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[00:00:07] Scott Benton: Hey everyone, Scott Benton here. I’m the host of the Classroom to Courtroom podcast. We’re here to help you easily transition from law school as a law student into your professional career as an actual bonafide attorney and where we even make the practice of law fun, more importantly.
[00:00:22] Scott Benton: Now today we’re going to answer the question of What Does The Client Get When They Win? What do they get? What does the client actually end up with?
[00:00:35] Scott Benton: Now, this podcast episode, it’s going to be a little bit of a thought experiment. And we’re looking at what a client actually gets in hand after they’ve won a case. And we’re going to assume that we’re talking here about a probate case where a trust is involved that has assets.
[00:00:52] Scott Benton: And we’re going to assume that mostly because that’s the kind of law we practice at the firm I work for. We’re in a state and a trust [00:01:00] administration and litigation law firm located in beautiful Irvine, California.
[00:01:05] Scott Benton: So when the case is all said and done, what does the client end up with? Assuming that they won, do they end up with money? Do they end up with a boat or a car or a house? No, they don’t get any of those things. They get a judgment. And that basically means that they get a piece of paper in their hand.
[00:01:25] Scott Benton: So that’s what they get. That’s what they want. They want a piece of paper in their hand. And what can your client do now that they have this piece of paper in their hand after paying for all of those legal services that you’ve provided for them?
[00:01:40] Scott Benton: They can pretty much take that paper and they can set it on fire, maybe warm up their hands a little bit. They can certainly fold it into an origami animal and maybe place it on their shelf. They can also make a paper airplane out of it and fly it out their living room window while they’re jumping up and down, shouting, I won!
[00:01:58] Scott Benton: But the point here is [00:02:00] that a judgment in and of itself doesn’t really mean much. And honestly, it’s not what the client wanted in the first place. What they wanted is money or it could be ownership of the assets like a house or a car. But if the case closes and they only get a piece of paper, they’re probably going to be pretty upset when they realize that a judgment, a piece of paper in their hand, really wasn’t why they hired you as an attorney in the first place.
[00:02:28] Scott Benton: Now, what they failed to understand, either because they didn’t read it in the CSA correctly, the CSA is the Client Services Agreement, or probably because you as the attorney just didn’t explain the idea to them clearly enough so that they could understand it. Remember, that clients that hire you, for the most part, they don’t speak the legal language, law firms and lawyers, or those are unfamiliar experiences to them.
[00:02:54] Scott Benton: Being in a courtroom is definitely not an experience that most people have. A [00:03:00] lot of what people know about the court system they learn on television. So this is going to be a very unfamiliar, confusing place to them and you want to make sure that you’re explaining all of this to them. And sometimes you have to explain it frequently.
[00:03:15] Scott Benton: So in this case that you want to make sure that they know that they’re going to want you to enforce the judgment. But really, as a law firm, that’s not something that we do. And that must be explained to them.
[00:03:30] Scott Benton: There are other attorneys that do specialize in enforcement, but for the client, that really means that there’s a pretty good chance they’re going to be in and out of the court hearings for much longer and that they’re going to have to pay for another attorney who’s going to perform those enforcement services for them until the client finally gets what they actually wanted, which was the money.
[00:03:55] Scott Benton: But they’re still not going to be happy with the work that you did as an attorney because, [00:04:00] you really only got them a piece of paper that says they won. Big deal. I mean, it is a big deal, you won the case and you deserve those kudos, but really, that wasn’t why they hired you.
[00:04:12] Scott Benton: So you want to be really careful in understanding what a client actually wants, and that you’re not just going by what they’re telling you that they want, because a client doesn’t really know all the intricacies of how the law works, and certainly in this example, the client thought that they’d be getting their fair share of the distribution from the trust, but they really just kind of ended up getting a piece of paper with a judgment on it. And you need to get ahead of that.
[00:04:39] Scott Benton: So this is where you need to know what to do up front and why you want to get all the necessary information because if a client comes to you and they hire you to represent them in a trust dispute, you first need to determine if there’s actually anything in the trust that’s worth going after.
[00:04:55] Scott Benton: That means you need to find out if there are any assets inside that [00:05:00] trust and what the value of those assets are because the value of the asset could be ten dollars or it could be ten million dollars and you need to know what that is.
[00:05:08] Scott Benton: Now sometimes trusts are completely empty, there’s nothing in them and a trust that’s empty, like, who cares if you win that judgment?
