The Power of Narrative: Listening to the Initial Client Interview

• Publication year: 1998
• Citation: Vol. 22 No. 04

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEWVolume 22, No. 1SUMMER 1998

The Power of Narrative: Listening to the Initial Client Interview

Raven Lidman(fn*)

As I thought about the hypothetical situations(fn1) posed for consideration by this symposium, I envisioned distinct individuals in context, speaking particular words. I decided to write the initial consultation out as a dialogue to see what happened to the ideas and the interactions as these three, the lawyer, husband, and wife, explored them. I, thus, chose to turn a hypothetical into a real situation.

By selecting this format, I was only able to focus on the first hypothetical. This one was perhaps the most challenging for me personally. As a feminist and a family law lawyer,(fn2) I have struggled and frequently counseled others, particularly women, to avoid voluntary or involuntary submission to the will or charms of others.

I make no pretense that the following conversation is a model to be followed by others. It is one narrative of what might occur. I invite the reader to imagine himself or herself in this setting and to consider how he or she might handle it differently.[The lawyer goes out to greet the new clients, Bob and Ruth Fenster. He(fn3) observes a well-dressed, healthy man and woman in their mid-30s. After ushering them into the office, offering coffee, and engaging in very brief ice-breaking, the lawyer begins the interview.]

LAWYER: How can I be of assistance?(fn4)

BOB: My wife and I want to get some advice about planning for our future. We are newlyweds, just married two months ago. Now that the wedding and honeymoon are over, we have decided to put our financial affairs in order.

LAWYER: Congratulations on your marriage.

BOB: Thank you. We didn't go see a lawyer before the marriage, for something like a, I think they call it, a prenuptial contract or agreement. That seemed so contrary to our idea of marriage, to divide rather than unite.

We plan on having children. And we want to make sure they are protected; things like who will raise them if we die and making sure they are taken care of financially. We also want to take care of each other. Ruth's first husband died suddenly a couple of years ago without a will and she is still dealing with various issues. Between us we have quite a sizable amount of money and other assets. We want to know if there are any legal documents we should have to make this all go smoothly. I guess we are thinking of wills, powers of attorney, and things like that. But maybe we(fn5) need other pieces of paper to make it all legal. It isn't as if anything is "illegal," it's just that we like to prepare and then get on with life.

We talked about this last night, and I wrote some things down. Here, I made a copy for you, too.[Bob hands to the lawyer a copy of a one-page sheet with a list of possible documents they might need, their respective assets ($2 million for him and $5 million for her), and possible beneficiaries.]

BOB: Ruth, do you think I've covered everything?

RUTH: Well, I can't really think of anything else. Although we talked about making sure our parents are taken care of. My parents are quite a bit older than Bob's, and my mother had polio as a child, so we anticipate problems in the future, but not soon, God willing. Also my ex-sister-in-law has had it rough, and I would like to make sure she is provided for somehow.(fn6)

BOB: We figured our brothers and sisters weren't an issue at this point. Oh yes, I almost forgot, we're very active in our church and would like to provide for it. But that's just further ideas about the will. I guess that's why we're here. We want to know what kinds of things we should be thinking of.

I'm a businessman, and I like to get matters set up right from the start. As you can see, Ruth has lots of property she inherited from her husband. I've spent literally days trying to help her sort it all out. I'd like to put those assets to work.

LAWYER: Mrs. Fenster, I am sorry to hear about your former husband's death.(fn7) Any death can be very traumatic, and I can understand why you want to arrange your affairs so that kind of tragedy is not compounded by other worries. Before we go into any specifics, I want to share that I am impressed with how much thought you have put into this already.[At this point the lawyer may wish to preserve the unmediated flow of information coming from Ruth and Bob. Another 10 minutes of conversation about the clients, their backgrounds, and specifics may be worth hours of later confusion, complications, and clarifications. If so, he may ask them each to tell a little about themselves and how they met. He would learn that they met about a year ago. Each has a college education and substantial financial sophistication.(fn8) They would have discussed his business and her volunteer interests. The red flag that went up upon learning of her prior marriage is minimized by learning of no children. Also, the size of the assets may trigger the possible need for a tax advisor and/or accountant. But the lawyer is also trying to understand how the clients see themselves and what level of legal knowledge they already possess. He is probably somewhat cautiously assessing the extent to which Bob is looking to get his hands on Ruth's assets.]

LAWYER: This information has been helpful to give me some background, so that I understand your concerns, how they arose, how you tend to deal with things. And get to know you some. You will, of course, want to get to know me, to see if we can work together.

You are talking about the area we call estate planning. There are many aspects to it. I like to think of it as problem-solving: how I can help you accomplish your goals while foreseeing and avoiding any pitfalls.(fn9) You are correct that we do this through wills, powers of attorney, health care directives, trusts, etc. Mostly, these documents address death or disability in the future. There are also documents which address how you want to treat and use your assets now.(fn10) I will explain each of these further and, in fact, I have an information package I have prepared for my clients that gives you a fair idea of each.

As you know, I provide an initial consultation without charge. That is so that I can understand something about why you are consulting a lawyer and whether I have the knowledge and experience to assist you. You have been very clear about why you are here. I do the type of legal work you desire. In our initial consultation, I believe it is also wise to take the opportunity to talk about what our lawyer-client relationship is going to be.

BOB: Excuse me if I interrupt. Each of us has worked with other lawyers and it's always been pretty straightforward.

LAWYER: That's precisely why I am bringing it up. Each of you has had separate lawyers, dealing with you alone.(fn11) It was maybe so clear it didn't even seem a question as to who was the client or what kind of a relationship you had with the lawyer. I am...