Tips for Dealing With Lawyers
Understanding Their Role.
Getting heart palpitations just reading that word? Don’t panic. I’m here to talk you through it with some tips for dealing with lawyers in private practice.
The first thing to understand about lawyers is, just like therapists, some are wonderful, and some are crummy. Most lawyers are motivated to help resolve cases and make sure things go as smoothly as possible, but there are some who live to stir up conflict and anger so they can go to war.
One of the crucial things you need to understand about lawyers is that their role is very different from ours. Their ethics require them to “zealously represent” their clients. Most lawyers view their role as a protector: a kind of proverbial knight on a white horse. They are there to protect and act on behalf of their clients in the world, whereas we are there to try to empower our clients to act on their own behalf.
The “zealously” part means that lawyers can often come across as aggressive and demanding. Once I understood their role, this made a lot more sense. They are not there to establish a warm and fuzzy ‘therapeutic alliance’. They are there to get stuff done for their client and, if need be, they will go to battle to make it happen.
We need to remember, they approach their job as a protector, not a friendly therapeutic ally.
Don’t Be Intimidated.
Lawyers like to use strong language, demands, and intimidation as a tactic to get you to do what they want. When you eventually get that letter or call from a lawyer “zealously” requesting something from you, breathe.
A crucial mantra to remember with all requests you get, but especially requests from lawyers is: just because they ask doesn’t mean you have to provide. People often ask us to do things we can’t, lawyers included. They will ask us to do things, or provide things, that are either out of our scope of practice, bad clinical practice, or that we simply aren’t able to. It’s not up to them to know our scope, ethics, and boundaries; it’s up to us to educate them about those boundaries and hold to them.
If you receive a request from a lawyer, or your client asks you to provide something for their lawyer, don’t panic. Also, do not immediately respond. If they catch you on the phone, don’t feel pressured into talking to them. Remember, you need to have a release to talk to the lawyer. They are good at flustering us, and we tend to imagine that they have all kinds of power that they don’t, so we feel like we must respond to them. Take a breath and pause.
If you work with kids in your practice the chances are high that, at some point, a client’s lawyer will show up trying to pull you into a custody case or parenting time dispute. Clients will also try to pull us into these. In both the Master Course and the Mini Course, Clinical Considerations in Private Practice, I cover crucial ethical and legal issues related to this. Custody issues are one of the most common ways therapists get themselves into serious trouble. If you are working with children, you want to make certain you understand these issues!
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Take Charge.
The lawyer knows their job, you know yours. As I said above, just because they ask does not mean you have to provide. Take charge. You get to decide what you can and can’t do short of being ordered by a judge to provide records or testify. Speaking of which…
Always consult with legal counsel before any court related activity! Always. Do not provide anything to the court without consulting first. If you are called to testify, always consult with legal counsel before doing so.
Just because you get a subpoena does not mean you will have to provide anything. There are different types of subpoenas: those issued by a lawyer and those issued by a judge. How you need to respond will depend on the type of subpoena. Don’t automatically assume you need to ask, “How high?” just because you got a subpoena that says, “Jump”. Again, talk to legal counsel to understand what you do, and do not need to do. Do not rely on other therapists for advice on this. We are notoriously afraid of all things lawyer and rarely understand the legal ins and outs of it all.
Lawyers can be great referral sources.
Don’t forget to include lawyers in your circle when you are thinking about building your niche. Depending on your focus, they can be a wonderful source for client referrals. In the Master Course, Everything You Need To Know About Private Practice But Didn’t Know To Ask I cover how you can work collaboratively with lawyers as well as some cautions about working with them. I cover the same information in the Mini Course, Clinical Considerations in Private Practice. If you are going to work with lawyers, you don’t want to miss this important information.
To find out more crucial information about the steps you need to take when starting your private practice check out The Master Course, Everything You Need To Know About Private Practice But Didn’t Know To Ask. To get the same information in more affordable, bite size pieces, don’t miss the Mini Courses!
I love helping therapists build successful private practices! For more great information like this to help you build yours, make sure to check out the Master Course and the Mini Courses. I’m here to support you and I want to help you reach your dream!
If you need some individual help with all of this, I’m here for you! I offer mentoring services for those who want some personal attention to help them build their successful private practice. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me. You can find out more on the Mentoring page.
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