TOPIC 2 B:

CLIENT INTERVIEWS

Stages of Client Interview

Introduction
The first meeting between the client and lawyer is very
important.
It provides the basis of relationship
It provides the necessary framework for conduct of
client‟s case
Clients will be nervous, frightened, fearful etc.
The lawyer too will be nervous.
 
•Three practical stages:
•Preparation and planning
•Main body
•Conclusion

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• Preparation and Planning
• The aim of the discussion is to guide the students to undertake a
thorough preparation and planning for a client interview, giving
careful consideration to the most appropriate method of meeting
the client and putting him or her at ease.

• Location
• The lawyer must give consideration to where the interview is taking
place.
• It is not unusual to conduct an interview:
• in a crowded and noisy corridor of magistrates‟ court
• through the bars of a prison cell
• on the steps of a courtroom
• in an interview besides the cells/detention rooms
• The lawyer is usually in the best position when conducting the
interview in his or her office.
• When conducting a client interview in office, the following are some
points which should be remembered:

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• WASP Approach

• WASP is an acronym which breaks the CI into 4 parts –

• W – Welcome
• A – Acquire information
• S – Supply information and advice
• P – Part

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• Getting Started
• Exactly how to start depend on many different factors including:
• Nature of the case
• Time available
• Particular client involved

• Knowledge from the brief

• Most client will invariably want to know the following:

• Can I win?
• What are my chances?
• What if I lose?
• What, if any, are the alternatives?
• How much will it cost me?

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• Structure the interview. There are two major advantages:
• Lawyer is limited by time: so think in advance the best order
in which to deal with all the matters that need to be
addressed. The key to this is case preparation.
• Client can see that the lawyer has a clear agenda for the
interview. Client should be confident that the lawyer has:
• Read the papers and familiar with the case
• Clearly identified the areas of concern
• Recognised the expectations of the interview
• Decided on an appropriate order in which to deal with the
issues.

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• Supply of Information and Give Advice
• Introduction
• It is important to remember that a lawyer does not give
advice until he or she has a full a picture as possible of the
client‟s situation.
• Clients generally are not aware of what is legally relevant or
they may unwilling to give the lawyer certain information.
• It may well take more than one interview to get all the
relevant information, but the lawyer need to bear in mind –
• that meetings with clients are costly; and
• the lawyer may look less than competent if he or she have to
keep arranging meetings with clients to should questions
which should have been asked at the beginning.

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• Supply of information
• Before giving the client advice in a first interview, the
following matters will have to be considered by the lawyer –
• whether the facts fit the law;
• the merits or otherwise of the case;
• what has to be proved;
• legal and non-legal options;
• the risks involved in proceeding;
• the costs;
• details of the services provided by the firm
• contact arrangements;
• what happens next and by when; and
• things the client has to do.

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• Give advice at first interview
• As the client tells his or her story, the lawyer will have to fit
the fact with the law.
• Once the lawyer is satisfied that he or she has as full a version
of the facts as possible, he or she should be able to give a
preliminary opinion on the client‟s legal position.
• However, in some situations the lawyer should be able to give
more detailed advice.
• For example, where the client wants the lawyer to perform a
specific task, such as deal with the sale and purchase of a
property or draft a will, the lawyer should be able to obtain
sufficient information on which to provide detailed advice and
to set out a plan of action.

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• Rules to follow
• There are 2 rules to follow when explaining legal issues to a
client –
• explain legal matters in ordinary language
• it is no use if the client does not understand what is explained;
• do not overload the client with too much details too quickly
• relate the explanation to the client‟s own situation in such a
way as to make it clear how the law sees the problem

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• Client decide what to do
• It is the client to decide what he or she wants to do.
• However, in any situation there is always more than one
course action available to the client.
• The lawyer‟s role then is to help the client decide which
course of action is most likely to help him or her achieve the
intended objectives.
•  Any course of action will have costs, benefits and risks
attached to it.
• So, it is the lawyer‟s job to ensure that the client fully
understands what these are.

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• Do’s and Don’ts
• Do’s
• set out all the options available to the client, once the lawyer has
enough information
• give clear information about costs
• give clear information about standards of client service
• develop the skills of explaining issues in plain English for lay clients
• make sure that the legal explanations the lawyer give fir the client‟s
circumstances

• Don’ts
• assume that all information the lawyer needs is there at the first
meeting
• make the client‟s decision for them

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• Part
• Introduction
• It is important that at the end of the interview, the client has
provided all relevant information and has been advised of his
or her –
• legal and non-legal options;
• costs of proceedings;
• risks of proceeding or not proceedings; and
• level of service to expect from the firm

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• Checklist
• Confirm that the client wishes to instruct the lawyer/firm and
understands the course of action to be taken;
• Confirm that the client is aware of the costs and risks
involved;
• Confirm that the client knows how to contact the lawyer/firm;
• Confirm that the client is aware of any action he or she has to
take and by when it needs to be taken;
• Explain that the lawyer/firm will write to the client
summarising the matters within a certain number of days.

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• SUMMARY
• Preparation for the Interview
• The interview plan
• Structure
• Introduction
• Questions from the client
• Personal details
•  
• Main Body of the Interview
• Questioning Techniques
• Yes/no questions
• Closed questions
• Open questions
• Which type of questioning technique should be used?
• One question at a time
• Planning the questions
• Listening
• Giving advice
• Taking instructions
•  
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Farewell
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