The first step is to identify the areas of concern. Determine what exactly is it about the paralegal/attorney relationship that stands in the way of that relationship being symbiotic, bearing in mind that this analysis also requires self-evaluation. Be specific. Do not just label the attorney as a procrastinator. What specific things does s/he delay and why? Is s/he just disorganized or does s/he simply not want to do particular types of work?
Once the problem is identified it should be analyzed to separate out those parts over which the paralegal has no control from those over which s/he does. Again, do not attempt to change the nature of the attorney. If the attorney is simply unorganized, for example, it may be possible for the paralegal to provide an organizational framework within which the legal team can operate that compensates for this specific attorney weakness. Organization skills are, after all, one of the primary strengths of paralegals.
Investigate solutions to the specific problem and barriers to those solutions. Attorney Andrew B. Sommerman, I suspect with tongue firmly planted in cheek, proposes that a good paralegal be a good liar, stating:
"Another paralegal responsibility is to insure that lawyers are organized and meet their deadlines, both court ordered and self-imposed. It is essential that paralegals find a way to help attorneys manage their time and clients. A paralegal should make it a habit to lie about deadlines. Paralegals should tell their attorney that a deadline is earlier than it actually is."
Now this is certainly not the perfect solution for all paralegal/attorney relationships, but it is a solution. Apply your research skills to the specific problem you confront and make a list of possible solutions. There will be no perfect solution, but there will likely be solutions that you can implement if you can overcome barriers to those solutions.
Which brings us to the process of identifying and overcoming barriers to those solutions. Do so in a direct, rational and professional way. Make a plan. “Lie to the attorney about deadlines” is not a plan. It may be the solution, but effectuating that solution requires thought and planning. Determine, for example, for which items lying is required, how much leeway is needed, and how to co-ordinate the true deadline with the fake deadline on office calendars.
Let me be clear. Unlike Attorney Sommerman, I do not recommend out-right lying as a solution to any problem.
Indeed, I advocate open and honest communication between any paralegal and their attorney as a key element of a truly symbiotic paralegal/attorney relationship. Each of the stakeholders in a solution to any problem must be a knowing and willing participant in that solution for it to work. Yes, I am suggesting that you tell the attorney you are going to engage in a strategic lie. .
Chances are the attorney is not happy with the situation either. Few attorneys want to be problem attorneys. (If you work for one who does, you should be reading Chere Estrin’s article on taking charge of your career.) And, it is not likely that it is really news to the procrastinating attorney that s/he is a procrastinator. Keep in mind, however, that open and honest communication is not the same as brutally honest communication.
Communication requires both the ability to deliver information well and to listen well. Information must be delivered not only clearly but in a way that the listener can accept, interpret and respond to in a meaningful way. Even attorneys can become defensive and “shut down,” when presented with complaints and criticism. In the end, if we want to be heard and understood, we must take responsibility for seeing that the information we offer is heard and understood rather than simply delivered. This mean considering the listener and well as the message being delivered.
The communication of a solution to a problem, even when the problem is the attorney, is something that you can control. If you present the problem as a capital “P” problem, a criticism, or a complaint, it is not likely you will truly be heard. (Ask yourself, how you would react in a similar position.) However, everyone, especially busy attorneys, is happy to hear about solutions.
The problem isn’t that the attorney procrastinates. The problem is that deadlines are not being met. If it weren’t for deadlines that affect you, the attorney’s procrastination would not be a problem for you. The problem being deadlines not being met, you not only have a solution to the problem, you have a list of solutions, each of which you are prepared to implement. One of the solutions that you feel should be implemented, and for which you can give good reasons, is lying to the attorney. O.K., I wouldn’t put it exactly that way. Try this: the office will better meet deadlines if an artificial deadline is established for each important task.
Not only do you have a solution, but you have a plan for implementing the solution. This solution will not work if the attorney is constantly aware that there is built-in leeway on deadlines, so the solution requires a tacit agreement that the “padding” will not be discussed, it will simply be done. Even better, the attorney need do nothing to make this solution work other than to forget, or pretend to forget, your conversation!
At this point you may be asking whether this should be necessary. Shouldn’t the attorney simply be an adult and come to grips with this procrastination problem? The answer is that the answer doesn’t matter. Our goal is to accept reality and manage its downsides. One such downside is that attorneys are people with all the faults that come built in. You are not in the position to change the nature and long-held habits of the attorney. You are in the position to alter the effect the attorney has on your environment. Your strengths can complement the attorney’s weaknesses, and emphasize her strengths, by accepting this reality and adapting it in a proactive, empowered way.
As a professional, empowered paralegal you have the knowledge and experience to make the legal team all that it can be. Not every legal team can be Fred and Ginger, but with some thought, planning, effort and practice we can all learn to dance.
copyright Robert Mongue Reprints by permission only
.....Mind you, I am not suggesting that the complaints are unjustified. During thirty years of practicing law, I have experienced a few problem attorneys myself. From time to time, I must admit, I may even have been the problem. I am suggesting, however, that the imaginative and enterprising paralegal can do more than complain. No, you are never going to change the attorney, but that does not mean you cannot change your situation by taking control of those factors you can change. This requires that the paralegal take the same approach to the problem attorney that s/he takes to all aspects of paralegal practice. It is a proactive rather than reactive approach. It seeks to understand and manage even those aspects of practice that the paralegal cannot control. This principle involves taking a rational, empowered approach.
How to Handle the Problem Attorney
Continued from KNOW News, Nov. 2009
