HCBA Lawyer Magazine Vol. 28, No. 3 | Page 50

Managing CLient eXPeCtations at the outset of DivorCe
Marital & Family law Section
Chair: Amber Boles – Law Office of Amber Boles, P.A.
Lawyers should not
underestimate the
importance of educating
clients on the divorce
M
any clients seeking
a divorce lawyer
will bring with
them completely
unrealistic expectations. It is
the lawyer’s role to identify and
manage these expectations.
If a client’s expectations are
realistic, the divorce experience
will be less stressful for the client.
Unrealistic expectations, however,
can result in great trauma for the
client and his or her family. The
divorce lawyer’s goal should be to
curtail such emotional distress by
identifying a client’s expectations
at the beginning of the case and
then educating the client about
realistic expectations and outcomes.
To ascertain a client’s initial
expectations, ask questions and
really listen to the client’s responses.
It is best to ask narrative questions
to discern what the client views
as the main legal issues and the
desired outcome of these issues.
Upon learning a client’s initial
expectations, lawyers should
educate the client about the divorce
process and the law applicable
to the facts of the client’s case.
A client’s understanding of the
law will allow for closer-to-
reasonable expectations, instead
of unreasonable ones. As the
case progresses, a client will make
better decisions if he or she clearly
48
process and the legal
realities of their
situations.
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understands the legal issues and
the law pertaining to these issues.
When educating a client about
the law, lawyers must remember
that everyone comprehends
information differently. One
client may be able to engage in a
meaningful oral discussion about
the case and the law, while another
client may need diagrams and flow
charts drawn on a whiteboard to
understand certain concepts. If
an attorney is unsuccessful at
getting through to the client after
employing different forms of
communication, it may be time
to consider referring the client to
a mental health counselor. Built-
up emotions that surround divorce
may limit the client’s ability to
understand how the case will
proceed and possible realistic
outcomes. A counselor may be
able to help with emotional
blockades. Put simply, a client
must be ready, willing, and able
to understand the law applicable
to his or her case before there is
any chance of the client realizing
that his or her expectations are
not realistic.
Lawyers should not under-
estimate the importance of
educating clients on the divorce
process and the legal realities of
their situations. To have the most
satisfied clients, lawyers must
identify, manage, and then exceed
clients’ expectations. To exceed
clients’ expectations, it is necessary
to make sure they are reasonable
from the outset. Waiting until the
end of the case to bring a client
down to reality only makes the
lawyer’s job significantly harder
and, most likely, the client
significantly more dissatisfied.
The worst possible scenario is
to achieve a great outcome for your
client under the law, but find your
client completely unhappy with
the result. Most often, this results
from undefined
or unrealistic
expectations.
This is why
identifying and
managing clients’
expectations
throughout the
divorce process
is essential to a
successful family
law practice.
Authors: Nicole
Gehringer &
Nancy Hucheson
Harris - Harris
and Hunt, P.A.
JAN - FEB 2018
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HCBA LAWYER