Webinar Takeaways: How to answer client questions
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On 17 November 2020, we had a great webinar about how to answer client questions. To help us provide the audience with valuable insights, our guest speaker was Andras Nemeth, the head of the international legal department for Paks 2 Zrt.
You can find below three main takeaways from the webinar. In addition, if you would like to watch the video of the webinar, you can also find the video link below.
Takeaway 1: Get to the point!
As Philipp shared, a good client answer “start(s) with a short clear statement and only later on get(s) to the details.” Andras agreed that a clear answer at the beginning is extremely important for in-house colleagues. In fact, Andras went as far as to suggest that a good answer should be as concise as one sentence.
In Chicago, I was taught the following template for giving clear and direct answers in one sentence. In particular, I was told to choose from the following four options:
Option 1 (Positive & Certain): “Yes, the client can do X, because … [Insert Main Reasons].
Option 2 (Positive & Uncertain): “Yes, the client can do X, if… [Insert Main Conditions].
Option 3 (Negative & Certain): “No, the client cannot do X, because …. [Insert Main Reasons].
Options 4 (Negative & Uncertain): “No, the client cannot do X, unless … [Insert Main Conditions].
Takeaway 2: Keep it Positive but Honest too
Ecaterina mentioned that a really good client answer should be “honest and simple.” Andras liked this description as he felt that it’s important for lawyers to share an honest assessment of the legal situation, even if the honesty might be painful to hear.
At the same time, Andras expressed the importance of trying to communicate advice to clients in a positive manner. When he receives a “No” from a lawyer, it puts him in a difficult position with his colleagues. In Chicago, we were warned against giving clients negative answers because our advice would put the legal departments in a bad situation with the business units (e.g. the non-lawyers will blame the legal departments for blocking their business decisions with “stupid legal rules”).
Interestingly, it’s oftentimes quite easy to transform negative advice into something positive. For example, during the webinar, the participants were asked to reformulate some client advice into a simple answer. Although the participants gave the same substantive answer, some chose a negative framing and others chose a positive framing. See below for some examples:
Negative Wording: No (you can’t use the new working schedule), unless you can justify that the new working schedule is more favourable to the employees or you implement the new working schedule in accordance with the Collective Agreement (i.e. providing one week’s notice and providing the reasoning and duration)
Positive Wording: We are pleased to report that you can implement the new Collective Agreement (and new working schedule) by providing one week's notice and providing the reasoning and duration.
Takeaway 3: Don’t be afraid to clarify objectives
During the Q&A, Suzana asked about how to avoid saying “no” and provide a positive answer when clients send out table forms that limit responses to “Yes or No”.
Andras suggested that the best approach would be to contact the client and ask about the objective(s) behind the form as well as discuss methods to provide better advice. For example, Andras thought that it would be a good idea to attach a cover document that explains the Yes or No answers in greater detail.
Regarding the importance of clarifying client objectives, we also discussed the difficult situation where a lawyer provides an answer that they are concerned will be insufficient for the client. I mentioned that it might make sense to either suggest an alternative solution or propose a telephone conference to discuss better options. Andras agreed that it would be a good idea to follow up with the client to better understand the objectives in order to craft a feasible alternative solution.
Video Link (available until Dec 1)
You can view the webinar’s video with the following (i) Link and (ii) Password.
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/iJqxJYWbUaLWP7zo1Rc6EuMk8s08VksHFIcWJGHQ66ToahXVDdsPw8fF1ua4NROa.3EZnkwHWj5RoHG1W
Access Passcode: M%J#MD5C