How lawyers can reduce unreasonable last minutes clients demand and reclaims their life balance

It is Friday night and once again you have to tell your family you are going to be late, or your friends that you are not going to make the theatre.

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Your client called with a really urgent issue, someone in your team did not do a great job and you need to revise asap, or the matter has simply not been managed properly.

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As the weeks and months tick by as you continue to accept these habits, it starts to dawn on you that your family starts to get a second seat far too frequently compared to your clients.

It is normal for a successful lawyer to have these problems, at times even cancelling holidays or ending up working all the time whilst on vacation.

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The more you give into this the more you lose connection to others and also to yourself.

And you don't know how to change it.

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Being available to clients is foremost the most important thing and even more so is being able to produce impeccable work within the agreed timeframe, however it does not mean that it should constantly impact your family time and private life.

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It is possible to reduce these last minute, emergency ad hoc demands.

First I want to share with you two important steps to make this change lasting.

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And then I'm going to reveal why that happens so often in a moment.

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Coaching lawyers and professionals and also having practised myself for many years, I have dedicated time to create a framework to minimise last minute inconveniences which have stolen from relationships to the point of compromising them.

Many of my clients have been able to put systems and boundaries down without compromising quality of work and clients satisfaction, on the contrary increasing it all because of what I have learned myself after years of practising and working with clients.

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Here are the two important steps you need to be aware of

1- don’t just repeat the pattern to say yes without questioning. Identify why it feels unreasonable. Is it because you don't have time, or because it's outside your area of responsibility, or because you won't be compensated for the extra work, or because you don't have the resources or expertise?

2- Ask questions so you can better understand the reasons for the request if you feel the reasons of the request are unclear. Why is the task important? Why is the deadline critical? It's essential to find the answers to questions such as these because they'll help you avoid misunderstandings and resentment.

With intentionality and a process to deal with such requests, and with a structured time management framework recently two of my senior lawyer clients have managed to positively deal with such requests by 50 per cent and dealt in a positive way with a good part of the residual ones.

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Knowing how to achieve these types of results is critical to your success as a lawyer which leads to a satisfactory life and practice.

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Now if you are looking to creating more time for fun and family I have something for you: it is called More Time for Lawyers method.

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If you're looking for a breakthrough with an established and professional qualified coach who is very familiar with the legal world and reclaim your time, message me, or alternatively comment with the words “YES” and I will send it to you.

Looking forward to talking to you soon

Annelise

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