Huse Discusses "3 Reasons Lawyers Should Shut Up and Listen More" in Law360

Don’t miss this article by Jeff Sistrunk on Law360. Society 54’s Jill Huse was consulted and quoted in the article, “3 Reasons Lawyers Should Shut Up and Listen More.”

While attorneys are expected to speak with authority on their areas of expertise, there are times when listening closely can be equally, if not more, important. A lawyer's failure to listen effectively can alienate potential clients, shut down pathways to eliciting strong witness testimony and draw the ire of judges.

Here, experts weigh in on why it is critical at times for attorneys to be quiet and listen.

It’s the Client’s Meeting

Lawyers going into a first meeting with a prospective client may be tempted to talk ad nauseam about their qualifications and major litigation wins or transactional work, but experts say that they would be better served to sit back and open their ears. Listening can be key to winning new business and preserving existing business relationships, according to experts.

Jill Huse of consulting firm Society 54 LLC said many attorneys feel the need to control the conversation with a company's representatives in order to demonstrate their deep knowledge of a certain subject. However, a potential client is likely to already be familiar with a lawyer's background before going into a meeting.

"What clients really want is for their attorney to listen to their issue and understand their unique problem," Huse said. "Clients want to be heard."

Huse added that a lot of attorneys fail to practice active listening because they have a tendency to think ahead to how they will answer a question before a client has even finished talking.

"Whenever an attorney is speaking to his or her client, they need to be present and void of distractions, allowing them to focus their energy and their listening skills on their client," Huse said. "This will allow them to pick up on things they may have otherwise missed and will help them to ask probing questions that expose opportunities for the attorney to learn more."

Legal consultant Kent Zimmermann of Zeughauser Group said he encountered a number of lawyers with poor listening skills in his previous position as general counsel of a technology company. Outside attorneys would often come into meetings with Zimmermann's company and immediately start talking about their firms' technology related practices, instead of asking questions about the company's specific needs, he said.

"Those attorneys who pitched us would have been better served if they learned how to ask better questions and tailor their business development efforts to what was going to be relevant and compelling to my company," Zimmermann said. "Why sell blindly when you can listen and then sell people what they say they want?"

Witnesses Can Have a Lot to Say

Attorneys who have been practicing in a certain area for many years may become complacent and assume they know precisely how cases will unfold. Unfortunately, lawyers possessing that mindset may fail to listen attentively and pursue thoughtful lines of questioning during witness interviews, experts say.

"When dealing with witnesses, whether in the informal discovery process or in the course of a deposition, you really need to understand and process what's being said so that you can thoughtfully respond to it," said Saxe Doernberger & Vita PC partner Greg Podolak.

Oftentimes, the most effective depositions are taken when an attorney works off a loose game plan and probes deeply into a witness's responses, according to Podolak. Taking the time to listen to and process a witness's statements can lead to "new, unanticipated pieces of information," he said.

"If someone spins off and starts telling a story that may include information helpful to your case, you can't shut that down," Podolak said. "If you get stuck inside of a box, that can undercut your strategy."

If a witness falls silent during an interview, an attorney may be tempted to immediately move onto the next question to avoid an awkward pause. But waiting out periods of silence can yield unexpected rewards.

"A dialogue can be like a fine wine — you have to let it breathe," Podolak said. "You shouldn't be afraid of silence. If you're examining a witness, it can be silence that elicits surprising testimony."

Judges Hate Repeating Themselves

Some attorneys fall into the trap of assuming that their courtroom arguments should be as verbose and chockfull of details as possible. In fact, experts say, the opposite is true — lawyers should listen closely to judges' questions and craft simple, straightforward responses.

"An attorney can’t expect to get the results they want for their client if they aren’t able to communicate their position and their outcome goals in a clear, succinct manner," Huse said.

More often than not, judges are overburdened with whopping caseloads and will quickly become irritated if an attorney fails to answer questions directly. In many situations, particularly hearings on summary judgment motions or motions to dismiss, the presiding judge is trying to ascertain the core details to make a swift, decisive ruling.

"Oftentimes, [judges] are making fast decisions and need only the most essential information," Podolak said. "If you are not listening to the types of questions being asked, you are going to miss the key signals."

Attorneys may also draw judges' ire if they fail to fully comply with discovery or evidentiary rulings. Practicing good listening skills and fulfilling a judge's directives the first time around will help attorneys to avoid needless incourt skirmishes and keep a case moving forward, experts say.

"The judge, generally speaking, is trying to preside over an efficient litigation process, and is trying to get the parties access to all the information they need," Podolak said. "It is important to whittle down that information to the finer points. You can't effectively communicate a client's position if don't understand where the judge is coming from.”

View the article on Law360 here.