[Opinión] Ungrateful customers, a reflection aloud

Luis Romero Santos | 07/01/2021 6:48 | Updated: 06/01/2021 10:22 PM

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The day before yesterday, when I was having a quiet breakfast in a town on the Costa del Sol, between orange juice and tea, I opened my “WhatsApp” tray and read the message that a client of a group of eight had sent me. name I exercise the private prosecution in a case that has been in the investigation phase for two years and in which the first steps have hardly been carried out.

I have submitted all kinds of writings requesting the speed of the procedure but, due to different circumstances, the file is unjustifiably slow.

Even understanding her desperation and that of the other complainants, one of whom had just written to me as well, every time I receive a message from her, it is demanding, disrespectful and almost always unnecessary.

The letter referred to a statement scheduled for Wednesday, December 30 by videoconference of a witness, for which a colleague appeared in advance in court, informing the official that the procedure had been suspended and that “there had been no time to notify to the parties ”.

We always inform our clients of the procedural acts and resolutions notified, at least the most important ones.

On this occasion, we planned to do it that Monday, the next business day, although what we were going to communicate is that the declaration did not take place due to the suspension referred to.

That is, nothing momentous. However, our client asked early in the morning why we had not informed her of the result of the statement, among other complaints.

Fortunately, the relationship with our clients is very satisfactory with some exceptions such as the one I just mentioned.

However, This summer when I was traveling in my car accompanied by my daughter, I received a call from a client to whom I was taking a case exercising the accusation for reckless homicide. He was referring to who called the statement of the investigated that had taken place weeks before, to whose act he did not attend but he did know it from the recording that we had sent him.

The client’s interrogation of this lawyer through the hands-free system resembled that of a police inspector in a police station:

– Why didn’t you ask him about…?

– Why didn’t you ask for more details when you answered …?

– Did you read the entire file correctly?

– Why didn’t you ask him more questions?

– Well, I have consulted another criminal lawyer and he told me that he would have asked more questions! ”.

With all due respect, the relative of the deceased is not a lawyer, nor does she have law or other higher education, that I know of.

And although the day of the first consultation before hiring, he was seen to be questioning incessantly with a list in front of him and without seeming to have a time reference that made him see that a consultation should not last more than two hours, I did not imagine that Those interpellations were to last until the month of August and they were to take me from one town to another with the road ahead and each time I suggested that we could continue talking at another time, since I had already repeatedly answered their questions, I he refuted:

– “Ah! And when can I call you that you have time? “

Me I replied that at that time I had had time but that his calls were endless and, furthermore, they seemed like those from a procedural law test carried out by someone who was lay.

However, he complained because every time he called, it was always me who limited his spiel, and I objected: “Of course, everything has a beginning and an end!”

In addition, I did not want my daughter to abandon her clear willingness to study law and practice law, with whom I had had to interrupt an interesting conversation at the time of receiving the call.

Today, fortunately, I do not work for this former client.

The case was just starting and for her it was always like it was the day before the trial.

LACK OF TRUST AND RESPECT FOR THE LAWYER

These two examples show the lack of trust and respect for the lawyer to whom those clients had commissioned the case, they believed that I was only defending their case or had only five or six more, being able to dedicate day yes, day no, to theirs, although not there would be work to be done between one procedural act and another, the date of the trial being far off. Lawyers have deontological obligations and a civil, criminal and administrative responsibility.

Thus, we must carry out professional assignments with due diligence and try to achieve the best result for the client.

Further, We must inform the client of any procedural act, resolution, procedure or incident that we believe is important.

But from there to that we have to pick up the phone during office hours or during rest hours, on vacations, weekends, holidays, etc., on top of being ungrateful, that we cannot tolerate and if after noticing it, the client is still insolent and ungrateful, the best thing is to abandon the case and see if he is lucky to find a partner who is not only his lawyer, but also his psychologist, his coach and even his “father or mother”, as some of us They call more than if they were close relatives, even if there is no significant news when they do or when they request an appointment.

On top of not valuing our attention, dedication and work, the bad client causes us concern and anxiety, which contrasts with our satisfaction with the relationships with the majority of our clients, who are considerate and grateful.

I don’t want it to be felt that I only have heavy and troublesome clients, but I think I must refer to what happened recently with an older client whom, until recently, I defended for a crime of breach of measures.

