Legal analysis and problem-solving

Bobette Wolski, Bond University

Article comments

Wolski, Bobette (2007) Legal analysis and problem-solving in Principles and Practice of the Australian Legal System, compiled by Murdoch University, pp. 267-345 ISBN: 9780455224176.

Copyright © Thomson Legal & Regulatory Limited, 2007.

Abstract

Extract:

Clients - and potential clients - do not enter a lawyer's office in order to pass the time of day. They seek the services of a lawyer because they believe that they have a legal problem, for which they require a solution. It is essential for intending lawyers to appreciate from Day 1 at law school that to the client (who thinks of himself as "a purchaser of legal services") a lawyer is no different from a vet, a car mechanic or a dentist. The expectation is the same in each case: "I have this problem. You are the expert. Fix my problem."

You will note the use of the word "believe" in the previous paragraph. Not every client who consults a lawyer turns out to have a problem, in the same way that patients who visit doctors are sometimes reassured that "There's nothing to worry about." But neither the client nor the patient will know whether or not they do have a problem - or its extent - unless and until they consult the professional. Hence the importance of skilled client interviewing and comprehensive client advice.
<br. However, before they can advise on the problem, and the several possible alternative solutions, lawyers must engage in a complex and multifaceted process of analysis. It is complex because clients do not know (nor should they) which of the many facts, documents and previous exchanges with "the other party" that they have brought with them to the initial meeting (often in a series of files or even shoe-boxes) will prove to be relevant. As a result, they often bring them all, and it is the initial task of lawyers to arrive at a provisional assessment of what is "relevant" and what is not.