I am at my best when I give my clients what they need not what they want

Does that title sound arrogant? It is not intended to be, let me explain.

I spend as much time talking with and counseling my clients as I spend actually putting together documents. My value, as it is with most attorneys, is bringing experience, knowledge and skill to a matter. Usually, the result of applying my skills to a matter is the production of some type of document.

What I discovered is that while clients know their problems or challenges, they often have no idea how to address them. In the same way I would struggle to understand something out of the area I normally work in, clients normally don’t comprehend all the legal issues to consider. For example, I might want to fix a plumbing problem only with a plunger relieving the clogging temporarily. A good plumber would see the root problem, tell me my options and then carry out the repairs.

This is where I come in: I understand the legal issues, the options and the impact of each choice. I communicate these things to my clients, thoroughly discuss the facts and legals options and we arrive at a course of action. Then, we execute on the course of action.

Giving my best means helping my clients make informed decisions, decisions they could not have made or carried out without me.

When are you at are your best in your job?