Establishing Rapport with Prospective Clients

As a No Win No Fee lawyer, I approach my clients with more care than usual. Since I know that they don’t come to seek my services unless they think their cases are meritorious and their economic capabilities are poor, I make it a point to look as if I agree with both of these assumptions. In other words, I don’t criticize their claims or their financial capabilities at the onset. As compared with other clients, I let my views, no matter how harsh, sink in only by degrees.

What for? The answer is that I am aware that such clients are fragile. For some reason, they come to me with the assumption that if I refuse their claims, they will have no choice but to condone their injurious accidents. In other words, if I would abandon them, then they might as well forget the cause of justice. Thus, if ever I feel that their cases must be rejected because they are not as meritorious as their claimants have envisioned, then I do so mildly, gently, and slowly.

Another way in which I change my attitude is that I smile and look concerned more often. Smiling has a wonderfully reassuring effect. Before, I always assumed a serious demeanor when talking to my clients, but I stopped when it came to the point that my client could not go on because my bleak disposition, according to him, signaled that his case was not worth my time. This was funny because I was thinking the exact opposite.

Looking concerned, on the other hand, also disarms my clients and makes them feel more comfortable. Talking to your lawyer, especially if he is a No Win No Fee lawyer, even just a prospective one, is highly similar to talking to your doctor. To him you relay all your problems, your fears, and your hopes. It makes a great difference, based on my experience, if such things were told to a person who just returned a blank and non-committal stare as opposed to a person who returned your entreaties and confidence with concern and sympathy.

Finally, it also helps if I encourage them to speak about non-legal topics just to break the monotony. In doing so, I make them see that although I may not accept their cases and act as their lawyer, that at least for the short period they consulted with me that I was their genuine friend.