A legal interview often concerns sensitive topics that an individual would not necessarily tell a stranger. Thus, the first step in the interview is developing rapport and motivating the client to talk freely.
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It reveals whether the parties have the same expectations for representation and whether they are capable of sharing open, honest communications. The client should give the lawyer all the facts about his legal matter during the interview.
Information to be gathered on every client and potential client includes everything needed to contact the client. The interviewing attorney should obtain not only the name and address of the client, but also place of employment, home, office, and cell phone numbers, e-mail address, and fax access.
When a firm handles a number of similar matters for a client, such as routine real estate closings, an annual review can suffice. In the case of protracted litigation, “after-action” reviews may be helpful at various points along the way.
Conduct a client interview whenever there’s a hint of friction or displeasure, as well as at the end of the matter. When a firm handles a number of similar matters for a client, such as routine real estate closings, an annual review can suffice.
Interviewing a client is the first step in judging whether a good attorney-client relationship is likely. It reveals whether the parties have the same expectations for representation and whether they are capable of sharing open, honest communications.
Determine if you can adequately resolve the person's legal issue. Decide through observation and questioning whether the two of you would work well together. Jointly decide if your expectations about results, fees, time and commitment are the same.
The client should give the lawyer all the facts about his legal matter during the interview. As the lawyer, you should determine whether your expertise can be useful based on those facts, and directly disclose your analysis of the circumstances.
Client interviews are essential to nurturing relationships. Without client interviews, you may not know when a relationship is faltering. Conventional wisdom suggests that where a problem existed but is addressed and recovered from, the relationship is stronger than if no problem had occurred. Client interviews will alert you when ...
The goal is to listen carefully, soliciting as much information as the client has to offer. Client interviews are best conducted face to face, at the client’s location, or on comfortable neutral ground. If an in-person interview isn’t practical, a phone interview can work.
Do your best to avoid contradicting the client or excusing any behavior that has created an issue. Listen carefully, ask probing questions, and thank the client for the feedback. Let the client know that any issues raised will be addressed .
It can help to have two firm representatives participate — one to ask the bulk of the questions and another to make notes and ask follow-up questions. Both should avoid interrupting, arguing, contradicting, explaining, and offering excuses. The goal is to listen carefully, soliciting as much information as the client has to offer.
Have the relationship partner send a letter to the client (or call the client) to ask them to participate and to let the client know someone will contact him or her to schedule a time to meet (if the relationship partner is not conducting the interview).
The only way to find out what your clients think of you is to ask them. Follow these steps for conducting effective client interviews.
About 45 minutes is an optimal length for the meeting but defer to the client. If they say they can only spare 15 minutes, accommodate their schedule. Occasionally, a client will talk for quite a bit longer, so be careful not to schedule back-to-back interviews with insufficient time to make notes or to get to the next meeting.
Once the attorney determines who is the client, it is time to get specific information related to the issue at hand.
The purpose of the client interview is to obtain as much information in respect to the situation presented by the client. A second purpose is to sell the attorney’s services. In order to convince the client to retain the attorney, it is necessary to gather as much information as possible about the issue presented by the potential client and ...
Information to be gathered on every client and potential client includes everything needed to contact the client. The interviewing attorney should obtain not only the name and address of the client, but also place of employment, home, office, and cell phone numbers, e-mail address, and fax access.
Securities litigation most often revolves around the buying and selling of stocks and bonds, in manners violating federal and state securities laws. The most frequently cited violation is § 10 (b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 USCS § 78j (b), and Rule 10 (b)-5 promulgated thereunder, 17 CFR 240.10b-5, and Rule 10 (b)-5 promulgated thereunder, . Other provisions, including those found in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 USCS § 1961 et seq., also provide sources of securities litigation, both civil and criminal. Criminal actions are usually brought by the United States. Civil actions are brought by individuals or classes of individuals. It should be remembered that pleadings alleging fraud must be stated with all of the alleged details constituting the fraud. RICO claims must include predicate acts. Derivative actions contend that directors and officers acted in ways that hurt the corporation. et seq., also provide sources of securities litigation, both civil and criminal. Criminal actions are usually brought by the United States. Civil actions are brought by individuals or classes of individuals. It should be remembered that pleadings alleging fraud must be stated with all of the alleged details constituting the fraud. RICO claims must include predicate acts. Derivative actions contend that directors and officers acted in ways that hurt the corporation.
Intellectual property law covers the fields of patent, trademark, trade dress, and copyrights. These are specialized fields requiring specialized training. The attorney needs to have knowledge of the product presented by the client and a full understanding of the administrative process involved in protecting the product. Practice areas involve registering the product, licensing it, selling the rights to it, and litigating infringements.
