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It’s Not Just a Job—It’s a Relationship

By December 7, 2016July 21st, 2023Alan Freed Featured, Family Law

By Alan E. Freed

A new client came in the other day to talk to me about his case, an emotional one for him and a legally challenging one for me. We spent an hour or so getting to know each other, he wanting to get a sense of how I would handle the matter and whether I had the requisite skills to give him what he needed, and I wanting to understand what was important to this man so that I could determine whether I could deliver the result that was so important to him.

During the course of that conversation, my client’s love for his son became readily apparent, as he spoke of their relationship and tears began to redden his eyes. He heard me talk about the importance I place on protecting parent/child relationships as I discussed the practical problems courts face in trying to craft workable solutions for parents and their children, particularly, as was the case here, when the parents live far apart.

Our clients come to us wanting us to use our legal skills to solve problems that often transcend judicial solutions. They take us into their confidence; they trust us with their secrets; they bare their souls; they share their deepest fears. Our job is to listen, to respond empathetically and with compassion, and to propose plans of action that reflect our clients’ needs and desires. We are not simply technicians doing a mechanical job; we form relationships with our clients so that we can work together as a team.

We are in the relationship business. Without our clients, we have no reason to exist. We listen; we learn; we respond; we act. That’s how good relationships are supposed to work.

At the end of this intense hour, the man left a bag of peaches on my table. That was certainly a first for me, and I was somewhat taken aback at this lovely and totally unexpected gesture. I told him that I didn’t want these peaches to go to waste so I thought I might do a little cooking with them that evening. I asked him what I might make with the peaches. He looked at me in a simple and direct way that underscored my positive impression of this man. “Friends,” he said, and walked out of my office.

Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal’s attorneys are ready to listen to your concerns in a wide variety of legal areas.

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