Nine Indications You Have a Good Relationship With Your Business Lawyer

Since I have written about what can go wrong in your relationship with your business attorney, it only seems fair that I give a list of things that indicate a good relationship. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Your lawyer has a real positive impact on your business. This is a sure sign that your lawyer is involved and interested. By a positive impact, I mean that your lawyer’s advice has tangible results.
2. Your attorney invests time “on spec.” By this, I mean that your lawyer is willing to invest his or her time in new matters that might develop without charging unless they do. Of course, if you are always introducing new matters that do not ever develop into something concrete, you should not expect your lawyer to work for free forever. It is a good sign, though, if your lawyer is willing occasionally to see if things develop before charging you.
3. It is a sign of a good lawyer-client relationship if your lawyer helps you think and develop new strategies for your business, if you want that from your lawyer.
4. It is a sign of a healthy relationship if your lawyer leads your thinking when appropriate to see what your business will be like in 5 years or some project will be like in 5 years.
5. It is a good sign of a positive relationship if your attorney tends to ask you what is going on in your business without waiting to be told. This means that your lawyer is interested in giving you input and making sure that you are getting the benefit of anything your lawyer knows in a specific area. You may not even know that your lawyer has some experience or knowledge that is helpful. Moreover, if your lawyer does not keep up with your business, your lawyer can never give you helpful advice.
6. It is a positive sign when your lawyer wants to join you in brainstorming about your business. It is one thing for the lawyer to help you think about how to achieve what you have already decided to achieve, but it is even better when your lawyer can contribute to brainstorming about what can be achieved. The final decision is yours, of course.
7. It is a sign of a good relationship if your lawyer makes an effort, without your insistence, to see how your business works. This means going beyond the billable hour to show an interest in your business. For example, if I am representing a new client in a matter (and this includes a litigation matter), then I, of course, will charge to find out whatever I need to find out about the business in order to adequately represent a client on that matter. But I like to go further. I like to find out more about what is going on in my client’s business, such as how it operates, without charging my client. I do this not only because I am interested, but also because I firmly believe this makes me a better lawyer for my client.
8. It is a sign of a good relationship with your lawyer, if your lawyer helps you compare your business to others in your industry, and can tell you why your competitors are doing what they are doing when there is a legal aspect of which you may not be aware.
9. It is a sign of a good relationship with your lawyer if your lawyer communicates with you about not only what you are doing, but also what you might rather be doing. Again, assuming there is no legal prohibition, it is your decision, but your lawyer should occasionally be able to suggest better ways to attack a problem.