Your deep understanding of any client is only valuable to that client when you share it and apply it.

"There was a time when external counsel were expected to opine on the law and leave it to clients to apply it. That time has long gone"

Suppose you really do understand your client. Suppose you've studied the client proactively and objectively, researching, reflecting and asking probing pertinent questions. Suppose you started this even before the first assignment and continued it as a daily discipline. That is a significant commitment, out of which you will have learnt a lot. But let's be clear, you're not doing this to flatter the client or out of idle curiosity. External counsel commit all the effort and acquire all the detailed client knowledge for a specific purpose, to be of better service to the client. This leads us to a critical and often under-appreciated challenge; how to apply or this knowledge to be a better lawyer for the client.