Wellness Wednesday: Make Well-Being an Expectation in the Attorney-Client Relationship.

Michael 1 Comment

Today, I was perusing the Institute for Well-Being in Law’s website.  I found this post by Ben Carpenter:

Making Well-Being an Expectation in Attorney-Client Relationships

Whether here or at seminars, I often mention the importance of setting reasonable client expectations at the outset of the representation.  This post is representative of the message. 

In addition, I’ve used wellness presentations to urge lawyers to set boundaries with clients and opposing counsel.  When I do, I remind lawyers that the duties of diligence and communication are modified by the word “reasonable[1],” and that there are times when it’s perfectly reasonable to respond to clients and opposing counsel:

  • Tomorrow.
  • After your kid’s game, recital, or event.
  • After you finish lunch.
  • After you get back from the short walk you’re on.
  • After you finish the email in which you’re responding to a different client or opposing counsel.

What I’ve never thought to do is to suggest to lawyers that the expectations they set with clients include an expectation as to how lawyer and client will treat each other.  What a great idea!

Back to Carpenter’s post . . .

. . . the title conveys it all: setting expectations with clients includes setting expectations about how you’re going to treat each other.  I did not pay Attorney Carpenter to author the post, but I endorse the message.

While I recommend the entire post, I want to focus on three paragraphs.

First:

  • “There is a stigma around well-being, as if adopting behaviors that support well-being may compromise a lawyer’s ability to provide exceptional service. Well-being is a responsibility, not a luxury, that is an integral component of our collective ability to satisfy our duty of competency.  Adopting behaviors that support well-being is not only necessary to the profession, but it makes us better lawyers.”

Yes! In the introduction to last week’s quiz, I wrote that civility is not weakness. Looking out for your own well-being isn’t either. It’s a responsibility that will make you healthier and better equipped to honor your duties to your clients. In other words, and to paraphrase Carpenter, well-being isn’t a luxury, it’s an aspect of competence.

Next:

  • “In today’s environment of flexible work arrangements and ubiquitous communication devices, there is no single set of rules or standards that work for everyone. It is easy to lose boundaries, and to assume that having the ability to connect means we should always be connected.  Therefore, in these times, it is more important than ever to discuss and confirm expectations for availability and how to connect.”

Yes!  Just because we can connect doesn’t mean that we must connect.  As I mentioned above, the duties of diligence and communication are modified by the word “reasonable.”

Finally, the coach and runner in me loved this sentence:

  • “Ultimately, we hope that the guidelines will become forgotten and replaced by adopted habits and practices that have become part of our culture and relationships.”

We must make well-being a habit. And habits don’t happen overnight. They only develop as a result of a commitment to repetition.  We used to tell our players that we weren’t going to work on things until they remembered them, we were going to work on things until it was impossible for the players to forget them.  That’s a habit. And, as I blogged long ago, I agree with Carpenter that we should strive to make wellness a habit.

In closing, set reasonable expectations with clients, including expectations that foster the well-being of all involved in the relationship.

[1] V.R.Pr.C. 1.3 requires a lawyer to “act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.”  V.R.Pr.C. 1.4(a)(3) requires a lawyer to “keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter.”  V.R.Pr.C. 1.4(a)(4) requires a lawyer to “promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.”

Previous Wellness Wednesday Posts

[1] V.R.Pr.C. 1.3 requires a lawyer to “act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.”  V.R.Pr.C. 1.4(a)(3) requires a lawyer to “keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter.”  V.R.Pr.C. 1.4(a)(4) requires a lawyer to “promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.”

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