Divorce Lawyer: When to Accept a Client

Accepting a client is not something that always comes naturally, this is especially true for a young divorce lawyer. This is because attorneys may want to accept all clients that come into their office. This is even more the case when the attorney has invested time in giving the prospective client a consultation and going over the client’s case with them. Accepting a bad client, however, can be a huge headache that is just not worth it. Here are some things to evaluate when accepting a client to represent.

In many areas, it can be considered tortuous interference with a contract to accept a client, if that client is already represented by another attorney. Moreover, you may face ethical problems, if you do legal work on behalf of a client without the other counsel being aware of what you are doing. It is standard practice for divorce lawyer to request that their prospective clients send an email or other written communication to the other attorney requesting that they cease their representation. For extra protection, it is best to get a copy of the correspondence.

After you determine that it is ethical to accept the client for representation, the next things to consider is whether you actually want the client’s business. This is based on a number of factors that are particular to each individual divorce lawyer. One factor is whether you believe that the prospective client has a sufficient amount of money to conclude parts of the representation. While a client may have enough financial means to pay you to draft the initial pleadings, this does not mean that you will be able to be paid to the conclusion of the case. Again, it is important to note ethical obligations, as courts will often not allow attorneys to withdraw from representation. This means that you may end up doing a lot of legal work for no pay.

Another important consideration is whether the client wants to do something that you are against. This is often the easiest way to reject a prospective client for a divorce lawyer. This is because these types of clients are reluctant to listen to reason, and it is clear that these prospective clients simple are not willing to follow professional advice. If this is the case, it is generally easier to realize that accepting such a client will make it difficult to do a good job of representing them.

Perhaps the most difficult way to reject a client is when you and the members of your firm are too busy to adequately represent the client. As an divorce lawyer, you may be under an ethical obligation to zealously represent your clients. If you simply have too many things to do, you could find yourself with a number of commitments that you are not able to meet. While it can be difficult rejecting a perfectly acceptable client because you have too many things to do, remember that this is a good problem to have.

The above material is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended as professional legal advice and should not be construed as such. Attorney William H. Beaumont practices in New Orleans, La.