Vol. 11, No. 3, Pg. 14. Happy clients Don't Sue You: Two Perspectives.

• Author: By I. Calhoun Watson and Sally Field

South Carolina Lawyer

1999.

Vol. 11, No. 3, Pg. 14.

Happy clients Don't Sue You: Two Perspectives

14Happy clients Don't Sue You: Two PerspectivesBy I. Calhoun Watson and Sally FieldThe threat of a legal mal- practice claim is something all lawyers hope they never face. Since the quality of a lawyer's work is the foundation of one's reputation, any allegation questioning the quality of the legal services a lawyer provides is distressing and unwelcome. Can malpractice claims be avoided or minimized? While there are no absolute answers, numerous studies indicate that the strength of the relationship between the attorney and the client has a tremendous ability to impact whether malpractice is claimed.

Some of the most reliable statistics for legal malpractice were developed in an American Bar Association study of 1983-1985. The results of this study of approximately 30,000 legal malpractice claims show that a lawyer's relationship and communication with his or her client make a significant difference in whether claims are asserted.

Among the 10 most common errors resulting in legal malpractice are good examples of the importance of the relationship between attorney and client. The failure to inform and obtain consent of clients, inadequate discovery or investigation, planning errors in the choice of procedure, failure to follow a client's instructions and procrastination in performance or follow up activity collectively constitute 36.22 percent of the claims. The remaining five of the 10 most common errors constitute 36.38 percent of the errors studied. Interestingly, the failure to calendar properly and the failure to appropriately apply the law together only constitute 20.61 percent of the errors studied.

What insights that can be drawn from these statistics? One insight is that attorneys' interactions and communications with their clients, or lack thereof, can be a direct cause of malpractice claims. These statistics also help dispel a common myth that only "bad" lawyers get sued for malpractice. Failure to know the law constituted only 9.47 percent of

16the errors studied. Even more compelling is the statistic that 67 percent of the claims studied were either dismissed or resulted in no payment. As a result, another insight might be that clients file claims even when there is no real harm or error.

Obviously, the expectations clients and lawyers have of each other are critical. Do the differences in a clients' expectations and a lawyer's expectations provide insights into enhancing the relationship? To address this issue, the perspectives of an in-house corporate client and an outside lawyer follow. Adhering to the simple common sense rules-from both perspectives-will go a long way not just in avoiding malpractice but also in making the entire interaction with clients much more pleasant.

CLIENT PIERSPZCTIVZ

Improving client relations should be a priority without the threat of malpractice claims. There is the often-expressed view by lawyers that the practice of law would be much more fun without clients. But most lawyers have a favorite client or two. If the relationships with those clients are examined, some common threads emerge. The client is reasonable. The client pays on time. The client both listens and responds to the lawyer's advice. The client is cooperative and responsive when the lawyer needs the client's support. The dient seems to understand the demands...