SATISFYING YOUR FIRST CLIENT
Your first client will be your supervising attorney. Your top priority should be to make his or her life easier. How do you do that? By adhering to the following rules:
1. Be ethical and professional
2. Be appropriate in all client contacts
3. Produce a useful work product
4. Manage your time and your work load efficiently
5. Have exceptional communication skills
6. Have a “can do”, team player attitude
7. Be available and responsive
When a supervising attorney asks you to help on a project, go prepared to meet with him or her, take good notes and ask questions. Find out the purpose of the assignment and the form he/she wants the work product to take. Before you leave make sure you find out when the assignment is due and whether or not the supervising attorney wants you to check back in with a preliminary report.
Respond to a supervising attorney’s communication at all times. Let your supervising attorney know how to reach you when you’re away from the office, inform your assistant when you’re going to lunch and when you’ll be back and be sure to let your assistant know when you’re in a meeting and whether or not you can be disturbed.
Should you have a question about the assignment once you’ve begun and the supervising attorney is swamped, instead of barging in his/her office and asking your question, check with the supervising attorney’s assistant to see when he/she would be available to address your question. Conversely, if your research uncovers some nasty news, be sure to deliver this information immediately and in person. If your supervising attorney is unavailable for a face-to-face meeting, at least convey the news by phone. It's also important to contact your supervising attorney immediately if you discover that you are unable to meet the deadline set by him/her.
Remember, what you do and how you do it counts. If you turn in a bullet-proof work product and interact smoothly with your supervising attorney, you’ll get more responsibility sooner and be on your way to establishing a stellar reputation.