Commercial law frequently involves the purchase or lease of goods. Most business transactions are governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Issues arise over whether the goods that were purchased were delivered on time, whether delivery was excused, whether they performed as warranted, whether they were paid for. Lease contracts covered under the UCC are for lease of goods, such as cars, office equipment, construction equipment, or tents and party goods. The UCC does not apply to leases of real property. Other actions under the UCC involve collections on negotiable instruments, funds transfers, letters of credit, bulk transfers, title documents involving bills of lading and warehouse receipts, transfer of investment securities, and secured transactions.
Some information, such as name, address, telephone numbers, and email address, are common to all clients. Other information is matter specific. While many firms have adopted various fill-in-the-blank forms, others use available online forms, such as Lexis provided HotDocs, which allow an attorney to enter information once for use in standard forms.
You are expected to conduct an interview with a ‘client’ in order to obtain and convey the information required without stepping outside of what you know or can do. The information you obtain should be enough for you to take the next steps without going back to the client for more.
This is a biggie – the client should know when he leaves the interview room what you are going to do, what he needs to do and how long the next step will take. It is very important you are clear who is going to contact who next and you must be certain about anything the client needs to do before you next contact them.
If the ‘client’ claims he has permission, explain you will need to check with your supervisor first and that you are under a duty of confidentiality. You may be able to safely provide generic advice about process, e.g. what happens in probate, but don’t give anything specific. Managing client expectations.
Open questions are good to get the client talking and to get the conversation flowing whereas closed questions get the details out. A good interview technique is to start with open questions and slowly narrow down to closed until you have the information you need.
The client interview assessment is all about your face-to-face customer service skills under the watchful gaze of the professional conduct rules. You are expected to conduct an interview with a ‘client’ in order to obtain and convey the information required without stepping outside of what you know or can do. The information you obtain should be enough for you to take the next steps without going back to the client for more. What you tell the client should cover off your professional conduct and give a little advice regarding their situation.
1. Introduce yourself and explain a little about what will happen during the interview: ‘I am going to ask you a few questions about the situation to get some information about the background. I may take some notes while you talk, please don’t worry.’ Explain the stages of the interview. This puts the client at ease and helps you take control. You could even offer the client a cup of tea or a drink.
If you come across a situation where a conflict might arise, you should close the interview down and explain you need to carry out a conflict check before going any further. If they ask why, explain that you may already act for the other party and will be under a duty to them.
The client comes to the interview with crucial information – what brings him to the lawyer, and usually, what result he wants. The lawyer has important information also – knowledge about the law and what facts are relevant given the law. Lawyers tend to use their knowledge to focus on the specifics of the case, and take control before giving the client a chance to tell his whole story. As a result, the client may feel like he never got a chance to tell his story, and the lawyer may fail to understand what the client really wants.
The lawyer should consider all plausible theories, and then proceed to obtain relevant information that would support or negate a claim using each theory. This is the time to pursue questions that occurred to you while the client was going through the overview, and to obtain greater detail on relevant facts.
Countervailing factors will motivate the client to talk, however. The client’s desire to resolve the problem favorably may overcome her reluctance to talk. Or she may respond to: appeals to help others, recognition of her efforts, or simply the expectations expressed by the lawyer.
Thus, the first step in the interview is developing rapport and motivating the client to talk freely.
The client may be reluctant to reveal information for several reasons—for instance, she may believe the information will hurt the legal case, she may not understand its relevance, or she may find the information too traumatic to discuss. Countervailing factors will motivate the client to talk, however.
Ask the client for a detailed step-by-step chronological description of what has happened. Prompt the client with open-ended, non-leading questions like “what happened next?” but do not probe for detail at this stage. Listen carefully and remember, this is the client’s chance to tell his story. You will obtain fuller information if you let him focus on his concerns at this stage.
Based on the information obtained in the first stages of the interview, the lawyer can mentally generate theories supporting possible legal claims . The lawyer should consider all plausible possible legal claims. The lawyer should consider all plausible theories, and then proceed to obtain relevant information that would support or negate a claim using each theory. This is the time to pursue questions that occurred to you while the client was going through the overview, and to obtain greater detail on relevant facts.
When the person being interviewed is not cooperative, the interviewer may be tempted to try to pressure the witness. Appropriate pressure would include informing the witness that a formal deposition may be required. It may even be appropriate, with the attorney’s consent, to make the suggestion that once the interview has been conducted, the witness may not be needed at trial. Pressure will not work, however, if the witness has an interest in being uncooperative.
The subject of the interview and the reason for the interview will, to a great degree, determine whether the interview will be formal or informal and how formal or informal your attitude should be. Always be professional. Act appropriately. Don’t ask personal questions unless they relate to the representation. Refrain from presenting an air of superiority.
There is no single style, technique, or theory of interviewing that fits all situations or all interviewers. With that in mind, there are still foundational techniques that can give you the opportunity to become an excellent interviewer.
Identify yourself. Paralegals working for an attorney must not misrepresent their identities. Identify yourself as a paralegal working for an attorney. You do not always have to identify your client, but you must not give the impression to the witness that you are an uninterested party.