Compatibility

Clients and lawyers should pay attention in forming a professional relationship and chose each other with care.  

It is instructive for a client to consider what criteria a lawyer should use in deciding whether to take on a new client and it is instructive for a lawyer to consider what criteria a client should use in selecting a lawyer.

Forming the attorney client relationship is a very important transaction and it ought to be done with care by both the client and the lawyer.  That the client is not taking care in this most important transaction to be sure that the lawyer is the right lawyer for the client’s case should give great caution to the lawyer.  That the lawyer is not taking care in selecting cases or clients should give great caution to the client.

"Of course, compatibility is an elusive concept."

Different lawyers have different methods and criteria for deciding whether to take on a new case.  For some, and this is unfortunate for both the client and the lawyer, the only criteria employed by the lawyer is whether the client is willing and able to pay the fee.  Certainly, the willingness and ability to pay the fee is a necessary precondition for the attorney client relationship; however, it must not be the only criteria.  When a lawyer is so eager to sign up a new client that nothing but the fee matters, the relationship will probably go wrong and it is likely to go wrong sooner rather than later.   

The lawyer, as well as the client, must consider issues of the lawyer’s competence and experience for the task for which services are sought as well as the necessary time commitment, the resources of the client and the lawyer to complete the task and, importantly, the compatibility of the lawyer and the client to work together on the client’s case.

Of course, compatibility is an elusive concept.  Volumes have been written by psychologists and popular culture writers on what makes or does not make people compatible.  Like kinds can be compatible and it is cliché that opposites attract.  In the attorney client relationship, there are some guidelines that may ground a client’s and a lawyer’s decision on whether they are compatible – whether the lawyer and the client are a good fit.  

"Lawyers should be attentive to a client's purpose and goals in seeking professional help and clients should be careful about lawyers who are too quick to promise that the client's goals will be met whatever they may be."

A desperate client and a hungry lawyer might have an irresistible initial attraction that appears to be but really is not compatibility.  A client who has already gone through two or three lawyers will probably be very glad to encounter the reassuring next lawyer who “understands” why the client was disappointed in the former lawyers.  Savvy lawyers are cautious about taking a case in which there have been a number of former lawyers, where the client comes to the lawyer already dissatisfied.  Clients should not engage lawyers who are so hungry for business that they do not consider factors other than the fee in choosing their cases.   Hungry lawyers, however, might perform very well because they are highly motivated to do well and to have satisfied clients who spread the word about the lawyer’s fine services.  It is true, also, that sometimes clients have been improperly served by former lawyers.  While lawyers should be careful about engaging a client who is reasonably dissatisfied with the services of a former lawyer because the tendency to generalize the negative experience could be the prism through which the client views the new lawyer’s services.  Even so, a client who has really had unsatisfactory services deserves to have a good, competent and faithful lawyer and such a lawyer can do good service for the client and for the profession of law by taking the client’s case.

Lawyers should be attentive to a client’s purpose and goals in seeking professional help and clients should be careful about lawyers who are too quick to promise that the client’s goals will be met whatever they may be.   Consider the lawyer who tells a prospective client that she will recover hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars for the client’s personal injury claim before the lawyer knows all of the facts.  That lawyer really wants to sign up the client.  The lawyer is pretty sure that there will be some recovery in the case from which to take a percentage, never mind that the recovery may be far below what is promised or suggested to induce the client to sign the lawyer’s contract.  The lawyer knows that the client can be gently disappointed later.  If the lawyer finds out later that the case has no merit or if it is too tough a case for the lawyer, well, there is a clause in the contract stating that the lawyer can withdraw from the case.

Another lawyer is more cautious in promising results.  Sure, after listening to the client, the case looks promising but this lawyer wants to know a lot more before being specific with the client about expected results.  Maybe the client will recover hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.  It will be soon enough to have that evaluation after the facts and evidence are better known.  Similarly, in a criminal case, one lawyer, eager to be hired, without knowing the facts or evidence, immediately and without reservation supports the client’s protestations that he did nothing wrong and agrees that charges should be immediately dismissed.  Another lawyer, one who is really better equipped by experience, training and personality to do the hard work of fighting the client’s case in court, tells the client that he will have a better idea about the case after he reviews all of the evidence and researches the law.   

Next time on the subject of clients selecting lawyers and lawyers selecting clients, we will look at how a client’s motives and a lawyer’s methods should affect a client’s choice of a lawyer and a lawyer’s choice of a client.  

Next to come Justice, Vengeance and the Sacred Cause … .

Content prepared by Edmond McGill. © Edmond McGill, 2016

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This message and the information presented here do not create or evidence an attorney-client relationship nor are they intended to convey legal advice or counsel.  You should not act upon this information without seeking advice from a qualified lawyer licensed in your own state or country who actually represents you. In this regard, you may contact The McGill Law Office and then representation and advice may be given if, and only if, attorney Edmond McGill agrees to do so in a written contract signed by him.

Bill Cosby headed to jail?

2015 was a banner year for celebrity justice.  You will have to be the judge of just what sort of banner that has been.  TMZ has, perhaps too excitedly at times, reported on stories from copyright litigation over the song ‘Blurred Lines’ to Tom Brady’s involvement in the deflated footballs scandal. Perhaps the most heinous of all, however, was the revelation that Bill Cosby might not be that funny, trustworthy family man serving us brightly colored gelatin treats through the TV set, but rather, a longtime sexual predator.

