By Murray Gottheil | November 5, 2026
There is a plumbing company out in the country where I live, whose slogan is, “We answer the phone.” It should not be a big differentiator, but it is. I have no idea how good they are at plumbing, but they answer the phone. That tells me that they care about their customers. So, why not call them?
I had clients. Sure, I did lots of lunches, went to cocktail parties, handed out cards, and gave my share of presentations. But that is not why I had clients.
I had clients because:
- I answered the phone. When I could not, I called back quickly.
- I replied to emails. Quickly.
- They could tell that I cared about doing the best possible job for them.
- I thought about how to complete the work as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. I used to tell potential clients that I wanted to make obscene amounts of money from them, but I wanted to do it over many years. I explained that if I did not treat them fairly, they would not give me the opportunity to do that.
- I made helping them achieve their goals more important than helping me not get sued by them. While I was hardly reckless, I did not hesitate to make recommendations and tell them what I thought that they should do.
- I communicated with them about fees, always providing an estimate (even if not requested) about what things would cost through to the next stage of the work. If they changed instructions, I talked to them about what the change might cost, and whether it was worth doing. I wrote off non-productive time without being asked to do it.
- I insisted on setting a deadline for every project, even when one was not requested. Then I completed the work on time or if that was impossible, communicated with them before the deadline had passed about how to proceed.
- I was a business lawyer, so I proactively brought ideas to them about creditor protection, income splitting strategies, and preparing their business for sale.
- I was their lawyer, so I brought ideas to them about areas that I did not practice in, such as tax, copyright, commercial leases, patents, employment contracts, wills and trusts, and made appropriate introductions, both within and outside my firm.
- I was a human being, so I spoke to them about their family and business succession, and made them comfortable talking to me about children, marriage, and divorce.
I had clients, not because I was the most brilliant lawyer around, but because I cared about them and they could tell that I did. Some lawyers take themselves very seriously. They put themselves above their clients. Clients don’t like that much.
That plumbing company in my area has a second slogan, which is, “Without us you would have no place to go.” Not the greatest copy in the world in my opinion, but hey, it gave me a laugh and I figure that they don’t take themselves too seriously. They sound like they might be good people to deal with.
Murray Gottheil is a retired lawyer living in the country, happy and driving a pickup truck. Reach him at murray@murraygottheil.com and see what he is up to at www.lawanddisorderinc.com.
This article was originally published by Law360 Canada, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.