Mike Roster, the head of the ACC Value Challenge and a former GC and outside lawyer, just relayed a story in a post on Legal On Ramp. Here’s the story:
I once was at a board meeting with a director who had been a CEO of several major public companies. We had just heard a presentation by lawyers from one of the nation’s most prominent law firms. At the end of the lawyers’ presentation, this director said, “Now that you’ve done all your hand-wringing – which I know makes you feel good – and have shown us how smart you are, why don’t you tell us what you actually recommend?”
I have heard similar stories many, many times. And I have to confess, I have never been able to understand the penchant of so many to count angels on the head of the pin and then refuse of offer meaningful advice. A client has an inherent, unqualified right to know what his or her lawyer thinks, what the lawyer would decide if he or she was the "decider." Sure, it can be a close call with no sure right or wrong answer. I’m sure client’s react by saying "easy decisions never make it this far north in the organization and we live with incomplete information and uncertainty every minute of every day. Welcome to my world, now get over yourself and TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK."
It is amazing that lawyers don’t have their hands cut off just so they can’t say "on the one hand …"