A predicate problem is simply answering the question of "what is a good lawyer?" and "what is good legal work?" I've heard clients who I really respect heap praise on lawyers who were solidly mediocre. And I've seen the opposite: good lawyers who aren't particularly appreciated. Sometimes the quality of the work is obscured in clients' minds by the quality of the outcome. Sometimes the client perceives things as "good" that may not be good – e.g., a lawyer who says "yes" when a prudent lawyer would find a way to say "no". Again, it goes back to not really having a reliable and objective measure for what makes a good lawyer or good legal work.
Yeah and I’m not sure if “bad” or “good” is even the right way to look at it. Great lawyers can find themselves outside of their swim lanes pretty fast. Perhaps the right way to think about it is “suitability”. Is the lawyer the right person to get the job done for you / your company? I guess it doesn’t always need to be perfect, but it should at least be above a threshold of adequacy and timely, and reasonably priced. Thanks for chiming in Mike!
A predicate problem is simply answering the question of "what is a good lawyer?" and "what is good legal work?" I've heard clients who I really respect heap praise on lawyers who were solidly mediocre. And I've seen the opposite: good lawyers who aren't particularly appreciated. Sometimes the quality of the work is obscured in clients' minds by the quality of the outcome. Sometimes the client perceives things as "good" that may not be good – e.g., a lawyer who says "yes" when a prudent lawyer would find a way to say "no". Again, it goes back to not really having a reliable and objective measure for what makes a good lawyer or good legal work.
Yeah and I’m not sure if “bad” or “good” is even the right way to look at it. Great lawyers can find themselves outside of their swim lanes pretty fast. Perhaps the right way to think about it is “suitability”. Is the lawyer the right person to get the job done for you / your company? I guess it doesn’t always need to be perfect, but it should at least be above a threshold of adequacy and timely, and reasonably priced. Thanks for chiming in Mike!