CLIENT

CONFERENCING
By Prof(Dr) Ashok Patil, Professor of
Law & Mr V Surya, Ph.D scholar, NLSIU.
CLIENT COUNSELLING
 Counselling is the first substantial advocating
task after the Interview with clients. It
determines what the next step should be
(depending on clients' decision made in the
counselling stage) – mediation, negotiation,
arbitration, or litigation.
 Counselling is the very important fraction of
the lawyer's practice. It is said that
“Counselling lies at the heart of the
professional relationship between the lawyer
and client.”
CONT.,
 Our goal in an Interview is to collect facts and
establish a rapport with our clients; while in the
process of Counselling, (in addition to the
continuation of the efforts to collect more facts and
to maintain the relationship of rapport) we have to
help our clients in reaching decisions and deciding on
how to take future action.
 The counselling that a client seeks may be something
concerning a legal dispute or conflict, or simply legal
advice on transactions (such as the procedures and
conditions to found a new company, amount and
means of tax payment, drafting of articles regarding
breach in a contract, procedures to apply for
bankruptcy, and etc).
THE PROCESS:

 1) good ambience.
 2) Brief overview of the case.
 3) Initial formalities.
 4) Analysis of the case and suggesting the
ADR mechanisms.
THREE STAGES OF
CONFERENCING

 1) Preliminary problem identification.

 2) Chronological Overview.
 3) Theory development and verification.
PRELIMINARY PROBLEM
IDENTIFICATION STAGE

 In the preliminary problem the Identification

stage, the lawyer asks client to provide., a
general description of at least the following:
(1) the underlying transaction which caused
the problem, and (2) the relief the client
desires.
CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW
STAGE
 In this stage the client is asked to provide
information on to provide a step-by-step
chronological narrative of the past
transaction which underlies the client’s
problem.
 The client is asked to proceed from the point
where the client believes the problem
began, and follow through step by step up to
the present.
THEORY DEVELOPMENT AND
VERIFICATION STAGE
 At the conclusion of the Overview stage, the lawyer
mentally reviews the entire story to determine what
potential causes of action and potential defences
are possibly applicable.
 Here the lawyer conducts a detailed examination to
determine how many of the potentially applicable
causes of action and defences actually seem viable.
The examination, it relates to any particular
theory, attempts to determine whether or not there
are facts which will establish the existence of each
of the substantive elements needed to invoke the
causes of action and defences which the lawyer has
seen as potentially applicable.
THE ADVANTAGES OF A THREE-
STAGED INTERVIEW
 the approach increases the likelihood that
the lawyer will quickly be perceived by the
client someone who is empathetic and
therefore someone to be trusted with
troublesome information.
 To avoid premature diagnosis.
 The overview provides the client with the
opportunity to tell his/her story unfettered
by interruption concerned with specific
details.
TECHNIQUES FOR CONDUCTING
THE THREE STAGED INTERVIEW
 The process of preliminary problem
Identification is usually begun open ended
questions calling for narrative description of
situation. - Questions such as: the following
are typical: ',How can I help you?" "What
brings you here today?,, "What can I do for
you?"
CONT.,
 Give me a brief description of your problem,
how it arose, and what solutions you hope to
find.
 "Tell me what your problem”
 How it came about
 What do you think, have you done it?
 Active client participation enhances the
likelihood of producing satisfactory solutions.
1) Here it is to understand the client
problems (2) employing the combined
expertise of lawyer and client in identifying
and evaluating potential solutions;
CONCLUSION

 Identify the clients problem.

 Initial data gathering.
 Accept all the opinions from the client.
 Formulating and evaluating potential
solutions.