IMMIGRATION LAWYERS TOOLBOX
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How to Gain Respect from Your Clients By Ritu Goswamy, Esq.
Many of us who have chosen immigration law have a deep soul connection with the work. We may be immigrants ourselves or have family members who are. We may have
Boundaries are often thought of harsh constructs that lawyers create to keep distance from clients. It is common for professionals to avoid getting close to their clients. It causes them to lack a supportive “bed-side
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It feels like there is no way out. Withdrawing from a case is often not an option and may require more work than just finishing the case. Truth is, you actually want to finish the case. The client, no matter how he treats you, deserves this legal benefit. Well, it is possible to turn this around and be respected by all your clients, especially the challenging ones. And it is easier than you think.
When we care so much about our work, clients, and cases, we tend to lose ourselves in our work. We forget who we are and end up immersing ourselves in something outside of us. This can be thrilling for a while, but leads to stress, burnout, illness, and feelings of lack of respect from others. When we lose ourselves, we are actually losing respect for ourselves. We forget to respect our time and energy. We become too flexible and let others manage us instead of managing ourselves. We go out of our way and give more in relationships than we are receiving. This can feel good temporarily, but is not sustainable in the long term.
ISSUE NO.
Ritu Goswamy, Esq.
ritu@newbillablehour.com
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most of your immigration clients are a pleasure to work with – they are responsive, available, prioritize their case, and pay your bills promptly – there are those clients on your caseload that may be challenging to work with. Even if it is just a few clients, they somehow take more time and energy. Over time, it can feel like these clients do not respect you and the extra care and effort you are putting into their case. You actually may care more about their case than they do. After a while, you may be investing more time, money, and resources than the client is! When it gets to this point, we feel stuck. We vent to our colleagues, and maybe even take it out on other people, including our own family, staff and clients.
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been exposed to different cultures and countries and understand the inequities in systems. We may just see that immigration is the civil rights issue of our time and we want to be part of the movement. This connection to our work is admirable, and can also leave some blind spots.
ILT MAGAZINE
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When we lose ourselves, we are actually losing respect for ourselves.
