AGGRESSIVE ATTORNEYS

Recently, on the show “San Diego Living”, Certified Family Law Specialist Garrison “Bud” Klueck appeared to talk about commercials advertising an attorney’s “aggressiveness” and how that distorts the reality of what clients need from their lawyers in the courtroom and practice of law.

QUESTION: Our Certified Family Law Specialist attorney Bud Klueck says some commercials he’s seen recently got him thinking. Bud, what commercials are you talking about?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER: It's those commercials that we see all the time, for a local law firm that does pretty much exclusively criminal defense work. I understand that they do some bankruptcy work too--pretty much just criminal defense and bankruptcy work. My concern isn't with what they do but with their commercials. I hope we all know the commercials we are talking about because they are all over the air waves--they are ubiquitous--that's a good word isn't it--ubiquitous--they are all over the airwaves. It's that law firm that has the name of an ocean in its name. I don't really have a quarrel with their commercials themselves or with their marketing plan. It's a free country; they can do what they want. What got me thinking is a word they use in, I think, all of their commercials--"aggressive." Sometimes the folks on the screen almost growl the word--aggressive.

QUESTION: Well, shouldn’t a person want an aggressive attorney?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER: They surely don't want a wimp and clearly it depends on what you mean exactly by aggressiveness. What you really need is an attorney that knows how to be aggressive, very aggressive, when the situation calls for it, but also knows when to back off when that will advance your interests. Someone who is sophisticated enough and has been doing it long enough to know the difference. That's why they call it the practice of law--it's more of an art form than a science. You need to know the law pat, but you also need to know the personality, the behavior and the emotions of the opposing party, the opposing counsel, the judge and your own client. It is a very complicated chess match or poker game. Many family law attorneys are, in fact, good poker or chess players. Because they know that many factors affect what would be the appropriate action in a court room or negotiation.

QUESTION: So being aggressive is just one approach that might work, depending on the circumstances, right?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER: Exactly right! Aggressiveness is just one weapon at your disposal; one particular arrow in your quiver. Please understand that I can be pretty aggressive when the situation calls for it. It always amuses me when I hear feedback from the other side about my aggressiveness. Our website paraphrases the name of a well-known rap album from the 90s entitled "As Nasty As We Wanna Be." We say, on our website, that we are as nasty as we gotta be. That is, we generally are not the first ones to throw mud. But if you throw mud at our client, you're going to get a dump truck full of high-grade topsoil dumped on your head. Or to use another metaphor, if the situation calls for it I will rip open the opposing counsel's chest with my bare hands, take out his still-beating heart and take a bite out of it.

QUESTION: Sounds pretty aggressive, doesn’t it?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER: Oh you bet! It is not that aggressiveness isn't frequently called for when asserting your client's interests in a court of law. Aggressiveness is often exactly what is required big time. What I wonder about the advertising campaign, for the other law firm, is the unspoken assumption that aggressiveness is always the best approach or the right tact to take. It is not necessarily, if you know what you're doing. The key is that you have, as an attorney, a fiduciary and an ethical obligation to advance your client's interests. It is always your client's interests that come first--not your ego-driven need to kick the other attorney's butt. Sometimes you can advance your client's interests by being very aggressive. Sometimes your client's interests are advanced by being mister nice guy. Sometimes they are advanced by being the smartest person in the room. Sometimes they are advanced by acting a little dumb. It all depends on the circumstance and the problem I have with the advertising campaign is that it assumes that one attitude, and only one attitude--that of aggressiveness, always works.

QUESTION: Thinking that way would be a little counter to or against what we know about human nature?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER: That's exactly right! We do know that about what is usually referred to as "real life." When we were kids we learned that sometimes getting mad gets us what we want; sometimes being nice gets us what we want; sometimes being devious gets us what we want. We know that from childhood but somehow, when we approach a court of law, we seem to think that only one kind of behavior would work. Why would we think that when we really know better. After all everybody involved in the court process are human beings, just like the clients and the parties. Judges are human beings. Court reporters and bailiffs are human beings. Attorneys are human beings. I know you might get some argument about that last one but believe me it is true. And all that we have learned, over the years, about human nature applies in the courtroom like everywhere else. We know from life that one attitude is not appropriate in all situations. But very often people forget that in shopping for and selecting attorneys. Some people actually do seek out the most "aggressive" attorney they have heard of and it often results in bad things happening to them.

QUESTION: What kind of bad things happen?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER: Well sometimes being aggressive can be counterproductive. One thing that can happen is that, you have thought you have done the right thing by hiring Mr. or Ms. Aggressive, you have high hopes when you go to court, and when you get bad results you are doubly disappointed. Disappointed because of the bad results and disappointed because you thought that you had taken care of your court problem by shopping for and hiring the most aggressive attorney you could find. What you really want to do is find an attorney who can be really aggressive when it is appropriate and really helps your case, but will switch gears to some other tact or approach when the alternative will better advance what you want to achieve. The other bad thing that can happen is your amount of attorney fees. Aggressiveness, in a court case, may or may not get you good results depending on the circumstances. But aggressiveness almost always will result in a higher attorney fees bill--most often for both sides. You cannot always count on the results of aggressiveness but you can almost always count on your bill being higher.

QUESTION: Well, if simply shopping for the most aggressive attorney does not always work, what should people be looking for when they shop for attorneys?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER: Excellent question and there are some excellent answers. Look for all the usual commonsensical stuff. Look for experience, particularly in the field of law and the type of case that you have. Look at their website. See if they have won many awards or other distinctions as an attorney. See if they are a Board-Certified Specialist, because only 2% or 3% of the attorneys licensed in the state at California are Board-Certified Specialists. Set up an appointment. Many or most attorneys provide initial consultations for free or at a substantially-reduced cost. Our office has the policy of providing people with a one-half hour, free consultation. During that consultation, determine if you have professional faith in this attorney, are you comfortable with him or her and do you get a vibe that they will assert your interest in a sophisticated, and if need be, aggressive manner. Aggressiveness is great at the proper time and place to get the most possible for your client. There are times, after leaving the courtroom, that I am sure the other side asks "who let the Bud out?"

QUESTION: Who let the Bud out? If you want the pit-bull Bud on your side, for any other family-law-related case or topic, you should contact Bud in the firm's main office in La Mesa, near San Diego State, or any of the four satellite offices around the County, La Jolla, North County, downtown or South Bay. Just call their number (619)448-6500 or access the web site directly at www.familylawsandiego.com or through the link at the San Diego 6 website.

Aggressiveness, when to use it when not to use it. Great topic, Bud, as usual.