I recently referred a potential client with a challenging but potentially high value products liability case against a car manufacturer to this great law firm on the east coast, full of very knowledgeable, capable, and well-funded lawyers with significant track record of trial victories. After they talked to this potential client, they called me and said the following – “Look, this is a tough case with a lot of potential issues, and the other side is going to fight it tooth and nail, but this case also has potential. We would probably consider pursuing this case, but… the client is just…” I then insisted: “Please do tell me – what’s wrong with the client? Feel free to be as direct as you like.” Then, they responded: “You know, she already called us four times and emailed us twice over the last two days to check on whether we reviewed her evidence and made the decision on whether to take her case. This is just not want we want to step into…”
The above response immediately reminded me of a typical dating situation where a guy and girl meet for the first time. He really likes her, she kind of likes him but she is not sure yet. He gets her phone number and then the next day he texts her, she doesn’t respond right away because she is at work or in school and her phone is off or she is doing something else. A couple of hours go by and then he texts her again, and then an hour later he calls her and leaves a voicemail “Hey, I texted you twice but haven’t heard back, just checking…” Eventually, the girl turns on her phone, and she sees two texts a somewhat demanding sounding voicemail. She then immediately concludes – this must be the type of a pushy / needy guy that I ran into before and I really don’t want to deal with again, so I better not get back to him at all. All this is happening, while the guy believes he acted perfectly reasonably, and objectively – he hasn’t really done anything wrong.
I believe the above serves as a useful reminder about contacting and working with lawyers as follows:
- Really good lawyers are trying really hard to avoid clients who are going to be difficult to work with. Calling and emailing all the time is one of those issues that these lawyers really don’t want to deal with. Pursuing a hard case is hard enough. They don’t want their client to make it even harder on them.
- Many cases, maybe most civil cases are not clear-cut winners or losers and require a lawyer to make a judgment call where the quality of the client is going to tip the scales in favor of taking or not taking the case.
- The best lawyers out there are also the pickiest. They are likely to pass on even the greatest case, if they really don’t like the client they are talking to. They will say they are too busy or will give some other excuse because no one wants to say “I don’t want your case because you are unlikeable”. This is one reason there are people out there who are frustrated because they potentially have a good case but they can’t find representation because of how they come across in their initial interaction with lawyers they contact.
Here is some of the common language client’s should avoid when contacting lawyers:
“I need representation immediately”
“I want to sign a retainer agreement / file a lawsuit today”
“I am shopping for a lawyer”
“I just fired my previous lawyers”
“I have a slam dunk $50m case”