Terminate a Client Relationship

It might go against your grain to fire a client, but regularly taking the time to focus on client selection — and deselection — should be part of every lawyer’s discipline.

When you are a brand-new attorney, it seems that every customer should be welcomed with open arms. Elder attorneys know that’s not necessarily so.

Which brings me to a friend of mine that utilized to exercise regulation in Columbia, S.C., and his New Year’s ritual of client selection. Let’s call him Al– not out of some strange homage to Paul Simon’s “Graceland” yet because his name is, well, Al

Every New Year, Al gave himself an existing.

Late in the mid-day on New Year’s Day, he would certainly settle right into a rocking chair keeping an eye out over his back garden, a glass of George Stagg whisky in his hand. Rocking gently, Al would take stock of the year and take into consideration exactly how his firm had actually made out. Just how he had done. Not so various from you or me, however Al’s yearly ritual had a punchline. As he drank his whisky, he thought about every one of his customers– which had been one of the most difficult, one of the most tough to manage, the least enjoyable to deal with.

Al believed there were constantly a few clients that took even more power than all the others put together. Who were constant tests. Clients whom he can pick up would appreciate complaining concerning him. Or even suing him. Clients that were not worth the difficulty.

He would certainly choose among them. And he would certainly discharge that client

It was constantly an enormous alleviation to decide.

Later on, he would certainly unwind the work for the client, finish the last deal and, with the final costs, send out a letter validating that the attorney-client partnership went to an end.

By doing this, every year, Al struck one client from the checklist without remorse.

With time, his client list came more into focus.

These were the customers whose job he took pleasure in. Customers that ended up being close friends, that paid promptly and who valued his work. These customers ended up being the foundation of a very successful company. And an essential part of his firm’s success was Al’s yearly routine of customer choice on a wintertime’s mid-day forgeting the garden.

You don’t need to go to Al’s sizes. But on a regular basis taking the time to concentrate on customer selection– and deselection– ought to belong to every lawyer’s discipline.

Law practice masters like Anthony Davis inform us that being rigorous concerning client selection not just is good for threat administration, however it’s additionally good for the bottom line. And it’s good for lawyer happiness.

It certainly worked for Al

This article, written by our friend and founding advisor Simon Chester, was originally published in our first month — January 4, 2011. We think it holds up!

Narrow Your Focus: Establish a Niche Practice and Grow

A Letter of Closure for All the Right Reasons

Client Engagement Agreements: Blunt Terms I Wish I Could Include