Keeping Your Client's Trust Even When Things Go Wrong

This provocative (and sometimes humorous) presentation explores the question: How do we help our clients experience the legal system without walking away with a cynical view of the system, the judiciary, and even their own lawyer?  The course will cover what lawyers can do, beyond the bare minimum ethical requirements, to "prime" clients for the best experience possible, without making ourselves (lawyers) crazy in the process. The program, presented by experienced practitioner Francine Tone, will examine the ethical requirements regarding client communications. These guidelines are merely minimum requirements that attorneys must comply with. Ms. Tone will explore how a lawyer can easily provide communications beyond these minimums with little to no additional effort but with exponential return. Additionally, the course will also provide tips for improving the client-attorney relationship, and will discuss best practices to help eliminate client grievances, complaints, and malpractice claims beyond the bare minimum requirements.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review the ethical obligations governing client communication
2. Examine why meeting the bare minimum requirements of the rules of ethics governing client communication is sometimes inadequate to assure that client trust is maintained
3. Explore how the human brain (a client's natural reaction system) is designed to sabotage attorney-client trust
4. Identify what the client needs to know to be "primed" to listen to instruction and advice from their lawyers
5. Discuss how to implement an "advanced warning system" that will assure strong client trust is built and maintained, in the event anything goes wrong in your case