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[00:00:07] Scott Benton: Hey everyone, Scott Benton here, how are you? 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 make the practice of law easy and fun. And today we’re going to answer the question of is it possible to get a client what they don’t want?
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[00:01:15] Scott Benton: Is it possible to get a client what they do not want? Yes, that’s possible and we’re talking in terms of theory here so that we can cover the bigger topic of exactly how something like that might happen and then more importantly how to make sure that it doesn’t happen because you are the attorney they’re hiring to provide legal services and you’re going to want to make sure that you’re delivering what they are hiring you to do.
[00:01:37] Scott Benton: As you may know, you as the attorney don’t decide on the direction that a case goes. Instead, you listen to and gain clarity on the case objectives. Now, assuming you’re able to deliver on those objectives, You then are going to deliver however many options you can come up with for reaching those objectives.
[00:01:57] Scott Benton: Your client, of course, will want to know the [00:02:00] pros and cons for each of those options that you’re going to discuss. It might be one conversation, it might be many. But from there, they, your client, they’re going to decide how to move the case forward.
[00:02:11] Scott Benton: And a case should be fairly straightforward and clear in terms of what the client wants. But in the case where you’re not doing enough upfront work to dig three levels deep, digging three levels deep is something that we talk about a lot on this podcast. And if you’re not digging three levels deep into the case and into its backstory, so you have all of those case facts in a case where the client might think That they really know what they want and they might, for instance, ask specifically for a conservatorship over someone else, let’s say, your natural inclination as the attorney is going to think that since the client sounds like they know what they want, And they’re explaining it to you in no uncertain terms that now all you have to do is go [00:03:00] out there and get that conservatorship for them.
[00:03:02] Scott Benton: Now in this fictionalized example, the client came to you and they appeared confident about their legal options. And they might even tell you that they’ve done some research and that they arrived at the idea of getting a conservatorship, so you’re gonna do exactly what they asked you to do. And you might decide that there’s really no need to do any further work on acquiring and understanding these deeper case facts or the nuances of what your client is really after.
[00:03:31] Scott Benton: So you get the work done and you deliver the conservatorship. But then, let’s say a couple of weeks pass and the client calls you up and says the conservatorship didn’t give them the ability to do what it is they actually wanted to do, and now there’s a problem.
[00:03:44] Scott Benton: But all you knew at the time, and you got this all in writing, which I know you did because you’re an excellent attorney, is that they wanted a conservatorship, which you got them, but it turns out that’s not what the client really wants. So whose fault is that? It [00:04:00] doesn’t really matter for the sake of this conversation.
[00:04:01] Scott Benton: The point is that, yes, it’s possible to get something for a client that they didn’t actually want. But thankfully you have tools available to you that we talk about all the time on this podcast that you can use to make sure that you’re not ending up in this kind of situation because maybe you skipped a few steps that you normally wouldn’t have skipped.
[00:04:23] Scott Benton: And it’s why it’s so important to make sure that you complete each step while you’re working on a case. That’s going to inform your to do list, that’s ultimately going to fill up all of the legal services that you’re going to deliver to that client, bill them for those legal services, get paid, and then start all over again at the to do list level.
[00:04:43] Scott Benton: This is the work you do before the to do list. So this kind of situation, which is fictionalized, but it can still happen. It’s avoidable when you understand that clients can come in and they can tell you with confidence that they know what they want and they can tell [00:05:00] you what it is they want, but it’s not actually what they want.
[00:05:03] Scott Benton: You’ve got to make sure you’re collecting as many case facts as you can by having a longer conversation with them, where you’re going, as we mentioned, three layers down into their story.
[00:05:14] Scott Benton: And that they tell you more about their backstory, more about the nuances that they are going to be hiring your firm for. You have to reach that place where you truly understand what they want, and it’s not always going to be what they say they want. So through ongoing detailed conversations and through the relationship building skills that you’re exercising with all of your clients, you’re finally going to reach that place where you’re able to determine the motivations behind their actions in pursuing their legal goals.
[00:05:46] Scott Benton: Once you have that piece identified, you’re going to see, as in this case, the conservatorship wouldn’t get your client what they’re after and you’ll be able to advise them. with different case strategies for them to [00:06:00] consider. And then you’ll be able to discuss the pros and cons of those alternate case strategies, if they’re appropriate and acceptable to your client.
And don’t forget, as you dig into their background story, to determine what the objectives are for the client and what they’re looking for.
[00:06:15] Scott Benton: That if you realize you won’t be able to help them reach that outcome that they truly want, then you either need to get out of the case, Or you need to find some other options for them that you can help them reach and ask the client if those are acceptable. If they’re not acceptable, then you simply need to tell the client that you lack the ability to reach their legal objectives and that you’re going to need to remove yourself from that case.
[00:06:40] Scott Benton: So I hope that’s helpful and I hope it points out the idea that yes, it is in fact possible to get something for clients that they don’t actually want. So that’s something you want to have on your radar. I’m Scott Benton. I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast. Thank you so much for listening to this episode and for tuning in.
[00:06:57] Scott Benton: If this is information that you’re finding valuable [00:07:00] and you’d like to receive, Stephen alert. Whenever we put out a new episode, you can go to our website. Our website is classroom 2 courtroom dot com. That’s classroom. The number two courtroom dot com. You can leave us your contact information. We’ll send you an alert whenever a new episode comes out.
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[00:07:19] Scott Benton: You’ll get the alerts through the podcast platform of your choice. And until next time, we hope you’ll join us in making the world a better place, one client at a time. Thank you so much.
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