By Katherine Lau -
As a solicitor, you were likely told early in your legal career that knowing your clients, and knowing them well, is essential to being a good lawyer. But what exactly does ‘knowing your client’ entail, and how is this practically achieved?
In the first article of this series on Strengthening your legal practice, we discussed why employee screening is critical to maintaining a law practice’s integrity and reputation, and provided tips for managing compliance. In this instalment, we focus on the importance of getting to know your clients and how this can be practically achieved.
The importance of knowing your clients
The client is central to defining the limits and bounds within which a solicitor can act in legal practice. Second to a solicitor’s paramount duty to the court and the administration of justice,[1] when representing a client in a matter, the solicitor must defend and advocate for the client’s rights and interests,[2] ensuring that such interests are placed above their own.[3] The caveat to this, of course, is that the client has given the solicitor lawful, proper and competent instructions.[4] Being able to properly identify the client and understand their interests and needs is therefore the starting point to a solicitor achieving good outcomes for the client and discharging their ethical obligations.
Key aspects to knowing your client
Identification
There are two key aspects to getting to know your clients. The first is properly identifying who they are.
In some instances, this may be straightforward; for example, when acting for an individual. On some occasions, however, the client may be more than one person or entity. In these circumstances, it is important that each person or entity is properly identified. This enables you to seek proper instructions from the client and to determine what the client’s interests are. It also ensures you maintain confidentiality to the client.
Where the client consists of multiple individuals or entities, solicitors need to be able to discern throughout the course of a matter whether the interests of the individuals or entities are aligned. This ensures that conflicts of interest between current clients are appropriately avoided.[5]
When identifying a client, consider the following:
- Have you collected all the information you need to identify the client? For example, if the client operates through a trust, have you identified the beneficial owners of the trust?
- Where the client is not an individual or is under a legal incapacity, do you know who has authority to give instructions on behalf of the client and have you verified that authority?
- Where appropriate, have you assessed and confirmed the client’s capacity to give you lawful, proper and competent instructions.
Understanding the client’s goals and interests
The second aspect to getting to know your clients is understanding their goals and interests and what they are trying to achieve through your services. This is an ongoing process that requires open lines of communication between both parties.
In NSW, poor communication continues to be the main cause of negligence claims against solicitors[6] and is significantly higher than the other causes identified by Lawcover.[7] In the 2024/2025 financial year, Lawcover’s claims data showed that 42% of negligence claims against law practices were caused by poor communication, while the second and third main causes, document problems and system problems, were responsible for 18% and 15% of claims, respectively.[8] This was similarly seen in claims data for the 2021/2022 and 2023/2024 financial years.
When it comes to effective communication with clients, solicitors need to ensure the adequacy of communication at all client touchpoints. From onboarding to matter closure, a key consideration is whether the solicitor has obtained all information required from the client and, conversely, whether the client has been given all the information required. This is the starting point to developing a good rapport with the client and earning their trust.
Ensuring effective communication with the client throughout the course of a matter is a balance between having efficient systems and processes and ensuring that solicitors apply soft skills, such as empathy and active listening, when interacting with the client.
How efficient systems and processes strengthen communication
In legal practice, efficient systems and processes allow solicitors to focus more of their time and attention on solving their clients’ problems and advising their clients. They ensure that aspects of service delivery, which are the same across any matter or client, can be delivered consistently. For example, regularly conducting file reviews and having a system in place that prompts you to provide your clients with updates not only ensures that you stay on top of their matters, but ultimately, that they can make informed decisions about them.
Below are examples of ways in which systems and processes can remove barriers to effective communication:
- Having a seamless client onboarding experience. Not only does a seamless onboarding process demonstrate professionalism and competency but it is the first step towards gaining the client’s trust. For example, providing the client with a list of all the information you require from them at the outset will reduce time wasted going back and forth for the information and, likely, their frustration at having a barrage of communications from their solicitor before the matter has even commenced.
- Conducting client meetings in a format that is accessible to the client. Whether done in person, over the phone, or online in a virtual meeting, the format of client meetings should, as far as possible, prioritise the client’s needs. This ensures the client has the best chance of understanding what is being communicated to them and clarifying anything they do not understand.
