by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - August 10, 2005 - 'The Greatest' Philosophy
It is impossible to tell in a thirty minute phone conversation or even a two hour initial consultation whether a particular client is going to be honest, trustworthy, reasonable and motivated. As lawyers, we try to use our gut instinct to identify good clients from bad clients. Just like with any relationship, it is impossible to really know much about a person without dating them first. We should all continue to use our best instincts about people when selecting clients, we should also monitor our clients during the dating period and be ready to call off the relationship if it appears that it is not going to work out over the long term. For lawyers who are discriminating about which cases and clients they get involved with, client selection is perhaps the most important aspect of your business. One of my favorite sayings in the law is that “successful lawyers make all their money not by the clients they accept, but by those they turn down.”
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
