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ARTICLE · 15 MARCH 2010

A Commercial Manager’s Guide to Briefing Lawyers

Truman Hoyle
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The unfortunate reality is that most commercial managers and lawyers do not speak the same language when it comes to effectively communicating. As a result, clients complain that lawyers do not listen, are slow, charge too much, delegate excessively and slow down transactions.

AustraliaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment

1. Introduction

The unfortunate reality is that most commercial managers and lawyers do not speak the same language when it comes to effectively communicating. As a result, clients complain that lawyers do not listen, are slow, charge too much, delegate excessively and slow down transactions. Lawyers complain that clients do not appreciate their efforts, complain, give vague instructions and dive into transactions without thinking.

I experienced this communication gap first hand as a lawyer in private practice and from the other side of the fence as an in house lawyer and commercial manager. In fact one of the main benefits that an in house lawyer can deliver is the ability to bridge the communication gap. However, there is a cost in having an in house lawyer involved in the briefing process. As a result many companies do not have in house lawyers and even when they do they do not always involve them in briefing their external lawyers.

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