Client Empowerment 3: Advice you need from your lawyer
In my last blog post, “Finding the Right Lawyer,” we focussed on making sure you get to a lawyer with the right skill set for your legal matter. In this post, we will focus on making sure you get the right advice. Recently, John, a client, came to visit me. He wants to invest $5,000 in a start-up business and asked me for the cost and process to form a corporation and document... Read More
Attorney Client Relationship 1: Finding the Right Lawyer
Two years ago, I tore my labrum and rotator cuff during a basketball game. I know this sounds macho but the embarrassing fact is that I tripped while refereeing a game of 8 year olds. Fortunately I was able to finish the game and only made two awful calls according to my son. The next day when I could not lift my toothbrush, I did what I normally do in these situations —... Read More
what a third grade holiday celebration can teach us about connecting with clients
The other day, I attended my son’s holiday celebration in his third-grade classroom. To capture the true spirit and meaning of the season, the kids took turns standing up in pairs and reading narratives about one another. These weren’t fill-in-the-blank recitations. They were insightful and moving reflections. With their teacher’s guidance, the kids had taken the time to... Read More
seeing matters through your clients’ eyes: an intervention for lawyers
My longtime client, artist Pamela Lawton, recently showed her abstract paintings of New York City’s modern architecture at an exhibit called Liquid City. Describing her work, Pamela says: “It’s almost an ‘intervention,’ that’s sort of an art term that people use to talk about taking something ordinary and conventional and altering it in some way.... Read More
What President Obama can teach us about client relationships
This isn’t a post about politics. It’s about human relations. As I’ve written here before, as lawyers, we’re in the business of human relations. To do our job well, we have to connect with the people behind the legal matters we take on and provide meaningful solutions to their problems. Connecting with clients in this way is not an opt-in exercise in cutting-edge legal service... Read More
everything old is new again: the re-birth of the client-centric lawyer
For the last few years, I’ve devoted a lot of space here to the idea and practice of client-centricity. You can sample my take on the topic via posts like these: evangelizing legal service delivery client experience management legal service delivery: what controls the client experience are you remarkable? client centered care (re)designing legal service delivery around... Read More
the legal sanity mentor: kathleen brady
Due to the summer posting hiatus, it’s been a little while since the last installment in my series of posts on redesigning legal services around the client experience. I’ve always been a proponent of the idea that it’s really hard for unhappy lawyers to provide great client service. To put it another way: The lawyer experience and client experience are two... Read More
why it’s a great time to be a village lawyer
As we were driving from one weekend activity to the next in our small New York suburb, my middle child looked up from her cell phone and, in an iPod-induced-too-loud-voice, said, “I love this town. It’s pretty, friendly and makes me feel safe.” I think she gave voice to what many of us feel and experience in our personal and professional lives. When people engage lawyers... Read More
the legal sanity mentor: jason mendelson
My introduction to Jason Mendelson came by way of a compelling how-to blog post he wrote titled: Quick Ways To Get Fired as a Lawyer. From the first read through, it’s clear that Jason knows what he’s talking about. As a self-proclaimed “recovering lawyer” and successful VC with his own company, Foundry Group. he’s gained insight into the best and worst of legal service... Read More
on the path to better client care, love the people who don’t love you
Chrysler has let me down big time. I know, you’re probably thinking, “take a number and get in line, it’s a long one.” The company’s financial woes are already old news. But, that’s not what this is about. This about the 2008 minivan that my kids practically live in. The subject of multiple recalls, it’s currently without A/C due to a defective hose. Chrysler knows... Read More
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