[00:05:16] Scott Benton: Okay, so you want a judgment, to get your fair share of the distribution of whatever’s in the trust, but there’s nothing in the trust. That’s really something you need to know before a client hires you. Why would they hire you to go after essentially nothing?
[00:05:31] Scott Benton: So in this case, let’s assume there is something in the trust worth going after. You really want to ask a judge beforehand, like right in the beginning, right when you start, to ask the trustee of the trust to post a bond that’s going to be more than the amount that the client’s potential distribution is going to be in the event that you win the case and you get that judgment, that piece of paper.
[00:05:55] Scott Benton: So you have to think ahead here and you need to be able to request that [00:06:00] bond gets posted and you should request that bond gets posted early on in the case and not wait. But again, these are things that you need to know and it just really comes down to communication and understanding what it is your client is going to want.
[00:06:13] Scott Benton: The strategy, this is a hypothetical, so the strategy may be very different. But understand that you don’t want to get to the end of a case that you’ve won and your client is just walking away with a piece of paper. So there are strategies that you’re going to want to figure out how to use. And in this case, in this hypothetical example, very early on.
[00:06:32] Scott Benton: So, if a client comes to you and says they want to get a judgment for their entitlement, and that’s all you do, and you don’t dig just a little bit deeper to understand what they really want, and let’s say it’s $300,000 from an estate that they’re a beneficiary on, then they’re going to wind up with a worthless piece of paper, something that they can just make a paper airplane of and fly it out the window.
[00:06:56] Scott Benton: And they’re going to be in a position where they have to hire another [00:07:00] attorney to enforce that judgment that you could have really solved right from the start with the, in this case, in this hypothetical case, a bond that gets posted early so that when the case is posted and it’s in place, when the judgment comes in and you’ve won, Then it becomes the bonds company problem to go after the trustee to get paid.
[00:07:19] Scott Benton: Now this time, the judgment is actually going to bear fruit. It’s not just going to be a worthless piece of paper in your hand. There’s going to be money attached to it, and your client is going to get the money that they’ve hired you to get them, and not just a judgment, not just a win.
[00:07:35] Scott Benton: So there’s no need for your client, in that case, to go out and find a second attorney who specializes enforcement. In this case, you did your job as an attorney, and you really can pat yourself on the shoulder for a job well done.
[00:07:50] Scott Benton: Now, you didn’t leave your clients just twisting in the wind with a mostly worthless piece of paper that says they won a case without any real financial [00:08:00] distribution behind it. You took care of them right from the start, and you reached your goal. But most importantly, you took care of your client, and that’s what you’re here to do.
[00:08:09] Scott Benton: So I hope that was a helpful thought experiment, and while it was probably a little simplistic, maybe, I hope it helps to illustrate that there’s an importance of really understanding what your client wants when the case is won, and that you work to give that to them. And not just, here’s something that’s on the surface, and just win a case with really no consequences.
[00:08:32] Scott Benton: In this case, they got a judgment. But what they really wanted was the money that goes along with that judgment. And you need to be able to hear that right from the beginning.
[00:08:41] Scott Benton: So I hope you enjoyed this. I’m Scott Benton. I’m the host of the Classroom to Courtroom podcast. And I trust that this episode was helpful for you in your transition from law student into law professional, where you are practicing law as an attorney.
[00:08:55] Scott Benton: Remember, that is a subject that is not taught in school. You’re expected to just [00:09:00] learn that as you start your new job and your first job as an attorney, probably.
[00:09:04] Scott Benton: So, in this case, this is a podcast that is going to provide you with all of the information that you need. So you don’t start your new job as an attorney and not know what to do.
[00:09:15] Scott Benton: Now, if you like this podcast and you’d like to get notified whenever we post a new episode, you can go to our website. Our website is Classroom2Courtroom.com.
[00:09:23] Scott Benton: That’s classroom, the number two courtroom. com. You can leave your contact information there. And whenever we publish a new episode, you will receive an alert.
[00:09:34] Scott Benton: So if you do like this podcast, you’re liking what you’re hearing here, don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe.
[00:09:39] Scott Benton: And if you do like this material, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe if you’d like to stay on top of all of the newest episodes.
[00:09:45] Scott Benton: And until next time, we hope you’ll join us in making the world a better place, one client at a time.
[00:09:51] Scott Benton: Thank you so much.
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