Getting Real with Aggressive Clients

Nobody enjoys dealing with aggressive clients, and some lawyers have the luxury of declining to represent them — a goal I heartily recommend. Sometimes, however, for myriad reasons, getting rid of these folks isn’t possible. In previous posts, I discussed how to use your physical environment to your advantage and how to handle the initial act of client hostility. Now let's deal with setting boundaries and controlling the tone of your interactions with aggressive clients.

Get Real, You're Probably Not "The Hammer"

No matter what technique you use to deal with client aggression, you must be yourself and put your own, personal spin on it. A phony never gets any respect. Besides, the aggressive client is particularly good at sniffing out the fear barely masked by your unisex Calvin Klein cologne. Once, during a coffee session following court, I overheard this bit of advice from a seasoned, battle-scarred attorney nicknamed "The Hammer."  ... READ MORE

March 6, 2014 0 0 0