d. Attorney Conference
The attorney conference should take about 5 minutes. It takes place after the client has left. It gives the attorneys a chance to talk about the issues without the client present.
i. Talk about the issues
You are going to want to speak with your partner about the legal issues you see—especially the ones you do not want to mention in front of the client. It is also important to talk about your reaction to the client; whether you thought they were being truthful or not, or even whether you believe they will be able to pay your attorneys’ fees. It is also important to talk openly and debate whether it is even worth taking the case on.
ii. Ethics
The ABA is big on ethics and they will usually put some sort of ethical problem in the fact pattern. This could be something like you have represented the adverse party, the client has already spoken with another attorney, or the client has asked you to do something illegal. It is important to address the issues to let the judge know you have noticed them. If you are unsure of what to do, you can always say, “I will call the ABA ethics 1-800 number and see what our ethical obligations are.” Also, make sure to say something about your attorney is running a check for any conflicts of interest.
iii. Make a list.
Talk with your attorney on the things you need to do, legal questions you need to research, and people you need talk with before the next client meeting. I would also suggest writing this down as you are making the list. One judge advised our team that we listed all these great things to do but we did not write them down; in the real world you will have a million other things to do and will forget about what you talked about if you did not write it down.
Good luck
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