Oct 19, 2011 | 2 min read

Want to Become a Better Lawyer? – Part Three

Make Sure Your Hard Work Benefits Your Clients Long-Term

This is the third of a four-part blog with our advice on how to become a better lawyer. The final four ways we think you can become a better lawyer with respect to providing your clients long term stability are:

Make sure your clients understand that they must live within their means. Warn them about accruing debt. If your client has lost earning capacity, the last thing they should do is obtain credit cards and run up debt. Talk to them about setting and living within a budget. If their income is made up of set structure payments, they must learn to live on that alone.
Make sure they understand the need to get good advice from good advisors. They should always consult a lawyer or financial advisor before signing on to an investment, business deal, etc. With money burning a hole in some clients’ pockets, its easy to fall prey to a scam or bad deal. We as lawyers see this all too often, and, therefore, it is worth the time to give our clients counsel on the realities and risks they may confront.
Make sure your clients have a will. Most clients lack wills, or any type of estate plan. That said, particularly when minors are involved, we must encourage our clients to get a will in place. If they have chosen to structure monies, then we should also ensure the annuity documents and the will work in conjunction with each other to ensure that the monies will continue to benefit the children should the worst happen. By encouraging this planning, we are helping our clients to secure the future.
Make sure they have property and casualty insurance to protect their new assets. If your clients have never had any significant monies or assets before, they may not appreciate the protective nature of insurances. Thus, take the time to talk to them about protecting themselves as part of establishing a long-term plan for financial security.

Hank Didier is co-founder of Vantage Capital Consultants, a purchaser of structured settlements and annuities.