Knowing When To Say "No"

Webster's Dictionary defines the word "No" as meaning: ..."not ever; not in any degree; not at all; nay; not so; deny; refuse..."

It is easy for a lawyer to say "No" when the "Client from hell" comes into the office with the worse case you have seen in years. (Scenario #1)

But, what do you say when the "Client from hell" comes into the office with a "decent case"? (Scenario #2)

Or, when the nicest, friendliest, most helpless client comes in with a bad case? (Scenario #3)

We must remember that taking the wrong client or the wrong case will keep us up at night.  When in doubt, a lawyer has to ask themselves the question "Is it worth it?"  If one says "Yes" when they should say "No," they are oftentimes asking for trouble.

There is an old joke: "What part of 'No' don't you understand?"

Comments

[Matt Faler, Attorney at Law]

Scenario #2 should be a "no" as well. I believe the most difficult would be a Scenario #4 - - when client from hell comes in with an easy winner. The temptation of big money may be too much for us to resits. We will convince ourselves this time he will be easy to deal with. Then, 4 months into it, after he refuses fair settlement offer after offer, we find ourselves spending more time and energy on a case than we should for a client who is terrible to begin with. Long story short, in my opinion based on 12.5 months of legal practice, a bad client needs to be avoided at almost any reasonable cost.