- Providing costs disclosure to the client as soon as practicable after instructions are initially given in a matter. This requirement under s 174 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) should not be treated as a tick-box exercise. Taking reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that the client understands and has consented to your proposed course of action for their matter facilitates transparent communication, which is necessary to building a relationship of trust.
- Ordering client files in a way that allows you to quickly discern the progress of a matter. Having a well-ordered file is key to ensuring you have all the information you need to assess the next steps of a matter and, when the client is requesting an update on their matter, that you can provide the update thoroughly and as quickly as possible.
- Having a complaints handling process that all staff use and follow. Having a well-oiled complaints handling process ensures that you respond to complaints in a timely manner and allows you to assess the aspects of service delivery that can be improved.
Bring out your soft skills
Having the right systems and processes in place facilitates an environment that promotes good client engagement; however, these must necessarily be supported by the soft skills of a lawyer. Where systems and processes ensure consistency in how you run your matters, applying soft skills ensures you adapt to the individual needs of each client.
The following are examples of soft skills that can be applied to reduce misunderstandings with the client and facilitate their desired outcomes:
- Active listening. This involves asking the client clarifying questions to check your understanding, paraphrasing what you have heard and summarising the key points made by the client. It also involves picking up non-verbal cues, such as the client’s facial expressions or their tone of voice, which can assist you to respond empathetically.
- Collaboration. Taking a collaborative approach to problem solving with the client and other solicitors involved in the matter increases your chances of achieving the client’s desired outcome in their matter. This may involve seeking out different opinions on how to approach an issue and listening actively.
- Asking open ended questions. Asking clients open-ended questions, where appropriate, invites them to share more information. This is particularly important during your initial meeting with the client, when you are trying to understand what they are seeking to achieve.
- Having an open mind. All individuals are shaped and moulded by their personal experiences, which predisposes them to a certain way of approaching people and problems. While asking open-ended questions gives the client an opportunity to share more information, being able to listen to them with an open mind minimises the chances of drawing assumptions about the outcomes they are trying to achieve.
- Using plain language. Using plain language helps your client to better understand the law and, therefore, promotes their ability to make informed decisions about their legal matters.
Building and sustaining a culture that values client engagement
While it is all well and good to implement efficient systems and processes and promote the soft skills touched upon above, the key to achieving effective client engagement and communication consistently and across all matters is having a practice culture that values and prioritises this.
From recruitment to staff onboarding to training, these processes must have embedded within them a focus on understanding the client’s goals and interests, and the need for timely and adequate communication with the client. Building and sustaining such a culture requires everyone within the law practice to understand what role they play in making this happen. At the helm should be leaders who demonstrate this value by consistently adopting the processes and practices discussed above.
Reforms to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006
From 1 July 2026, law practices that provide one or more designated services will have certain obligations under the amended Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act), including conducting customer due diligence (CDD) on clients who request a designated service.[9]
CDD is the bedrock of the AML/CTF regime and will require law practices to collect certain information about their clients and to understand the reasons for which their services are being requested.[10]
This process requires more than just identifying the client and verifying their identity; it requires solicitors to apply their soft skills and judgment to understand the nature and purpose of the services being requested of them.
Ensuring that solicitors and legal support staff are supported by systems and processes, and a legal practice culture that values effective client engagement, can strengthen a law practice’s compliance with CDD.
For further information about CDD requirements under the AML/CTF Act, refer to AUSTRAC’s (Australia’s AML/CTF regulator) reforms guidance.
Further information and guidance
The Law Society of NSW’s Professional Support Unit (PSU) provides free and confidential guidance to solicitors in NSW about their regulatory, professional and ethical obligations in legal practice, including in relation to the AML/CTF Act.
Should you have any questions or would like further guidance on the matters discussed in this article, please contact PSU on the following channels.
- AML/CTF: amlctf@lawsociety.com.au, (02) 9926 0249
- Costs: costs@lawsociety.com.au, (02) 9926 0116
- Ethics: ethics@lawsociety.com.au, (02) 9926 0114
- Regulatory Compliance: regulatory.compliance@lawsociety.com.au, (02) 9926 0115
Katherine Lau is a Professional Support Solicitor in the Law Society of NSW’s Professional Support Unit.
