5 Things Clients Wish Attorneys Knew
Cheat codes for how lawyers can stand out and win repeat business.
After years of practicing corporate law, the veteran attorneys on the HyperDraft team have learned that one of the biggest secrets to success is debriefing with clients after matters close. The HyperDraft team had the pleasure of chatting with former client, Chris Nguyen, who is a serial tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist who founded Mezmo (formerly LogDNA (YC W15)), about what he wished attorneys knew and his experience working with attorneys over the past 13+ years.
Here are 5 things clients wish attorneys knew:
- Be positive, solution oriented.
Legal education and professional experience trains lawyers to be expert issue spotters. This is helpful for moving a matter forward, but often clients are discouraged or overwhelmed if issue spotting is the lead of every conversation. Clients come to attorneys to help them navigate difficult or new situations. To put it simply, they see attorneys as a lifeline. Focusing on positivity and solutions is an easy way for attorneys to stand apart from the pack.
Chris explained that how an attorney presents information is key to whether they are a good partner for a growing company like the ones he has built and invested in. “The right lawyer gives you wings. Lawyers typically give you wings or weight. Does someone pull you back and say, ‘you can’t do this’ and serves as a naysayer, or do they say ‘yeah, you can do this but be aware of the obstacles.’ Don’t tell me why I can’t do it, tell me how I can get it done.”
2. Say “I don’t know.”
Chris said one of his biggest pet peeves with attorneys, and he has heard many other founders say the same, is when attorneys reply with “it depends” or they aren’t honest about realistic timelines. He’d rather attorneys say they don’t know, need more time, or ask him additional questions to make sure that there is clarity of goals and expectations so they can come back to him with a clearer response.
“Elaborate more and be less vague. I’d rather have a crystal clear answer, like ‘listen, you have three options’, instead of a vague answer. Another thing I loved as I progressed in my entrepreneur journey, is on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is this problem? Is this likely to go through? Like you do think you have a high chance of closing this deal based on their Master Services Agreement, zero to 10?”
3. Don’t bill everything.
A key part of a successful attorney-client relationship is building enough trust that the client feels comfortable being honest and vulnerable. In order to have this trust, communication, transparency, and relationship building are key. One thing that Chris has found that attorneys often forgot about is how billing ties into relationship/trust building.
“A big reason I don’t open up to certain attorneys is they are billing me for relationship building. Half the time, we are talking about their kids. That’s the biggest frustration I have with certain attorneys — transparency. The key to building relationships is not billing for the time we are building rapport. The money will come, but let’s get the relationship and facts first. I think that’s everyone’s pet peeve. All the founders I know have had a bad experience with this and often think of interacting with lawyers like they are just going to charge you by the minute. And that’s so wrong. When you find a great lawyer, you just realize no, that doesn’t happen. That happens because you never built a relationship with that person or they aren’t invested in building a relationship with you.”
4. Focus on empathy.
Most of the time clients don’t realize they need a lawyer until something bad happens or they are going through something they have never gone through before. Also, often clients are intimidated by legalese and are looking for a way to make sense of it all. Focusing on where the founder is in their journey, what they are nervous about, and how you can walk them through the matter step by step is key to counseling them in a way they truly appreciate.
Chris said there is one main quality he looks for in counsel outside of experience. “Empathy is a key quality of an attorney. When I was a CEO, there were three people I loved outside of my family and friends, my therapist, my executive coach, and my lawyer. Because I knew that they helped me become better and had my back … You can prove that you have your client’s back by being empathetic. When I say I want to do this, an attorney can then say, I can walk you through every step of the way. And they explain it well and don’t go legalese on me and drop crazy terms. When I see their human side, it makes me appreciate them much, much more”
5. Check-in.
Relationship building after the matter closes is key to winning repeat business. Checking in consistently with genuine interest about how their endeavor is going allows you to be top of mind for the next time your clients are asked for a referral or the next time they are looking for representation.
Chris said that he has had many attorneys and firms try various ways to build relationships with him and in his experience, it’s the ones that check-in consistently and genuinely that stand out. “Check in. It’s so easy. I always view everything as a relationship. The simple — how are you doing? Be top of mind. It doesn’t mean you have to have coffee or lunch, just a simple text message goes a long way — ‘thinking of you.’, ‘how is the business going?’. It makes me realize someone’s genuine heart of why they do what they do. Simple part is checking in, that goes a long way.”
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