Third Answer: The most important factor in ensuring a client's confidence in their attorney is by having the attorney and their firm consistently represent authentic integrity.
"Establishing Credibility: Inspiring Trust in Others." Establishing Credibility. MindTools, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
I have often found myself at a place called The Donut Man at 2am. Accompanied by great friends, most of the time I end up going home saying "No, I was wrong before. This has been the greatest night of my life." Sometimes half way through it, I'll be somewhere past that moment of 'stomach aching, roll on the floor, far past knee slapping, can't inhale, someone's thumb is hovering over 911, I just did an ab workout yesterday and I'm really feeling it' kind of laughter and I'll look at my surroundings and suddenly find myself lost my own thoughts. 'How on Earth did my parents let me go out tonight? How can they have so much confidence in me? I am so lucky!" Then I remember, it's not luck at all! It's trust. This is hard earned TRUST I'm enjoying right now. I don't dare create mishaps for myself, not so much in fear of losing their trust, but in gratitude for the position I am in. It is not that I am terrified of knocking my tower of trust blocks down, it is that I need to maintain this solid foundation so that I can continue building up.
Ever since I was a little girl and my mom turned her back on the cookie dough smeared bowl to wash her hands saying, "Don't touch the bowl Marissa..." I've been waiting for these moments. The moments of free will where I could have the bowl in front of me and do what whatever I please with it! Lick that bowl like a Nutella covered spoon, get a stomach ache and be bad or listen to instructions, save the calories and future lecture while being good. Now every time I have a bowl in front of me (I do hope you realize we are now speaking theoretically), I do the same thing I did when I was a child. I don't touch it. Do you see where it got me now? It was all worth it. In the end, I got trust AND sugar so life ended up working out.
The point is, trust must be earned and accumulated over time in any situation/occupation. It sure would make things easier if along the way, the attorney proved himself to actually be trustworthy by demonstrating some integrity. This goes for his firm as well. When a mistake is made, own up to it and tell the client. If progress is made, great but don't go on boasting about it, the job isn't done yet. Customers will stay loyal if they find a purpose worth their devotion. It doesn't all happen at once- Baby steps people. Over time if there aren't any major slip ups, clients will demonstrate their confidence. Having the clients confidence always helps an attorney's moral, which then in state helps build a better case. When you have an attorney working on a case with the diligent adoration of their client, it will make the attorney want to be more devoted just knowing that they have the support. There will be times, the attorney will have the bowl in front of him, it's a late night, he could argue a weak case, type up a snappy brief and just be done for the night...but you know what? If my third answer is correct, the attorney will get the bowl throw it on the ground, burn it and then spit on it, TWICE. He will write up a fantastic brief, catch up on sleep later (who needs it anyways) and create a great argument. It's these kinds of things that build trust. Having integrity, honesty, dedication and resisting when it seems like no other cookie dough covered bowl will ever be more deliciously tempting that the one right in front of you.
After all, if the bowl was in front of you, what would you do?
No comments:
Post a Comment