Just go ahead and say what you're planning to do. It might feel strange, even counter-intuitive, but go ahead and share. Next time you're speaking with your client, either about the get-go on a new assignment, or at a milestone moment, have the conversation. Tell them the plan, the expected outcome and the likely cost.

There isn't a single client who won't be interested and reassured by this. The same reassurance extends to you, the lawyer. There is a world of difference between navigating an assignment with a client-aligned plan and winging it.

These are really important reasons to have this conversation, but there's an even bigger one: the work it makes you do. You can't tell the client what the plan is if you don't have one. Neither can you share the expected outcome with any conviction. If you haven't discussed and managed the client's expectations, done a risk assessment and planned for contingencies, it's no surprise that you're wary of predicting the outcome.