I think I’ll send this referral to someone else who will appreciate it.”
Not long after that, I ran into a coach friend. She said to me, “Did that lawyer I referred to you ever call you?” I told her that I had not heard from him. I realized, however, that she might be having a similar conversation in her head. What was I doing to keep my referral source in the loop and to convey my appreciation even for failed referral attempts? Read more
Post Date: October 7, 2011
What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You
I have had my business and personal accounts at the same bank for 16 years, but for over a year, I have been thinking of changing banks. In fact, I would have already moved my accounts if it weren’t such a hassle to transfer all those automatic payments. I had the intention to find a better bank one day.
What does my bank account have to do with your law practice? Read more
Post Date: March 8, 2011