In-House View: How to be Reasonable When Your

Program Overview How can we, as lawyers, be reasonable when our client is being unreasonable?
The session will focus on practical tips, strategies and best practices for dealing with clients in difficult, high-pressure circumstances.
The discussion’s takeaways are intended to be applicable to any lawyer dealing with demanding clients, whether working in-house, at a law firm, or in the public sector.<br>

Scenario 1: Unrealistic Deadlines Situation: Your client calls late in the day and wants a draft ready first thing in the morning. Or perhaps your client wants an agreement fully negotiated by the end of the week – when drafts haven’t yet even been exchanged.

Tips / Strategies / Best Practices:
Understand the urgency of the request, including who is making the request.
Manage expectations from the outset (guide them gently back to Earth).
If appropriate at your organization or otherwise merited by unique circumstances, consider documenting all conversations thoroughly.
Remain calm, professional, and diplomatic.<br>

Scenario 2: Project is the Individual Client’s #1 Priority, But You Have Competing Priorities Situation: One of your clients is working on a project that is his/her #1 priority. You are assisting a number of clients with equally (or more) urgent matters. Because the project is the top priority for your client, he/she is constantly calling, emailing and requesting meetings with you.

Tips / Strategies / Best Practices:
Prioritize projects after consulting with relevant stakeholders.
Always communicate with your client:
Let your client know you understand their sense of urgency and that you will prioritize the project over non-urgent matters.
Set timelines upfront and ask for extensions when appropriate.
There may be times when you have multiple urgent projects and you have to work long hours.
Block work time on your calendar and answer emails at appropriate intervals, not constantly.<br>

Scenario 3: Your Client Expects You, and You Alone, to Handle the Matter Situation: Perhaps it’s a project that requires input from a number of subject matter experts (HR, Finance, IP, tax). Or perhaps it’s a project where your side has completed all of its action items but the other side is unresponsive and the project is stalling. In any case, your client is frustrated, wants the project to be completed, and doesn’t understand why you can’t just get it done.

Tips / Strategies / Best Practices:
For in-house counsel, provide visibility to your client by copying him/her (when appropriate) on emails to internal subject matter experts; educate your client by inviting him/her to internal meetings.
Send summaries/ recaps to your client; enlist client’s support in gathering outstanding information.
If the legal team on the other side is holding things up, consider working with your client to prepare him/her to speak his/her counterpart regarding the open points.<br>

Scenario 4: Your Client Thinks that “Legal” is Holding Things Up Situation: You and the other side’s counsel are trading drafts and are hung up on a few provisions. Your client sees it as “boilerplate”, but you know that the other side’s requested changes can have a real impact on your company.

Tips / Strategies / Best Practices:
Help your client understand the business rationale for your advocacy of the provision and provide specific examples for your client: what are the economic implications of agreeing to the other side’s position?
If appropriate, engage business people in the negotiations to help reach “agreement in principal” and then finalize draft.<br>

Scenario 5: Your Client Is Trying to Agree to Something That He/She Is Not Authorized to Agree To Situation: There are a number of open points in your negotiation with the other side. Fatigue has set in and your client just wants to “move forward”. He/she instructs you to “just agree” to whatever the counterparty’s position is, but you know that your client does not have authority to make the decision.

Tips / Strategies / Best Practices:
At the outset, make it clear to your client that certain issues that deviate from the legally sanctioned "guard rails" require approval of "X" person. This will help the client to be less inclined to request you to "move forward" when the client knows company policy requires additional approval.
Keep your manager and relevant company leadership appropriately informed of the situation.
Work with client to help him/her understand the business implications of agreeing to a particular provision.
Help client understand why it is in both the company’s and his/her individual best interest to ensure alignment of the appropriate stakeholders.<br>

Scenario 6: Your Business Client Puts a Meeting on Your Calendar Before You Are Ready Situation: Your business client wants to put pressure on you to complete something, but you are not yet ready.

Tips / Strategies / Best Practices:
At the outset of a project, discuss with your client the true timeline, relevant deadlines and appropriate timing for check-in meetings.
If your work product is not yet finished, be upfront with your client – explain that you are working on the project and provide an update, but explain that with additional time the requested meeting will be more efficient and effective.
Alternatively, determine if it is preferable to attend the meeting with the work product in its current state; business input may be helpful as you finalize and client may feel more comfortable with the in-person status update.
Build credibility with your clients upfront, so you have “credit in the bank” in the event you need to cancel or reschedule a meeting.<br>

Takeaways – How to Turn That Frown Upside Down Do good work, be reliable and communicate clearly. Over time you will build trust with your client and get a sense for how urgent things truly are (and taking your client out for coffee every now and then never hurts).
Agree upon timelines and calibrate expectations with your client upfront whenever possible. Revisit as appropriate.
Help the client understand how you are viewing things (give them a different lens); recognize that this may be most effective if you are able to make the “business” case.
If appropriate at your organization or otherwise merited by unique circumstances, consider documenting all communications thoroughly, including your legal recommendation, balancing risk of getting projects done quickly vs. accurately, etc.
Take a deep breath and stay calm – pause for a minute before you answer that email or pick up that phone!
In truly difficult situations, make sure your manager and any other appropriate stakeholders are informed.<br>

Wrap Up Any tips / strategies / best practices from the audience members?

Questions?<br>

THANK YOU!<br>