Help Your Attorney Help You

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But before we review every document and depose every witness, we need to know the client's strategic goal. Does the client have liquidity issues and need a quick, discounted settlement payment in order to stay afloat? Does the client want to remain in the case just long enough so third-party observers conclude the client is not an easy mark for would-be litigation trolls? Or does the client want to extract a pound of flesh from the other side, regardless of time or cost? Your attorney's idea of a "win" might not always mirror yours.

Bad clients neglect to pay the bills. Your attorneys are surely willing to discuss the bills and each line item with you, and any client is entitled to raise concerns about bills with his lawyer. Nonetheless, clients need to pay the bills, and pay them regularly. Obviously, a delinquency might strain the ongoing relationship between the attorney and the client. Furthermore, a delinquency could compromise the relationship with third parties (retained expert witnesses, paralegals, e-discovery firms, photocopying services, etc). Litigation incurs many costs. A client who fails to pay the bills might lose favorable expert testimony, crucial administrative support, access to document databases and repositories, and even the necessary photocopies for filing and service upon opposing parties and the court.

Bad clients refuse to get involved in the case. Ignoring a lawsuit will not make it go away. Clients know more about the factual underpinnings of a case than their attorneys do. Never hesitate to contact your lawyer and share as many details as possible. Be sure to return your attorney's telephone calls when he asks for your assistance in drafting pleadings, discovery requests, or discovery responses. And share your knowledge of the interrelationships between the litigants and third parties. A bad client, for example, might fail to mention that an "impartial" third-party witness actually has known a litigant for decades and that, possibly, that personal or professional relationship might unravel that witness's testimony and prove a terrible embarrassment before the court.

Bad clients don't show up. Too frequently, corporate clients dispatch their "usual" corporate representatives or lower-level employees whose knowledge of the specific issues is less than desired. Your attorney must (and will) make clear to you which people should attend a deposition, hearing, or trial. In our experience, however, we have had too many depositions rescheduled, meetings postponed, and conference calls canceled, because a client knowingly sends the wrong representative to appear. This type of behavior ultimately hurts the client in wasted time, money, and credibility. Nothing remains in a judge's mind more than the unfavorable impression acquired early on due to juvenile gamesmanship.

Clients who want to succeed must do everything possible to make their lawyers winners. Much of the end result hinges on how you perform your responsibilities for your litigation.

Matthew A. Taylor is chairman of Duane Morris' trial practice group and serves on the firm's executive committee. The trial practice group consists of some 350 attorneys in 18 offices. Taylor practices in the area of commercial litigation, handling matters in state and federal courts across the U.S. Matthew M. Ryan is a Duane Morris litigator who represents corporate entities and individual clients in commercial litigation matters, with emphasis on contracts, commercial fraud, and business tort cases.

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