The Lawyer As Counselor by Jack W. Burtch Jr. In my second year of law school, I began working for a well-known Nashville defense lawyer. He was in his early sixties then, as I am now. One day he said, “JB, I want you to go to the county health department, find all the pamphlets on mental health, and bring them back here.” Thinking this was somewhat unusual, I asked the reason for his request. “Because many of my clients have trouble accepting real - ity,” he said, “and I want to find out why.” Sometimes simply bringing clients into reality is our job. When I look at my law license with its faded friends, and they strongly suggested I come and signatures, I see the words “Attorney and talk to you.” I didn’t know why he was calling Counsellor at Law.” For many years, only that first either, but I was certainly intrigued. And after we word registered. I was a lawyer. That meant I rep - had chatted for about half an hour, I started to see resented clients in their causes. Within the the picture. Here was a successful executive in a bounds of morality and legality, I helped them large organization who was being nudged toward achieve their goals by zealous advocacy. I listened the sidelines. To me, the signs were obvious: more to what they wanted and tried to make it happen responsibility for “special” projects; less line for them. accountability; exclusion from meetings he once Yet as the years went by, I began to notice led; less informal interaction with top manage - something unexpected. In my practice in labor ment. I thought he was on the way out, but he and employment matters, I could now see that didn’t have a clue. So, in the nicest possible way, I certain types of situations tended told him what I saw and suggested that his time Situations that seem mysteri - to produce certain types of prob - with this company might be coming to an end. lems. Although each client’s case After his initial, emotional reaction, he sat very ous to our clients often appear was unique, I began to see pat - still for some minutes. Then he looked up and terns in both causes and solu - said, “They want me out. But they don’t know I’m clear to us. This is not because tions. This wasn’t true for every now onto their game.” He paused again and problem, of course, but it was for asked, “How can we use what we now know to get lawyers are smarter, or have many. It then dawned on me that what we want?” In the shortest time I’d ever seen, I might know more about how a this client was ready to turn disappointment into better insight, or are gifted with situation would play out than opportunity. We met again to develop a strategic those who had been enmeshed in plan, and a few months later my client walked out legal clairvoyance. It’s simply it from the beginning. I was sud - of his office for the last time, as a happy man. denly able to predict how a group Any lawyer who has practiced for a long time has because the experienced lawyer of employees might respond to a had similar experiences. Situations that seem new management directive. I now mysterious to our clients often appear clear to us. has been down this road before realized the larger trajectory of an This is not because lawyers are smarter, or have executive’s career could be fore - better insight, or are gifted with legal clairvoy - and the territory is familiar. cast by examining a few recent ance. It’s simply because the experienced lawyer assignments and duties. has been down this road before and the territory is familiar. Notwithstanding the vagaries and Creating Opportunity out of Disappointment complexities of human character and motivation, For me, the counselor’s role came into focus people often react to given situations within a about fifteen years ago when an executive called range of somewhat predictable responses. The and asked for an appointment. “I don’t know why longer we practice, the more familiar we are with I’m calling,” he said, “but I’ve talked with some those likely responses. 26 VIRGINIA LAWYER | April 2010 | Vol. 58 | SENIOR LAWYERS CONFERENCE THE LAWYER AS COUNSELOR Capitalizing on Industry Knowledge good idea to move the trailer off the property, In academic legal counseling terminology, the since it looked like a billboard supporting the lawyer’s accumulated past experience in a particu - struck company. He thanked me for my thoughts, lar field is called “industry knowledge.” This term again told me to get an injunction, and ushered refers to the information gathered by working me out the door. through the same types of legal problems over The next morning, I got a call from the irri - and over again. Land-use lawyers know how land tated general counsel of the parent company in developers tend to react when interest rates drop; New York. He said if I didn’t have the fortitude to criminal lawyers know that experienced criminal get an injunction, my boss would. So I went back defendants have different fears than people over to the yard to get affidavits for an injunction charged for the first time; trial lawyers know that hearing. After finishing up, I said to the manager, eyewitness testimony isn’t always right. “Just do me a favor. Move the trailer and see what Experienced lawyers armed with industry happens.” He humored me and hooked the trailer knowledge have an advantage others do not. up to a truck. As it headed out the gate, the pick - These lawyers can advise clients about legal issues ets followed in a line, looking for all the world like and at the same time offer the benefit of their a small parade. Clearly, the men were picketing experience. Experienced lawyers can suggest what the trailer, not the truck company. types of approaches tend to work best and what good outcomes might result — often to the sur - Practicing Client-Centered Counseling prise of clients who haven’t considered these At the time of that strike, I was a new lawyer. I options before. wasn’t a legal genius, but I had blundered onto the revelation that not every legal problem has a Practicing Legal Counseling legal solution. While I had not done any inten - I did my first actual legal counseling by accident. tional counseling, I had proposed an alternate Or at least I didn’t know I was doing it; only way to achieve the client’s goal without going to hindsight made it clear. I was the new associate in court. Fortunately the trucking client’s goal was a large law firm. Everyone on the labor team, clear, but that’s not always the case. including my boss, was out of town. In order to discern client goals, the lawyer The union employees of a client company has to somehow get inside the client’s head and had gone on strike and were picketing the plant. view the issue through the client’s eyes. In mod - This was expected and not considered a problem. ern legal counseling theory, this is known as However, early one afternoon I got a phone call “client-centered counseling.” It focuses on the from the manager of the trucking company next client’s needs, desires, values, and attitudes. This door to the plant. Some pickets had moved over theory sees it as the lawyer’s duty to present vari - to the trucking site, and the unionized truck dri - ous options that address the issue based on the vers were refusing to cross the picket line. The client’s orientation. truck facility was functionally shut down. Its Client-centered counseling derived from the manager told me to go to court and get an psychological theory developed by Carl Rogers. injunction to make the pickets go away. I got the Rogers believed that human beings seek to facts from him as best I could and did some quick become self-actualized — to achieve their full legal research. Because the company on strike potential. The counselor’s job is to show empathy, owned the trucking company and was arguably in respect, and understanding so clients can make a related operation, I didn’t think an injunction healthy decisions for themselves and develop their was likely. In fact, there was a good chance that own potential to the fullest extent. 1 losing an injunction could actually worsen the In legal theory, the client-centered approach trucking company’s current situation. I told the was first introduced by Binder and Price 2 in the manager what I had found out, and he told me I late 1970s. This approach has also been referred was wrong. to as the “autonomy” or “informed consent” Late that afternoon, I drove over to the truck approach. 3 Binder and Price introduced this yard. A small band of pickets was patrolling the model as an alternative to what they deemed to entrance. In the middle of the yard was a large be the “traditional” approach. 4 Other names for trailer. The name of the company being struck this approach are the “paternalist” and “best inter - was painted, in large letters, along its entire est” approach. 5 length. I suggested to the manager it might be a SENIOR LAWYERS CONFERENCE | Vol. 58 | April 2010 | VIRGINIA LAWYER 27 THE LAWYER AS COUNSELOR Practicing Traditional Counseling Balancing the Merits of Counseling Styles There is no evidence the traditional approach is a If part of the value an experienced lawyer pro - single coherent model.