Do’s and Don’ts of Initial Consultations by Kirk Stange
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nitial consultations are critical to the success of any law firm. The reality is that law firms that want to thrive and succeed need to put their best foot forward in an initial consultation. Obtaining new clientele is necessary for a law firm to succeed. New clients ensure that the lights can stay on in the law firm. New clients ensure that the salaries and obligations of the law
firm can be met. Further, new clients allow a law firm to have a sense of optimism about the future. Law firms that succeed take every initial consultation very seriously. Law firms that do not succeed take initial consultations cavalierly. Below we are going to discuss some do’s and don’ts for initial consultations.
The Do’s for Initial Consultations • Treat every initial consultation like a job interview. The reality is at every initial consultation meeting, the potential client is meeting a lawyer to determine if that lawyer or law firm is a good fit for their case. It is up to the lawyer to treat the occasion seriously and do their best to show their care, compassion, empathy, professionalism, and skills. • Take the time to listen to the potential client’s questions and concerns. Some lawyers may be in a rush, thinking about other cases or matters on their agenda, and may not really take the time to answer the potential client’s questions or concerns with IRAC answers. A good initial consultation meeting usually takes some time. Anything less than an hour is probably not long enough for a potential client to decide to hire the lawyer. • Let the potential client do most of the talking. Many lawyers have a desire to hear themselves speak and pontificate. Lawyers who succeed in initial consultations get that it is not about them, but the potential client. Thus, it is vital to let the potential client get off their chest what brought them into your office before speaking or asking questions. Most lawyers should begin an initial consultation by asking a simple question like, “It is a pleasure to meet you. Tell me what brings you into my office today?” From there, it is important to mirror back to the potential client what they are saying with empathy and compassion to ensure you heard it right.
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Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 178, 2020
• Assume all potential clients have the funds to secure your representation. The reality is lawyers in the same geographic area generally charge rates that are roughly comparable to other lawyers on a low to a high end. Most potential clients generally know these rates by talking to others before even seeing a lawyer. Thus, be optimistic about the potential client’s ability to pay your rate. If a good chunk of the potential clients are telling you that they do not have the funds to hire you, it is important to understand that many of these potential clients have the ability to pay your advanced fee, but they did not feel comfortable hiring you for some other reason. They just let you down easy by telling you they did not have the money. • Be sure to give the client a brief game-plan toward the end of the initial consultation based on what the potential client has told you. Obviously, any game-plan might change once more is learned along the way or new facts arise. However, if you do not give a general game-plan, most clients will not feel confident hiring a lawyer or law firm. Simultaneously, if you go into nauseating details, you may lose the client in the complexities. In sum, a lawyer must have the ability to state the game-plan succinctly in layman’s terms.
