Knowledge is Good By
When I started practicing law in 1970, my father-in-law, an enormously effective and successful litigator with a leading New England “white shoe” firm, gave me a short lecture on the duty that I would owe to future clients. Since he was the smartest and scariest man I had (and have) ever known, I listened very carefully.
First and foremost, he explained, a lawyer owes his client the unvarnished truth. I was admonished to always tell the client the strengths and weaknesses of the case and spell out the pros and cons of taking any particular course of action. The client may not like hearing bad news or a pessimistic opinion about the merits of the case but must, nevertheless, be fully informed so that he or she can make an intelligent and reasoned decision about the proposed course of action.
This rule, he stressed, must be followed even if it means losing the client.
Throughout my law practice, I tried as best I could to follow my father-in-law’s advice. And, sure enough, on many occasions over the past 50+ years, I lost clients because I wouldn’t tell them what they wanted to hear…
