Fundamental Problem between Attorneys and Clients

A fundamental problem always exists between attorneys and their clients. When I ask a client what my job is, their answer is to “keep them out of trouble.” However the answer is always given after the problem has all ready occurred. The client is in front of you, subpoena or summons in hand (or behind a glass partition on a phone) looking for help. Whether the client admits it or not, they are all ready in trouble.

First let’s look at the answer. Rarely if ever can one human being influence another to the point that they change their way of acting. You staying out of trouble, even in this intensely legal world is your job. I cannot do that. That requires you, to make a decision contrary to the one you are inclined or trained to make. To deal with the person properly or to not do something that creates a problem.

Frequency of course is always another issue. If you are frequently in trouble then the changes you need to make in your life or your business (which for most small businesses is one and the same) are drastic. It can be as simple as repairing or replacing a problem, however more likely than not it is changing the way your deal with customers in the outdoor recreation & fitness industries. See It’s Not Money.

Subsequently, if staying out of trouble is your job, it is my job to answer your questions to assist you in making the right decisions to “stay out of trouble.” Those questions, to be answered must be asked and must be asked prior to “trouble.”

But let’s get back to the answer to the question. The answer is plain wrong. Both for the reasoning behind why it was given and in the belief about what I, an attorney can do.

As I stated above, you are in charge of your life. Any client who comes in and denies any, if not most of the responsibility for litigation after working with me for a while is looking for a new attorney most times. This is not to say that you are at fault, this is just stating that no one is blameless. Every accident and consequently every lawsuit is the culmination of a series of events. Statistically speaking, in that series of events, you did something wrong. Reality says you might have done a lot of stuff wrong. The legal issue is: did you do something that rises to the level of a legal wrong?” Maybe though you should ask the question “did you do something that is morally or ethically wrong?” Granted you may think it is a stretch for an attorney to talk ethics and morals, but the law is just a culmination of the ethics and morals of society.

Contrary to popular belief and our joke culture, anytime the issue of breaking a moral or ethical rule has arisen in a conversation with me it has always been brought up by a client. I suspect most attorneys would agree with this. Those of you who disagree probably did not like the answer you were given.

However, I am not a judge, I am an advocate. My job is not to judge you, but to help you understand the problem and then assist you in solving the problem. Rarely, in fact never am I working alone to solve a problem. We are a team. You have the issues and the ability to implement change and I have legal knowledge and reasoning. Together we come up with a plan to solve the problem.

Now we are back to timing. When? If after you are in jail (I don’t do criminal work) or have been sued by someone then the team was probably formed a little too late. The team works best with no stress and looking at all aspects of the issues and possible problems. A good client/attorney team starts working together to fulfill the answer to the question way before it needs to be asked; “to keep you out of trouble.” That of course means we are working before the summons or subpoena arrives.

The reality is the answer is always given after the client is in a lot of trouble. This in turn creates another problem. I cannot turn back time or change history (other than my own version of my skiing and mountaineering accomplishments from long ago.)