A client has every right to object to these practices and to demand fair, open and honest treatment from his/her attorney.  Unfortunately, practices like these have become so institutionalized within law firm structures that clients have come to accept them.   This does not mean, however, that clients are helpless to address these abuses.

     The time to establish the ground rules for the attorney-client relationship is at the  inception of the engagement.  When the client is served up with the lawyer’s standard form of engagement letter, he/she needs to read it carefully and object to terms that are seen as unfair or overreaching. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, lawyers who understand and appreciate that they practice in a “service” industry will be willing to negotiate the terms of their representation to accommodate their clients’ legitimate concerns.  It is only when clients assert themselves in this fashion that the traditional law firm paradigm of operations will begin to shift.

     What do you think?

Neil H. Goodman

The Goodman Law Group, P.C.