How Do You Handle a Situation Where a Client's Goals Are Not Aligned With Legal Realities?
Navigating the complex world of legal realities can be challenging, especially when client goals don't align with them. This article delves into effective strategies for handling such situations, drawing on insights from experienced legal professionals. Discover how to guide clients with empathy, align expectations through face-to-face meetings, and explore alternative approaches while maintaining transparency and professionalism.
- Guide Clients with Empathy and Legal Wisdom
- Face-to-Face Meetings Align Client Expectations
- Create Transparency and Explore Alternative Strategies
- Inform Clients and Present Their Position
Guide Clients with Empathy and Legal Wisdom
In one case, a client insisted on pursuing a defamation lawsuit over statements made online that, while offensive, did not meet the legal threshold for actionable harm under our jurisdiction. Their goal was to "clear their name," but legally, the claim lacked merit and risked backfiring with a SLAPP motion.
To bridge the gap between emotion and reality, I explained not only the legal standards but also the reputational and financial costs of litigation. I proposed an alternative route: a well-crafted cease-and-desist letter that conveyed seriousness without escalating into a losing legal battle. Simultaneously, we engaged a communications consultant to manage public messaging more constructively.
The client ultimately appreciated the dual strategy. It protected their image, avoided unnecessary litigation, and reestablished control of the narrative—achieving their goal through legally sound means. This experience reinforced the importance of guiding clients with empathy while firmly anchoring advice in legal realities.
Face-to-Face Meetings Align Client Expectations
On occasion in family law a client will express goals that do not match a realistic or reasonable legal outcome.
Despite best screening practices and despite open and honest conversations with clients during initial consultation appointments, some clients will provide instructions or seek results that do not align with their legal realities.
Thankfully this does not happen in the majority of cases (perhaps because of the above-referenced screening practices), but at times, I have had clients make requests/demands that are unlikely to be delivered.
On these occasions, I find that though a quick phone call to touch base and repeat my advice can be helpful, what most often makes the difference is a face to face meeting (nowadays, this can include zoom). On one occasion it helped to have a colleague in on the meeting, which allowed the client to hear a legal opinion from two different lawyers supported by case law that we has pulled in advance and sent to the client.
When allowed some time to process their matter, consider the legal advice that they are being provided with and put aside the emotions that generally come with divorce and separation, most clients adjust their approach.
Create Transparency and Explore Alternative Strategies
As a criminal tax lawyer, I have experienced on several occasions that clients' expectations do not match the legal reality - whether due to ignorance, wishful thinking, or strategic misjudgments. In one specific case, the client insisted on submitting a voluntary self-disclosure, even though the requirements for it to be exempt from prosecution had long since ceased to be met, for example, because investigations had already been initiated.
In such situations, my primary goal is to create transparency. I take the time to explain the legal situation to the client in clear, understandable language, including the risks and limitations. I work with scenarios to make the consequences of a certain course of action tangible - both in the best and worst case scenarios. At the same time, it is important to respect the client's economic, personal, and business objectives. I therefore look for legal alternative strategies that are as close as possible to their interests. In the case mentioned above, I worked with the client to develop a defense strategy that relied on cooperation with the investigating authorities and restitution. Although this did not lead to impunity, it did result in the proceedings being discontinued subject to conditions.
Inform Clients and Present Their Position
I explained to the client clearly and in writing what the legal principles were so they could review them and provide updated instructions. After the client was fully informed of the law, I would still put forward his/her position and offer and see if the other party would agree to it.