This man expressly requested an appointment with me at the beginning of May and wanted the head of the firm to attend to him as he had very good references from me.

It was one of the first appointments he received after the alarm period was decreed and thanking him for wanting me to be in charge of his defense, I accepted his case setting a moderate fee since from the beginning he announced that he only received a small pension.

YOU DID NOT COMPLY WITH YOUR PART OF THE AGREEMENT

The first stumbling block with him took place when he wanted another case that was brought to him by a public defender to take us without increasing the fees.

The second setback, when the date arrived to pay the second installment of payment of the agreed fees, this gentleman told my secretary that he would not satisfy anything else until the trial was held, forgetting that in the professional commission sheet they had established some conditions to be met.

The third “misunderstanding” took place recently when we informed you that we should increase the fees because, for having incurred in new alleged crimes after the contract was signed, we had to inform you of the new fees for the new infractions, at that he let my secretary know that:

– “That goes all in one package!”

Once I was notified of his stubborn opposition to the very justified increase in my fees, he was informed that in that case, I would renounce his defense and we would practice the settlement of the fees.

To this he angrily replied that he did not intend to resign, and when the administrative officer clarified that I would be the one who was going to resign and not, he exclaimed in a strident tone:

– “If my lawyer resigns, tell him I’m going to report him to the police!”

Naturally, it was no longer because this client wished that for the same minute we would take the defense for new facts regarding which the alleged victim had presented new complaints, and therefore, new charges had been made.

My letter of resignation to his defense has been mainly due to the lack of respect and mistrust of this client, who instead of thanking that I had directly taken care of his defense for a type of crime that I do not usually assume and are handled by other lawyers from the firm for dedicating myself to other more serious ones, he got angry; and also, because he did not take into account the reduction in fees that he requested from the beginning, nor my dedication to him with his constant visits and calls.

And what was missing is that he warned me that if I resigned “I would report myself to the police.”

Of course, he did not think that a lawyer can be tolerant and kind with whom he does not correspond but cannot continue to assume a defense of the client who attacks him through his messages to his employees with banal warnings and threats.

At the same time, I have clients who have paid large amounts of fees and as soon as they contact the firm on their own initiative, they wait for us to write to them, call them or offer an appointment.

When we answer their calls they thank us and do not take up much time or entangle us with endless questions. They recommend us to their family and friends, they tell us that we are very good lawyers and their treatment is exquisite.

THE LAWYERS ARE NOT TO BE MADE OR HARASSED BY OUR CLIENTS

Even understanding that in defense and criminal prosecution, criminal lawyers have clients who go through a delicate situation that affects them, as well as their relatives and friends who hire us or communicate with us, lawyers practice a liberal profession not only for earn a living but because we like it and we have wanted to dedicate ourselves to the noble profession of law.

But We have not chosen this profession to be harassed or harassed by those to whom we dedicate our time and for whom we sacrifice.

As much as we think about the ideal client and most of those who hire us are educated and grateful people, it is as if the doctor to whom a patient with a serious illness goes was questioned by him to check if he has enough knowledge, if he has properly examined the results of the analyzes or tests performed, or if you ask if you are ready to operate.

Continuing to defend a client who does not trust us and is inconsiderate will only serve to aggravate the lawyer-client relationship, so that we do not work with pleasure and so that he finally speaks badly of us.

It is better to end this toxic relationship as soon as possible and forget about the bad customer once they are no longer part of our registration list. Thus we will enjoy our study and our actions in other cases in which the client respects us and pays the corresponding fees.

I know many colleagues who put up with unpleasant situations and unwanted procedures from clients because they do not want to lose them, perhaps because they charge a monthly fee or they would have to return part of what has already been charged.

This leads these colleagues not to work with the necessary peace of mind and not to be happy enough in their own law firm, let alone the lawyers who work for others.

The latter must report these incidents to their superior as soon as they perceive this kind of misconduct in a client of the firm, so that the firm can make a determination on whether to maintain the contractual relationship or replace the lawyer in charge with another.

We already have enough lawyers with the attitudes of some court officials, some judges or some police -those who practice in the criminal jurisdiction- to also have to work for someone who does not deserve our dedication.

We should come to our office every day proud of doing our job and happy to dedicate ourselves to the best profession in the world, the one we dreamed of.

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