How to manage difficult clients: Practical strategies for Ontario lawyers

While law school teaches lawyers about the statutes and case law, it does not teach much about how to manage difficult clients who call at midnight or fight every bill. Yet those clients can shape your practice, just as much as the court decisions that follow each case. In this article, we will share some practical ways to set limits, keep communication steady, and protect your own well-being while doing good work.

Strategies on how to manage difficult clients as a lawyer

Walking away from a client can be your last resort. As such, there are steps you can take to address difficult clients, both before you accept a file and while the legal relationship is ongoing. Briefly, here are some tips that you can use when managing difficult clients:

• learn who your clients are under the law
• good client management
• screen your clients before anything
• educate your clients about their case
• dig into the client's motivation
• set clear rules for the relationship

We will discuss each of these strategies below. You can also use our table of contents above to go to any of these:

Watch this short video that shows how you can manage difficult clients that come your way:

Check out our guide on lawyer well-being for resources on managing the mental health side of legal practice.

Learn who your client is for the Rule's purposes

First, it's important to know who your "clients" are. Under the Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules) of the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), a client is anyone who:

• receives legal services from you or your firm
• you agree to help with, or
• reasonably believes that you agreed to help them after a consultation

This can happen even without a signed retainer or payment.

Dealing with phantom clients

Ghosts are not just a Halloween thing; they can also haunt you in your legal practice. Phantom clients are your "hidden" clients that arise when a client-lawyer relationship has been established under the Rules, even though you have not treated them as one.

Phantom clients usually appear when you:

• give a person some casual advice or loose comments
• meet the client, even just for a short period of time
• chat with a person through a social media account

Here's how you can manage this type of clients:

• invite the potential client to a later, formal meeting
• run a proper intake and conflict check before giving any opinion
• use a non-engagement letter, if you decide not to act for them

These steps help keep the line between friendly conversation and professional advice.

Good client management

Before taking on a new matter, you must have a good screening process for your potential clients. For instance, a short phone intake can reveal late calls close to limitation dates, past disputes with other lawyers, or unrealistic demands.

These early screenings can give you signs that the person may be hard to work with and may need extra time and education on the process.

Clearly define what the lawyer will do

At the start of every engagement, it is important to clarify key points with your client, such as:

• work out who is retaining them
• what work you are hired to do
• what your client's goals are
• how fees will be charged
• how you will communicate with them

This includes tricky situations such as multiple clients on one matter, people with limited capacity, or work for organizations and civil society groups. Written retainer or engagement letters are strongly encouraged, even when not strictly required, so that everyone understands the scope of services and any limits on what you will handle.

All key communication should be confirmed in writing

Here are some additional client management tips that help when dealing with difficult clients:

• talk clients through important points: this can be in person, by phone, or on video, then follow up with a short written note, which now includes advice, instructions, and big changes in strategy
• record key terms of the relationship: this should be done in plain language, away from any legalese; this includes updating that record when instructions, risks, or contact details change later on

Written records reduce later disputes about "who said what," and help a client review advice when emotions settle. This approach is just as important when delivering bad news after a loss as it is when giving updates after a win.

Made from the business perspective, here's a video which shows how you can manage difficult clients, instead of firing them:

Check out our Events page for the upcoming lawyer conferences and other gatherings for legal professionals across Canada, where discussions on managing difficult clients are also discussed.

Educate your clients on their case

Many challenging behaviours from clients come from fear, confusion, or a lack of trust in the legal process. You can address this by explaining each step of the case in plain language, and repeating key points when needed.

Regular reporting on what has been done and what comes next can calm worries that "nothing is happening" on the file. This can also build trust and reduce conflict over time with your clients.

Dig into the client's motivation

During intake, you must ask not only what the client wants, but why. If the client is focused on revenge, wants "justice at any cost," or insists on suing everyone involved, you know that their expectations will be hard to manage. That type of file may require more work on boundaries, or a decision not to act at all.

Set clear rules for the relationship

From the start, a lawyer who knows how to manage difficult clients explains office policies. These rules must cover the following matters:

• payment of retainers
• missed appointments
• treatment of staff
• ways of communication
• phone and email expectations
• after-hours contact

When a client breaks these rules, there must be clear, consistent consequences.

Billing and staff time should be transparent

Many clients assume that only the lawyer's time is billable. A good retainer letter sets out hourly rates for everyone who may work on the file, including assistants and clerks. This reduces surprise bills and discourages constant informal calls to staff, which can quietly drain time and money for both sides.

Setting clear boundaries with clients

Clients in distress can be angry, sad, or scared. While it is important that you listen to them, you must also make it clear that your role is not a friend, a counsellor, nor a therapist.

When long emotional calls eat up limited retainers, the file can suffer. A firm reminder that legal time is finite, and that it is better used on court work and settlement efforts, helps protect the case.

What is the process for withdrawing from a difficult client?

However, there are times when you must also know when to walk away, especially when a client becomes so difficult that the relationship cannot continue. Here are some reasons when you can consider that withdrawing is the best course of action:

• serious loss of trust: according to the CBA, this can include deception by your client, refusal to act on your advice, or ongoing difficulty obtaining instructions
• repeated non-payment: whether it is for a retainer or any other service that you rendered for your client; it's also important that the client was properly notified to pay their bill, before terminating them
• demands for illegal action: if your client wants to pursue a course of action that is patently illegal or conflicts with your responsibilities under the LSO's Rules, this can be a clear sign that the professional relationship should end
• constant abuse of staff: while your client may be in good communication with you as their lawyer, they may be abusive with the other staff members in your law firm or to your other teammates handling the matter

Every lawyer is expected to finish the work that the client has given, unless there is a justifiable reason to step aside. In other words, withdrawal cannot be based on unclear reasons.

Process of withdrawing from a client

When any of these grounds arise, you must still follow proper steps under the LSO's Rules. In essence, this involves:

• giving prior notice: this includes giving the client your reasons, advising that any scheduled hearing or trial will still proceed, and confirming that they should retain a new lawyer
• accounting for funds and documents: however, this is subject to your right to a lien for any unpaid legal fees and/or disbursements, unless it would materially prejudice the client
• avoiding harm to the client's case at critical stages: this also includes working with your client's new lawyer or firm, as to minimize expense and prejudice to the client, according to the LSO

In the end, concluding the retainer that is so difficult to handle aims to protect your own health and reputation. It also makes room for clients who respect you, your team, and your work."

How to manage difficult clients: All about limits, lessons, and letting go

Learning how to manage difficult clients is really learning how to manage the lawyer-client relationship from the first call to the last invoice. All these points to the same pattern: be clear about who the client is, what will be done, and what will never be done. Ultimately, that clarity is the best friend of any lawyer who wants fewer surprises and fewer angry emails.

Bookmark our Practice Management page for more legal resources tailored to Ontario lawyers and law firms to improve the way you do your daily work.