Should Clients Take Charge?

Published November 6, 2012

Clients in the World of Medicine

The world of medicine is being transformed by the world of technology. Patients are beginning to do their own research on the Internet, are better prepared when first going to the doctor of their choice, and are insisting on being part of the team deciding what treatment they should begin.

Clients and Their Legal Budgets

This is a lesson that the marketplace is increasingly teaching to lawyers, through client insistence that lawyers budget their matters. Too many lawyers still dismiss the importance or practicality of involving clients in preparing a budget for their own cases. Typically lawyers feel that too many contingencies crop up that a budget can’t anticipate, or that a budget would constrain their quality of service, or that a budget is just a client ploy for a cheaper fee. If clients, and especially corporate clients, ever accepted such reasoning, they certainly don’t today. Every General Counsel reports to a CEO whose life is governed by budgets, and requires the same of GCs and the matters they handle. That includes every major litigation and transaction. Outside counsel must understand this requirement, or the General Counsel will get someone who does.

Involve the Client in Budget Decisions

While no lawyer wants to lose control and direction of an assignment, making the budget a collaborative process by accepting informed client judgment can benefit both sides. An assistant general counsel for a major corporation told me that once she saved her company nearly half a million dollars in one litigation by working with outside counsel to develop a budget of both events and money. For example, the number of depositions desired by outside counsel was reduced by the general counsel. The law firm was concerned over potential accusations of negligence or malpractice if one of the canceled depositions might have proved to be a key information source. The client responded by accepting responsibility for the reduced number of depositions. She believed she was taking a reasonable business risk, something her corporate organization did every day in its sales and production departments. The result was agreement, lower costs and a successful engagement – the objectives of any budget.

Create a Budget and Share It with the Client

Creating a budget shows clients – whether they are individuals, small businesses or corporate counsel – that you are sensitive to their needs, and reinforces that you are providing a service of value and not just a block of hourly time. Just as doctors can benefit from patient involvement in planning a treatment, so can lawyers benefit from accepting informed client judgment for effective budgeting. The result will be lower costs and a successful engagement.

Categorized in: , ,

Audience type: Administrators, Associates, Large Law Firms, Small Law Firms, Sole Practitioners