Lawyers: Yes, Love Can Be in the Air . . .
Love and lawyers? It’s not often that people say these two words in the same sentence. But this can change.
For those in the legal industry, November 4 was a day to celebrate. It was “Love Your Lawyer Day.” Such a day, though, does not need to be confined to one measly day in the year; as a lawyer, you should make it your goal to make every day “Love Your Lawyer Day.”
The history of the day to honor lawyers began 15 years ago, according to Johnny Diaz in “Friday Is Love Your Lawyer Day, Give Your Attorney a Hug,” Sun Sentinel, November 4, 2016, when a Florida lawyer named Nader Anise initiated the day through American Lawyers Public Image Association, an organization that he founded. Since then, the American Bar Association has embraced the idea, designating the first Friday in November every year as “Love Your Lawyer Day.”
Although the idea of loving lawyers is certainly something that all of us in the legal profession can get behind, we should focus on being the type of professional that all of our clients can love every day, not just one day a year.
How should one do that? The answer, in a nutshell, is client relations. Lawyers must have the philosophy that the client is No. 1.
There are four stages, or levels, of client expectations, each defining progressively more complete integration and understanding in the legal services relationship: satisfaction, exceeding expectations, earning loyalty, and collaboration. The specifics of what defines a collaborative relationship will be different for each client, but every lawyer can do much to shape such a relationship and thereby manage client expectations successfully.
Follow this philosophy, and you will find that every day will be “Love Your Lawyer Day.”
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