Once the first allegations were made against Cosby during a comedy routine that went viral, additional claims came swiftly following.  Cosby has now been accused by over 50 women of rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse and sexual misconduct. It’s a stark contrast to “The Cosby Show’s” all American Dad routine - that’s for sure.

With alleged incidents occurring from 1965 to 2008, spanning 10 U.S. states and even into Canada, Cosby still argues for his innocence, denying allegations in repeated interviews and broadcasts. Guilty or not, Cosby is fortunate that the law is on his side in certain regards as most of the alleged crimes fall outside the statutes of limitation for criminal proceedings. Put simply, too much time has passed. In the wake of this, several civil lawsuits have been filed.  Most closely watched is an felony assault charge brought against Cosby in Pennsylvania..

This past summer, a Pennsylvania Federal District Court unsealed deposition testimony that revealed that Cosby admitted to acquiring prescriptions for Quaaludes back in the 1970’s. Still, Cosby denies these felony charges which originate from early accusations made by Andrea Constand, and his legal team has taken it a step further in a motion to dismiss the case. Prosecutors seem anything but disheartened, arguing that this is just another attempt at celebrity special treatment.

Cosby has powerful lawyers working for him and an expensive public relations team blowing a lot of smoke.  Even so, it may not be enough to save him when his victims have their day in court.  He and his accusers must trust the court.  They have no choice.  Wait and see what happens to America’s favorite dad.

Now it does happen that innocent people are arrested and charged with crimes.  And it happens that people who may have done something wrong are over charged and face penalties far beyond what is just.  In any circumstances where you or someone you know is under suspicion, being investigated, or has been charged with a crime, it is very important to consult with a competent, experienced and faithful attorney right away.  

Content prepared by Alicia Parry. © Alicia Parry, 2016

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This message and the information presented here do not create or evidence an attorney-client relationship nor are they intended to convey legal advice or counsel.  You should not act upon this information without seeking advice from a qualified lawyer licensed in your own state or country who actually represents you. In this regard, you may contact The McGill Law Office and then representation and advice may be given if, and only if, attorney Edmond McGill agrees to do so in a written contract signed by him.

So, you need a lawyer...

You need a lawyer. Your friend needs a lawyer.  Your mother needs a lawyer.   Your niece has been arrested for drug possession.   Your new company is very successful and rapidly expanding.   You need help negotiating commercial leases for expanding office locations, drafting employment agreements and other contracts.  You need strategic legal advice.  Your brother’s business just launched its most promising product and he discovers that his business partner is planning to take a high paid position with the company’s chief competitor.  Your brother’s partner knows all of the company’s secrets.  Your neighbor was seriously injured in a car accident.  The other driver was on his company’s business, driving a company vehicle and he was intoxicated after attending a company party.  The geotechnical engineer you hired discovers that the developers who built the new houses uphill, behind yours, changed the courses of storm water on the surface and under the earth redirecting it towards your property. Your house is moving.  There are cracks in the walls.  The doors stick. 

"There must be the perfect lawyer for your mother, for your neighbor, your niece and your brother's company."

There are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands - actually considerably more than a million lawyers in the United Stares.  Surely there is the right lawyer for you, for your case.  There must be the perfect lawyer for your mother, for your neighbor, your niece and your brother’s company.  If you don’t already know this lawyer just how do you find the right lawyer?

Lawyers confront this problem too.  When my services are sought for work in an area in which I have chosen not to practice, I am invariable asked to recommend another lawyer.  Then I have the same problem as anyone else looking for a lawyer.  It’s not so easy but, in the search to find someone whom I am confident to recommend, I use the same methods that others should use in finding a good lawyer.  First, do I have first hand knowledge about a lawyer I might recommend?  Many times in my cases, I have had to engage the services of other lawyers in order to properly serve my clients.  I have hired lawyers with specialties in international tax law, workers compensation law, family law and more.   I can recommend, with confidence, good lawyers whose work I know from first hand experience.  

If I don’t know a lawyer from first hand experience, I might know someone by reputation.  While not as good as first hand experience, being held in high esteem by those who should know, perhaps from their own first hand experience, is a pretty good predictor of performance.

If the quest to find a good lawyer is a new experience for you or if you are experienced and you or your friends or family members need to find lawyers to help with new and different problems or opportunities, then we hope that the articles to follow will help to inform you so that you may more confidently make a selection.  No one but the client should or can properly select the lawyer and, as with every other choice or selection in life, the more information, the better.

"One thing the lawyers and clients have very much in common is the most basic mistake in choice and selection."

So, in the next two articles I will discuss not only some good hints on how to select the proper lawyer for the proper case but also, and this will be very important in selecting the lawyer, a few points on how lawyers ought to select their cases and their clients.  One thing the lawyers and clients have very much in common is the most basic mistake in choice and selection.  For the lawyer, that is taking every case that comes by with a paying client and for the client that is choosing, with relief but not much thought or consideration, the first lawyer who is willing to take the case.

Stay tuned. More to come …

Content prepared by Edmond McGill. © Edmond McGill, 2016

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This message and the information presented here do not create or evidence an attorney-client relationship nor are they intended to convey legal advice or counsel.  You should not act upon this information without seeking advice from a qualified lawyer licensed in your own state or country who actually represents you. In this regard, you may contact The McGill Law Office and then representation and advice may be given if, and only if, attorney Edmond McGill agrees to do so in a written contract signed by him.