The Lesson Your Worst Clients Teach You About A Happy Client Experience
How learning to say no to the wrong clients created space for the right ones who pay promptly and refer others.
I learnt the importance of having a Happy Client Experience from the clients I should never have taken on.
When I started practicing, I had zero business development experience and even less confidence.
I let my employer handle the financial vetting and said yes to everyone who walked through the door - assuming every client was a good fit.
I was wrong.
Some clients seemed determined to make my life miserable.
They expected that their payment of fees entitled them to calling at all hours, questioning every piece of advice, demanding I guarantee outcomes that no lawyer could promise.
These weren't occasional requests.
they were demands that turned my practice into their crisis hotline.
I was told this was just part of the job.
I thought if I just worked harder, communicated better, or bent over backward to accommodate their demands, they'd eventually be satisfied.
They never were.
The turning point came when I realized I wasn't just attracting difficult clients - I had trained them to be difficult.
When you have no boundaries, boundary-pushers find you.
When you accept every case - and every call - you train people to treat your time as worthless.
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Today, I can spot the warning signs in the first conversation—the client who won't respect your consultation process, who questions your rates before understanding your value, or who treats your assistant poorly.
And here's what surprised me: Setting boundaries and expectations early helped me find the clients I wanted to work with - the ones that paid their bills and actually valued my time.
This doesn't mean I never have difficult conversations or challenging situations. I do.
But the truth is that it's far easier to create a Happy Client Experience with someone who respects your time and energy than someone who doesn't.
The clients who push against reasonable boundaries from day one rarely become the clients who refer others or leave positive reviews.
The best client experiences start with the clients you select.
Choose wisely.