Quotable: Ian Hu on What Clients Really Want

BY GARRY J. WISE, WISE LAW OFFICE

From LawPro's Ian Hu, via Slaw:

Clients have unique concerns. The lawyer’s job is to listen to those concerns and meet them head-on. Not every client is as interested as you are in the workings of the law. More often than not, I have found clients want an interpreter of the law, not a teacher of the law. Avoid legalese. Make it easy to navigate the legal terrain. Communicate using words and phrases the client understands. It’s far too easy to fall into the trap of talking the way you want to talk, not the way the client needs you to talk. The number one source of claims is the failure to communicate. And failure to understand and address the client’s greatest concern can cause the client to lose confidence in you.

Sounds exactly right to me.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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