Working Hard To Execute Against Your Client's Expectations

You might ask, as I did, what this statement mean?

I saw it written in a law firm office, no so much for the clients to see, but for the staff and attorneys to read.  I was told they took the wording from some brochure of a foreign bank doing business in the United States.  To the bank it probably had a different meaning or connotation that it did to the attorneys.  But, they though the meaning or connotation they attributed to it worked just fine to convey the message to everyone in the office.

So, what did it mean to the law firm?

It meant that since the law firm dealt with an intangible asset, the value of which is difficult for a client to ascertain at any one point in time, that it was not only bad policy to allow a client's expectations to get out of hand, but it was substantially worse not to work against those expectations.

I think this works for me and my practice as well because the problem is, ultimately, that many clients simple do not tell you of their wild imaginations.  They make assumptions that over time become goals, and then when these goals are later not met, due to no fault of your own, the clients are left comparing you and your work to their unfounded and unrealized expectations.

Lawyers, law firms and the the staff are beat over the head with the message of not guaranteeing any result.  That is improper.  But, what most lawyers and law firms fail to understand is they do not need to guarantee results for the client to hook their hopes and aspirations to the work undertaken.  There is a difference between saying nothing and confronting the client's expectations of you and your work.  If you provide no guidance then the expectations of your client will secretly and quietly fill in the void.  You have got to actively execute against each client's expectations unless you allow each client to anticipate results by your silence.  You do not want that to happen.

When, where and how do your clients acquire these expectations?  They get them from all sorts of places such a their friends, co-workers, and the screaming lawyer TV spots proclaiming the fortune achieved.  The need felt by many clients plays a big part.  Most clients do not look at the disclaimer that results may vary.

It is not safe to play on these expectations.  Believe me when I say, however, some attorneys do so and in the worse undesirable ways.  This makes your job much more difficult, but it also means you need to confront expectations early.

Years ago I decided to sign up a young man that had been in an auto accident.  He had some medical bills, and the auto accident was not his fault.  Most of it was made up of soft-tissue injuries and a few days lost work.  He lost his ten year old F-150 pickup in the accident.  I was relatively noncommittal about what my firm or I could do for the lad, but I told him that I would get on the case and do my best.  What I failed to do was ascertain what he felt he needed or wanted from the potential litigation so that I could work against his expectations. 

A few weeks later the young man barreled into my office demanding to be let out of his contract.  I explained what task we had completed already in working to get his case resolved.  He told me that he had been approached by another attorney who told him that if the young man changed lawyers that he "will make the insurance company put a brand spankin' new red dually in my front yard".

That was all it took.  Unlike me, the slimy lawyer who ignored the rules about running cases, ascertained the client's expectations and played with them in the worse possible way.  This is what this young boy had desired, and a lawyer took the time to figure it out.  None of the rest matter to the young man.  It also did not matter that the lawyer probably could not deliver on that expectation given the extent of the injury and losses, after attorneys' fees and costs, but that was for another day.  I tried to argue the matter with the boy for a while, but I got nowhere.  He just kept saying the other attorney will "make the insurance company put a brand spakin' new red dually in my front yard".  It was useless because I had already lost the expectations game.

I let the young man out of the contract not because I thought it was right, but who needs a mad client.  I will note that the attorney who ran the case was disbarred on another matter a few years later.  And, I hope the young mad got his brand spakin' new red dually in his front yard ... but I doubt it.

Could I have prevented this from happening?  I do not know for certain, but if I had taken the time to ascertain the client's expectations, then I could have executed against them.  I might have been able to explain and redirect the client's interest toward something more practical.

Life will be a lot easier on you as an attorney in the long run if you and everyone you work with works together to fight expectations from the time contact is made until the case is settled.  You will do well to work hard to execute against your client's expectations.

Comments

[Adam Schachter]

AMEN!

I think bankruptcy is well suited to at least making reasonable projections of how a case should go. But from day 1, and more than once in the consultation, and more than once during a case signing, my clients hear the following from me:

based on what you are telling me, and what we are presenting to the court, I have high hopes that your case will go smoothly. I can't, however, guarantee success--run away from any lawyer who guarantees success. I guarantee that we will work hard for you, that we will promptly return your calls and emails, and that we will do our best to take care of you. But there is always a chance that something can go wrong, and there's always a chance that the court/trustee/whomever will disagree with our opinion and that we may have a fight. If that speech frightens them, I remind them that the fights are unlikely, but remember they are still possible.

Another theme of your post is--REGULARLY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CLIENT!!! I wonder how many grievances are filed over a simple lack of communication? Clients are rarely calling to chat--they are worried with something. Don't ignore them b/c you have not done the work yet. You'll be surprised at the number of clients who are happy simply to hear you say (so long as you respond PROMPTLY, like the same day or no later than 24 hours after their call) "i'm running a bit behind, and i'm sorry, and you will have a response in the next few days. I am very grateful for your patience." It's worked (I think) 100% of the time for me.

/babbling

[Craig Niedenthal]

Another insightful post Chuck. With a new client I try and spend time playing down their expectations and trying to give them as much reality as possible. If things turn out better than expected, which many times they do, they are pleased. If they turn out like the worse case scenario, at least it was clear what they could expect. You really do need to spend that initial time trying to find out really what the client is looking for, otherwise come the time to try and resolve the case, you may have a very difficult time b/c you have a client with unrealistic expectations which can never be met.