EYANA, EMMAGINE E.

LEGAL COUNSELING

Client Centered Counseling and Moral Accountability for Lawyers:

Facing a tough legal issue can be overwhelming and quite frankly, exhausting.
Not only are you concerned about the legal implications of what you’re facing, but you
are also drained by the emotional toll. It is normal to feel a full range of emotions in
this situation, but legal advice can help to steer you in the right direction based on the
cold hard facts. If you want to get through the road ahead by making the best possible
decisions, then you need to seek legal advice. No matter how hard the journey will be,
having legal advice on your side can make all the difference in the world. Sometimes,
asking for legal advices from lawyers are becoming underrated. Little thought has been
given to the responsibility lawyers have when counseling clients. Lawyers frequently are
faced by clients who seek advice on matters having little or nothing to do with law. It
should be the lawyer’s duty to help solve the emotional as well as the legal problems of
his client.
Lawyers are referred to as counselors as counseling has become an important
factor in many fields – education, domestic relations, and psychological adjustment.
Emphasis in these areas of counseling is on the psychological and emotional adjustment
of individual, to enable him to improve his ability and cope with life’s challenges. Legal
counseling is part of the lawyer’s function in the practice of law. Before anyone can
provide for a legal advice, the lawyer should first know and understand his client’s
background. Although, legal counseling was not given its due emphasis because it was
over shadowed by the litigation function of a lawyer. It should be remembered,
however, that legal counseling is an important and essential part of the law profession
and in the practice of law.
In a counseling relationship the client has to open himself to help and the lawyer
has to protect the best interests of his client. Legal counseling is what lawyers do in an
office where they see clients one or two at a time, with the door closed. Lawyers elicit
information from their clients, which information forms the basis for their advice. Legal
counselling can be for litigation or for planning. The lawyer shall ensure to the client
that his interests will be well taken care of and he and his feelings will be genuinely
respected. Mutual trust is the characteristic feature of the professional relationship. If
the client does not trust he may not divulge certain secrets and may find uneasy to
discuss certain delicate matters. It is pertinent to note that the duty to maintain
confidentiality is implicit in the lawyer’s duty to give priority to the interests of the
client.
In establishing the professional relationship the lawyer will be necessarily
interested in knowing certain personal details about the client, his background,
credibility etc. If the lawyer has certain reasons to disbelieve the client, he shall openly
discuss with the client the factors inhibiting the trust relationship. Finally, it is the
preference of the lawyers to decide whether to take up the case of the client. In the
professional relationship mutual obligations will be discussed and agreed upon. One
interesting and important aspect is that of fees. Quoting the fees is an art best learnt by
experience. Lawyer shall be guided by his stand at the bar, nature of the case and
affordability of the client.
Free legal assistance to the needy is a noble duty. An Advocate shall not
stipulate for a fee contingent on the results of litigation or agree to share the proceeds
thereof. The third notable function of interviewing understands the expectations of the
client. What are the interests, expectations and concerns of the client? Unless these are
understood and seriously considered, the efforts to satisfy the client will go in vain. It
should be remembered that it is the satisfied client who while advertise for that lawyer.
Counselors should be patient and careful listeners. That the client has
approached a particular lawyer shows that he/she trusts the lawyer and a patient
hearing will only enhance the trust. Moreover, the client fears that his property, life or
liberty would be at stake and his feeling should be respected. Lawyer should listen with
interest and ensure uninterrupted hearing. Office staff should be instructed accordingly.
Physically responding to what is said, commenting and questioning on certain
significant matters will assure comfort. Lawyer shall mind the manner and tone of their
questions. Silences will have to be tolerated; unwarranted interruption can block
important information. An atmosphere that encourages expressions of feelings should
be ensured. But the lawyer shall be dispassionate and objective lest his logical, critical
and analytical skills will be impaired.
Lawyer shall act responsibly while communicating legal advice to the client. Care
shall be taken to speak in client’s language. A lay man cannot appreciate legal
terminology. It shall be the duty of the lawyer to assist the client in understanding his
rights and duties. The lawyer shall explain all options in the situation with consequences
and costs. Assistance in making choice from available options shall be rendered. No
option shall be forced upon the client. An advocate shall not, at any time, be a party to
fomenting of litigation. The lawyer shall be objective and honest and explain the
weakness of the case as well.
The lawyer, must also be a good listener; she must hear what the client says and
must note what the client does not say. The listening, too, must be "active"; that is, the
lawyer must communicate back to the client that she hears him and understands what
he has said and feels. The lawyer essentially acts as a mirror for the client. This
reflection, when accurate, communicates empathy-that the lawyer has placed herself in
the client's shoes and understands the client's feelings. She should be accepting,
supportive, and nonjudgmental. She should offer an understanding that will convince
the client he remains a human being worth caring about regardless of the facts or
desires he reveals. Such an attitude helps the client to be open and to acquire greater
self-awareness.
The lawyer must sacrifice his personal feelings for the good of the system or his
client. Lawyers are agents, not principals; and they should neither criticize nor tolerate
criticism based upon the character of the client whom they represent or the cause they
prosecute or defend. A lawyer should exercise independent professional judgment on
behalf of a client. On top of that, she should judge (against moral and social standards)
not only the position he advocates, but also the means he adopts in representing the
client.
Thus "zealous representation" should be circumscribed not only by the bounds of
the law but also by the lawyer's judgment of the propriety and fairness of his actions.
To reach that judgment, the lawyer should consider, inter alia, the impact that the
questioned action will have on the truth-finding process and on affected individuals, the
availability of alternative means, the client's input, the action's perceived unfairness,
and the effects on client confidentiality.
Scrutiny of the lawyer's moral judgments should focus on what he advocates and
how, not on whom he represents. The distinction has practical significance for the
lawyer; it means the lawyer should not judge the client's morality in matters unrelated
to the position advocated. A lawyer's insistence on asserting his independent moral
judgment may result in severed relationships with paying clients. For some lawyers,
money is the driving force in the practice of law' and turning away income is not easy
for them. Other lawyers may be operating on a slim profit margin and feel they cannot
afford to turn away any client who holds forth the prospects of a fee.
The system's efficiency will be improved by the lawyer's more searching review
of his clients' cases. A client must be able to convince his lawyer that his claim is
worthwhile, not simply that he will be able to pay a fee. Client awareness of that will
deter even the effort to file frivolous or harassing civil actions. Elimination of silly and
bad faith cases would relieve court dockets for more deserving litigation. Although we
presently have rules of professional responsibility that supposedly regulate the filing of
harassing and frivolous law the rationalizations provided by the advocacy model render
them largely ineffective.
 Lawyers have no claim to an exception from these fundamental precepts. The
lawyer must communicate to, and discuss with, his clients the moral issues. He must
resolve for himself the moral conflicts by applying and following his own moral
standards. The lawyer's personal and professional development and the effectiveness of
his relationships with clients depend on adherence to that code of conduct. Thus, by
being honest with himself and with his client, the lawyer experiences personal maturity
and solidifies his relationship with his client. If he merely cedes the moral decisions to
his clients, then his relationships with clients are deprived of mutuality; the lawyer is no
longer an equal and his very identity is threatened. The lawyer should not advocate that
which he believes to be morally or socially wrong. If he does, he loses his identity and
self-respect.