Legal Opinion Letters - What do clients expect from lawyers and law firms?

This article was published on The Vietnam Lawyer Journal on March 24th, 2023

Written by: Managing Partner Nguyen Van Phuc and Associate Nguyen Nhat Duong

In the relationship between laws and economy, laws play a superstructural role, be influenced and having simultaneously an opposite effect on economic infrastructure. Along with the development of the economy, laws also always operate constantly to ensure its role in the relationship. However, laws only really plays its role when it is applied to the practice of economic life, which is partly conducted through the legal advice activities of lawyers and law-practicing organizations.

In terms of a means of information transmission, legal advice activities may be provided by lawyers and law-practicing organizations (hereinafter referred collectively to as "law firms") through various forms such as direct communication, letters, emails, telephone calls, or other online platforms. However, in terms of profession and legal validity, a Legal Opinion Letter has greater priority than other types.

Clients who looking for legal services often include diverse subjects, operating in a variety of fields and occupations. This leads to various requirements for each type of client. Through long experience, we realize that can bring our clients a Legal Opinion Letter with the highest value, it is essential that lawyers deeply understand expectations of clients.

So the question is “what do clients expect from lawyers and law firms, through the Legal Opinion Letter”?

Effectiveness

Using services of a law firm means that clients have chosen a knowledge, skill, and experience of lawyers at the law firm, thereby desiring to find legal solutions to solve their own problems.

Hence, it is clear that effectiveness is the most crucial factor to raise the value of a Legal Opinion Letter.  Two basic requirements must be solved by the lawyer to create the effectiveness of a Legal Opinion Letter are as follows:

i. Being able to answer legal questions related to clienst’s legal issues:

Each client’s issue may include many legal questions need to be solved by the lawyer. Therefore, the lawyer must fully identify legal questions need to be answered. Thus, lawyers comprehensively understand the client’s issues, and as a consequence solves problems more logically. By their knowledge and experience in the practice process, especially the ability to systematize legal regulations, lawyers will in turn answer identified legal questions, thereby giving clients the most comprehensive view of the issses, as well as solving all these issues.

ii.Being able to provide solutions to solve client’s legal issues:

In some circumstances, expectations of clients are sometimes not only answers to legal issues, lawyers also must provide solutions to solve it. Lawyers with practical experience can provide legal solutions as well as the merits and deficiencies of each solution. However, note that the solution is only opinions of lawyers, based on legal regulations and practice for reference, the choice to use these solutions is totally belonged to clients’ decision.

Thoughtfulness

In every circumstance, lawyers and law firms need to take into account that a Legal Opinion Letter must be as thoughful as possible. From our perspective, this thoughfulness derived from two factors:

Firstly, thoughtfulness is shown by the form of Legal Opinion Letters

It can be said that the Legal Opinion Letter is a complete picture showing the qualifications and professionalism of a lawyer/law firm. The form of thoughtfulness is expressed through the presentation of the content in an orderly, logical, and scientific way, making it easy for clients to follow, understand and grasp the content. 

Secondly, thoughtfulness is shown by words, paraphrasing, and spelling.

When drafting a Legal Opinion Letter, lawyers should use formal, and polite language; clear, and grammatically writing; avoid lengthy phrasing, limit repeating the same thing over again, and avoid mentioning a problem that is not related to client’s legal issues. Additionally, lawyers should be very careful of spelling mistakes, it is clear that clients can be unsatisfied with a document containing spelling mistakes, especially legal documents, which every wording mistake can make a misunderstanding.

Appropriacy and flexibility

After all, Legal Opinion Letters are also a means of information transmission from lawyers to clients. Therefore, choosing the appropriate and flexible way of transmission to each client is a task for lawyers. To ensure that all clients grasp lawyer’s opinions, lawyers/law firms must classify their clients. Basically, to ensure appropriacy and flexibility, lawyers need:

i. Choosing the appropriate expression and presentation of the Legal Opinion Letter for each client.

Legal consulting is a careful and profound white-collar labor. However, if the Legal Opinion Letter is to serve a client who has never been approached to legal issues or a client has little knowledge in terms of legal expertise, the lawyer needs to be flexible in the use of words and presentation. Instead of presenting the issues in an overly academic way, the lawyer can use a simple presentation, give preference to common terms with equivalent meanings, or must clearly define and annotate.

Conversely, lawyers sometimes have to take a more direct approach to issues for clients who have the expertise or experience in the legal field because of their knowledge and expectations on specific, direct, and insightful opinion.

ii. Flexible application of legal regulations and practical operation for each client.

Similarly, the application and combination of legal regulations and practical operation also need to be flexible by lawyers for each client.

Depending on the circumstances, the lawyer must prioritize between providing clients with the legal basis to resolve the problem or providing legal solutions for clients to consider applying. This choosing depends not only on the type of clients but also on the specific requirements and desires of each client for lawyers.

In conclusion, it is crucial for lawyers when preparing Legal Opinion Letters to clients to have a deep grasp and understanding of the client's expectations, and at the same time, to be careful and thoughtful in all aspects, including the content and form of the Legal Opinion Letter. With these factors achieved, lawyers can provide clients with Legal Opinion Letters with the highest value.

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