The recent leak of a PowerPoint slide had the legal commentariat atwitter. The slide contained advice from a senior associate to their junior colleagues at a prestigious international law firm. This purported advice included:

• "The client always comes first and is always right. If a client wants a mountain moved, we move it. No questions";
• "You are 'online' 24/7. No exceptions, no excuses";
• "Someone is paying $850+ for one hour of your time. Think about that in everything you do";
• "No questions until you've tried to figure something out for yourself"; and
• "'I don't know' is never an acceptable answer."

On behalf of the Connecticut Bar, we could respond, simply and staunchly: "No."

But for the benefit of Connecticut's burgeoning lawyers, we want to say more. So let's take this so-called advice in order.

As lawyers, we answer to our clients. They set the destination; we navigate the course. It isn't up to us to tell our clients what to want; it's up to us to tell our clients how to get as much of what they want as possible. But our clients aren't "always right." Indeed, perhaps the most important function we serve as lawyers is to tell our clients when they're wrong. Show us a lawyer who's never said "no" to a client, and we will show you a lawyer who has almost certainly violated their ethical obligations.