Communication During Litigation

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Scott Benton: Hey everyone, Scott Benton here, I am the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast where we help you easily transition from a law school student into your professional career as an attorney and where we like to make the practice of law fun. And today we’re going to look at communication during litigation.

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Scott Benton: Today, in order to help assist your overall use of the success cycle when it comes to performing legal services, we’re going to talk about communication during litigation. One of the most critical, yet often under emphasized aspects of being a successful attorney is mastering the art of communication with your clients, which is critical. Working with clients is not just about winning cases, it’s about ensuring your clients understand the process, feel supported, and trust your judgment even when things don’t go as planned. If your client is well informed along the way, they’re going to tend to be much more satisfied.

So managing their expectations and making sure their understanding is in full alignment with where their case is going is really important for them to maintain their confidence in you as their attorney and in your [00:02:00] firm. So let’s start with why communication is so crucial during litigation. Litigation can be a long and complex process, and it can often be filled with unexpected twists and turns that are not unlike a roller coaster ride.

Clients who are not familiar with the legal system can find it fairly stressful and overwhelming. In fact, clients who are familiar with the legal system can find it stressful and overwhelming. So it’s your job to guide them through this entire journey from start to finish and provide clear and regular updates on the progress of their case.

Now you want to do this because not only does it help them feel more in control, but it also builds levels of trust between you and your client, which in turn reduces their overall anxiety levels, and it creates a much more efficient working dynamic together between you and your client.

Regular communication can also prevent misunderstandings and keep your client’s expectations grounded and realistic.

For [00:03:00] instance, When you anticipate a court decision or maybe a significant development coming down the pike, Letting your client know in advance helps prepare them for all possible outcomes. Now, this is particularly important when the momentum of a case shifts or when court decisions just don’t go as expected. Okay, so now we know we need to have regular communication. You definitely don’t want to leave your client sitting in a vacuum, so to speak. Chances are they’d stop paying their bills anyway if you did that, since their only perception would be that absolutely nothing’s getting done on their case, and they’d probably go look for another firm, which you really don’t want them to do.

So now, let’s talk about managing expectations. No matter how strong your case is, litigation inherently is unpredictable. Judges may rule in ways that you just didn’t foresee, or new evidence could come along that changes the entire trajectory of the case, so it’s crucial to communicate these possibilities to your client right from the outset. When a case takes an unexpected turn, whether it’s because of a court’s decision or from an unforeseen [00:04:00] delay, how you handle that conversation with your client can make all the difference in the world.

Now ideally, you want to be up front about the implications of these new developments, and you always want to present a plan for how you would like to proceed. Now you want to proceed with their approval, of course, because you don’t want to forget that, as it’s the client who hires you, they’re the ones calling the shots, of course.

That’s why regular status updates are essential, even if there’s no significant news to report. A quick email or phone call to touch base with them can reassure your client that their case is still on your radar and that you’re actively managing it.

A small effort like that can really help to firmly maintain their trust and confidence in you and in your work and in your firm. That way your client knows when the court or opposing counsel takes an action because You’re going to be the one that tells them. That’s an example of full transparency which strengthens the trust bond between you and your client. Don’t let your client hear about any new developments from someone else.

[00:05:00] You want to be that direct line of communication to them so that you want to make sure you’re not waiting very long to update your client on their case developments. This also demonstrates that you are the one in control of the case. And you are the one that’s committed to keeping them fully informed.

Waiting to deliver any news often makes you look passive and less effective, which really doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in your ability as a skilled attorney, even though you are a skilled attorney. So this is where building relationships really comes in. And the more you establish that bond and that connection up front, the easier it becomes to maintain later on down the road when you get into the litigation phase of the process.

As long as you continue to make consistent efforts to communicate with your clients directly, then that strong bond will be maintained. Of course, not all conversations with clients are going to be easy. There’s going to be times when you need to deliver bad news, such as a ruling that really just didn’t go in their favor, or a delay that pushes their case [00:06:00] timeline further out.

Now, in these situations, it’s important to be honest, but it’s also important to offer reassurances. You want to be able to explain the next steps and how you plan to mitigate the impact of the setback. Your client needs to feel that you’re still the best advocate for their cause, even in the face of challenges.

And don’t forget to put this new development in a status update that you send out to your client that explains the new development, and how, if any, it changes the legal goal for your case strategy.

So communication and client management are as critical to litigation as your legal strategy is. By keeping your clients informed, managing their expectations, and handling difficult conversations with transparency and empathy, you’re going to help build stronger client relationships with all of your clients, which in turn sets the stage for your long term success.

I’m Scott Benton. I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast. We’re certainly glad to see you’ve decided to join us on this episode. Now, if you like this podcast and you’d like to get more information about us, you can always go to our website, which is [00:07:00] classroom2courtroom. com. That’s classroom, the number two courtroom. com, where you can send us a message to keep in touch with us, or even inquire about our seasonal associate programs we have available for law students.

You can come and work with us. And as always, don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe to stay on top of all of our newest episodes.

And until next time, we hope you’ll join us in making the world a better place, one client at a time.