Estate Planning

Managing Client Expectations

By Hull and Hull LLP

'If parents pass enthusiasm along to their children, they will leave them an estate of incalculable value." - Thomas Alva Edison

Sometimes, unfortunately, the enthusiasm left behind when a parent passes away is the enthusiasm for litigation with one's family. In this context, it is important for a lawyer to manage his or her client's expectations in order to prevent that particular brand of enthusiasm from reflecting back on the lawyer.

Dan Pinnington, in a recent post on Law Pro's 'Avoid a Claim' blog, comments on the importance of discussing and managing expectations at the very beginning of a matter to make sure new clients have reasonable expectations. This is one of the most effective things a lawyer can do because a client with unrealistic expectations is probably not going to be happy, regardless of how good the results.

No matter how much we believe in our clients' cases and want them to get the whole enchilada, whatever that might be, it is almost always better to under promise and over deliver. Perception is reality and at the end of the day your client will be measuring your performance based on a minimum standard of the results you said you would achieve in that first client meeting. As I always say, expectations are the leading cause of disappointment. Manage the expectations and you can manage (or avoid) the disappointment. 

For more on this topic, see this podcast by Ian Hull and Suzana Popovic-Montag on managing the expectations of a surviving spouse.

Sharon Davis - Click here for more information on Sharon Davis.

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on October 21, 2010 (boomark / email).