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2 Consider the most appropriate structure for the meeting.
3 Plan an agenda.
4 If the client has been referred from a colleague, speak to that colleague about the work being carried out for the client.
5 If dealing with a corporate client, carry out some research into the client’s company.
6 If dealing with an old client of the firm, retrieve the old files for the client and refresh your memory about the cases that the firm has handled for the client.
7 Prepare the physical setting – clear your desk to avoid that omnipresent law firm panic/chaos look. A physical setting that is informal, friendly and private will help make the client feel relaxed and comfortable. If you need access to your computer during the meeting have it started and readily accessible.
8 Avoid interruptions – particularly avoid having to take phone calls mid- interview.
9 Be prepared to offer the client refreshments – coffee, tea, water, etc.
10 If the client has special needs (e.g. is disabled, blind, requires an interpreter), ensure that the appropriate arrangements are made beforehand.
Certain types of case lend themselves to the use of checklists and factsheets.
Using these will help ensure that you obtain the most important facts in respect of the client’s case during the first interview. They can be completed in the client’s presence during the course of the interview.
Some care should be taken about the making of notes – while it is important to obtain all the relevant facts, the client will not like it if you spend all your time staring down at your notebook. Try to maintain eye contact with the client and do not allow your note-taking to impede the flow of conversation.
CONDUCT OF THE INTERVIEW 16.3
Overview 16.3.1
The purpose of the interview is for the lawyer and client to work together to identify the client’s interests and achieve the client’s aims. The lawyer should know the topic of the interview in advance. This will allow him or her to determine what is relevant and to structure the interview so that all the relevant information is obtained.
However, the structure of the interview should not be too rigid. The lawyer must ensure that a natural flow of conversation, involving a genuine exchange of views,
occurs. The interview should flow naturally from one topic to the next. It should feel comfortable and positive – it should not be marked by a series of highly specific questions. Clients do not enjoy being interrogated!
Listening 16.3.2
Listening is different from hearing and is actually quite difficult. Hearing is the process of receiving information. Listening is the mental processing of what you have heard. You need to pay attention not only to what is said but also to what is left unsaid, and to the body language that accompanies what is said.
The average rate of speech is between 125 to 175 words per minute, and the average rate at which information is processed is between 400 to 800 words per minute. The listener should therefore be able to assimilate thoughts, organise them and respond to the speaker and have time spare to deal with other unrelated mental processes.
Feedback 16.3.3
Feedback falls into two parts. First, it may be used with the intention of allowing the lawyer to summarise what s/he has been told by the client and clarify it with the client. The lawyer might say, ‘So let’s see if I’ve got this right. You told me that . . .’, or ‘OK, we’ve identified about five or so issues which we need to look at a bit more’. This process allows the lawyer to investigate further the matters being summarised and invite the client to expand upon or clarify certain issues.
Secondly, feedback may be used to encourage the client to communicate with the lawyer, for example when the client seems to lack confidence about the relevance of an issue (‘I’m not sure if this is relevant, but . . .’). Giving positive feedback at this stage (‘Please tell me what’s on your mind. I’m here to listen and help as much as I can.’) enables the lawyer to obtain fuller information from the client than might otherwise be possible.
It is also important to give continuous feedback to the client in the form of short phrases, which tell the client that you are listening carefully. You should encourage the client to speak by using phrases and words like ‘I see’, ‘that’s interesting’, ‘go on’, ‘right’, ‘yes’, etc. Even meaningless encouraging noises (‘mmm’, ‘uh-huh’, etc.) can be helpful in this context. They signal to the client that you are still actively listening to what they are saying.
Body language 16.3.4
It is important to demonstrate interest in the client and in what the client is telling you. Pay attention to your body language in this regard. The acronym S-O-L-E-R sums up the skills needed:
S – Face the client Squarely, adopting a posture that indicates involvement.
O – Adopt an Open posture, one that suggests that you are receptive to the client.
L – Lean slightly forward; not aggressively, but enough to show that you are interested in the client.
E – Maintain Eye contact, but do not stare. Use your eyes to show interest, but vary your eye contact in response to the flow of the questioning.
R – Stay Relaxed. Do not fidget, try to be natural in your expressions.
Identifying the client’s aims 16.3.5
What does the client really want? The answer may be simple – the client may have told you at the outset. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to dig a little deeper.
What are the client’s underlying concerns? What would s/he regard as a satisfactory result? Is the client in dispute with another business with which the client has an ongoing relationship? Is the health of the long-term relationship of more value than short-term compensation of a specific breach?
It may also become clear in the course of your discussions with the client that the client has other problems of which s/he may be unaware, or may not have seen as problems. You will need to point these matters out in an appropriate way and either advise the client upon them or arrange for the client to be referred to one of your colleagues on the matter.
Perceived irrelevance 16.3.6
A common problem in interviews is that the client may become confused or frustrated because s/he cannot see the connection between the questions you are asking and the issue on which s/he has sought your advice. The client is unlikely to be a lawyer and will not think like a lawyer, and may therefore perceive your questions as irrelevant.
