3. Admitting Mistakes (and Suggesting Fixes) is What Clients Expect
Clients almost invariably react positively to an admission from their lawyer that some or all of the project has failed, coupled with candid reasons why and insightful improvement suggestions.
April 26, 2021 at 01:18 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Lean Adviser
"As lawyers, we are problem solvers so roadblocks and frustrations are going to happen. We should never fear roadblocks — we should expect them and attack them head on." — José Gonzalez, EVP& General Counsel, CNA, USA
[Note: The lesson was adapted from "Eliminating the Taboo of Failure" in the How to Give Your Clients the Gift of Trust section.]
Legal projects go wrong. Let's admit that. We have all tried cases that we should have tried differently, or not at all. We can also admit that, among trial lawyers at least, discussion of failure is either taboo, or at least supplanted by philosophy:
|- "Some you win, some you, lose, it's all swings and roundabouts"
- "We just didn't get the rub of the greens"
- "That's why we always caution for litigation risk"
These are exercises in what we call post-project rationalization. This is where we tell ourselves comforting stories about the outcome of a project. While each of these sentiments might be true and justifiable, what they circumvent is accountability to the client and consequential learning. Clients almost invariably react positively to an admission from their lawyer that some or all of the project has failed, coupled with candid reasons why and insightful improvement suggestions. Judges sometimes warn parties that 'at the end of this, one of you is going to be unhappy.' That always strikes us as inaccurate. The correct caveat would be 'at the end of this at least one of you is going to be unhappy.'
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