Even the best lawyers need their clients’ help to ensure that a representation has the best outcome possible. For instance, clients often need to sign documents, review materials, provide discovery responses, and engage in other tasks associated with a representation. Sometimes, it can be difficult to get clients to complete such tasks, and it can be frustrating since this can create more work and stress for lawyers. However, attorneys should recognize that clients are busy running their businesses or otherwise living their lives, and clients have limited bandwidth to complete tasks for counsel.
Earlier in my career, I worked for a client that hired a few different lawyers to handle a portfolio of legal work. I was more of the client’s outside general counsel, and other lawyers completed more specialized tasks for him. One time, while working for this client, another attorney needed the client to forward him discovery materials that would form the basis for discovery responses that needed to be sent out by a given deadline.
The client was extremely busy running his business, and securing discovery responses was just about the last thing on his to-do list. As a result, the client delayed sending the requested materials until the last minute. This lawyer ended up sending increasingly erratic and somewhat rude messages to the client, trying to get the client to complete tasks on time. I am not sure this approach worked, and this only solidified my own relationship with the client since I did not treat him that way.
Lawyers can do only a few things in order to assist clients in completing tasks given the low amount of bandwidth clients might have for legal matters. One strategy is to visit a client’s office in person. Clients are far less likely to avoid a lawyer if the lawyer comes to the client’s office, and it is usually easier for a lawyer and client to work together to complete a task when they are in the same room.
Of course, it can be time-intensive for lawyers to visit a client’s office, and this might not be feasible in every circumstance. I once had a client I visited every quarter since I could not get tasks completed without visiting the client in person. Since the client’s office was in a hard-to-reach part of the area, each trip usually took half a day, and it was difficult to bill for all of the time spent traveling to and from the client’s office. However, this was a solid way to manage tasks for that particular client.
If lawyers make it easier for clients to complete tasks, this also ensures that they can respond favorably with the limited bandwidth they have for such matters. For instance, I routinely send documents to clients to sign electronically since it is far more likely that a client will execute a document electronically than if they need to print out the document, sign it, and scan a copy of the signed document back to me. Also, one of the jurisdictions in which I practice recently permitted parties to affirm matters to be true rather than require notarizations in most circumstances. I immediately switch to affirmations to save my clients trips to a notary to have documents notarized. However, I am amazed at how many lawyers still ask that clients notarize court papers even though the rules were explicitly changed, and it is far more difficult to do this.
All told, lawyers should keep in mind that even though we deal with legal matters all day, clients usually have limited time to handle legal matters. However, lawyers can accommodate clients so that legal tasks can be completed notwithstanding this limited bandwidth.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothman.law.
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