This problem highlights the importance of lawyer–client communication. The only way to tackle it is to explain carefully to the client why the question is relevant to the issue on which your advice has been sought. This issue is discussed in full in Chapter 17.
LANGUAGE 16.4
Jargon 16.4.1
The first point to be made on this issue is that lawyers must try to avoid using legal jargon when speaking to clients. Jargon has its uses within the legal community – it is a shared language full of familiar terms and common expressions. But it is likely to mystify and alienate the client. So try to speak plainly, using everyday terms. Find alternatives for legal jargon.
For example, do not say, ‘We will effect postal service upon the defendant company’. Say instead:
We will send the documents to Acme Ltd by post.
We must now consider what language can be used at different stages of the interviewing process.
Opening 16.4.2
During the opening phase of a client interview, you will of course introduce yourself if you have not met that particular client before. You might say, for example:
Good morning Ms Smith. I’m Richard Jones, and this is my colleague Lucy Brown.
You will then want to break the ice – that is, engage in a little small talk before getting down to business. You might say for instance:
I hope you had no trouble finding our office.
OR
Fantastic weather we’ve been having, don’t you think?
You might also offer them refreshments:
Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? Or maybe a cold drink?
And you’ll want to get them from reception into the part of the office where the meeting is going to take place:
If you’d like to follow me, we’ll go through to one of the meeting rooms.
After you’ve got into the meeting room and offered the client a chair, you’ll want to open the discussion. You could say simply:
Right. How can I help you?
Or, if you already know what issue the client wants to discuss, you might say:
I understand that you would like some advice on your employment situation.
Perhaps we could start by going over some of the background details.
At this stage, you might also indicate to the client how you suggest the meeting might be structured, and seek their agreement on this. You might say, for example:
OK, perhaps we should start by going over the details of this matter. After that we can discuss what might be done and then we can think about the way forward.
Would that be OK with you?
And you might warn the client that you’ll be making notes:
Do you mind if I make a few notes as we’re talking?
It’s important to advise the client as to what kind of fees they’ll be letting themselves in for at an early stage. You might say:
I should mention at this point how this firm’s charging system works. We charge by the hour and my hourly rate is 150 euros.
OR
I should start by giving you an idea of what sort of fees are likely to be involved in this case. A realistic estimate for carrying out this kind of work would be 1500 euros.
Listening and questioning 16.4.3
Once the interview proper is underway, you will need to listen carefully to what the client has to say and ask appropriate questions in order to obtain the information you need in order to provide advice to them. To obtain information from the client, you could say, for example:
Perhaps you could tell me a bit about what happened during your meeting with the managing director.
OR
Maybe you could give me some background information about that.
When you need to obtain more information about a particular issue, you might say:
Tell me more about that.
OR
What happened next?
It is also a good idea to check periodically throughout the client’s account of the case that you have a full understanding of what they are telling you. This involves summarising and checking for understanding. You might say, for instance:
OK, let me see if I’ve got this right. You told me that the managing director actually said, quote unquote, ‘I’ll make darn sure you never work in this business again’.
It’s important to be clear about this – is that actually what he said?
OR
OK, we’ve identified about three or four issues which we need to focus on. These are the fees payable to the key service providers, the question of confidentiality in respect of know-how, and the exclusivity or otherwise of the agency agreements.
Is that how you see it?
Equally, you may sometimes need to clarify your own remarks to the client. For instance, you might say:
Perhaps I should make that clearer. The term ‘waiver’ basically means a variation of the original agreement so that duties set out in it may no longer need to be carried out in the same way or at all.
OR
Perhaps we should just go over that issue again . . .
At times, you might want the client to stick to the point instead of wandering off onto different issues. There are various linguistic strategies you can use in this regard. For instance, you might say:
That’s an interesting point. However, I’m not sure it’s strictly relevant to the issues we need to discuss at this moment. Could we focus on the issue of confidentiality just for the moment and come back to this other issue in a minute?
Conversely, you might need to get the client to move from one point to the next.
You might say:
OK, I think we’ve dealt with that issue satisfactorily. Let’s move on now to the question of exclusivity.
OR
Let’s leave this point for a moment and move on to the question of exclusivity.
Advising 16.4.4
After you have all the necessary information you need from the client, you will want to proceed to advising them on the case. It may be best to start by identifying the client’s aims. You might say, for instance:
What would be an ideal outcome for you?
OR
Perhaps you could let me know what your priorities are in this matter.
You might also want to give some structure to the way in which you advise the client. For example:
OK, we’ve been over the key issues in this matter. I think it would be helpful now to look at what your legal and non-legal options might be. I’ll give you a quick rundown of the applicable law and how it relates to your case. Then we can discuss what we should do to move things forward.
Then you might provide the client with a quick rundown of the applicable law:
The legal position is as follows . . . OR
This question is governed by the provisions of the Sales of Goods Act.
And after you’ve done that, it will probably be time to outline the client’s options.
You could signpost this by saying, for instance:
You have two or three options here. The first is to go to court. The second is to seek a negotiated agreement through mediation, and the third is to do nothing for the moment. Now there are pros and cons for each of these, and we should maybe run through these before you make any kind of decision on the matter.