THE ONTARIO LAWYERS’ ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Surviving Being Sued or the Complaint Process

In the midst of your busy practice, your world comes crashing down. You are served with a claim for negligence and/or a complaint has been filed against you with the Law Society. Your emotions run a gamut from anger, defensiveness, giving up, loss of control, fear and guilt. You feel sick to your stomach most of the time. You don’t want to eat; your sleeping is upset; you are distracted; you want it all to go away; you ache all the time. You may use or increase your use of alcohol and/or drugs. You withdraw socially or want to just talk about the problem ad nauseum. You may decrease working hours because of lack of concentration. You may wish to leave the profession. Your family life may suffer. You are exhausted all the time. And the process has not even started yet!

Here are some tips to deal with this awful and stressful situation.

• Do something quickly – If you put the claim or complaint letter to the side, it will not go away. You must do something quickly so that things do not get worse or time limits are not missed.

• Get legal counsel – Remember, the lawyer who represents him/herself has a fool for a client. Get competent counsel. Ask around for references. Interview prospective counsel for their expertise. Find someone you feel comfortable with and trust. Treat your counsel as your lawyer not as a friend who is sympathizing with your situation personally rather than representing you professionally.

• Do what your counsel advises you to do! – Get all documents together. Make additional notes. Do what is asked quickly and accurately. Discuss strategy but listen to the advice given to you.

• Review the file fully – Organize the file with correspondence chronologically arranged, documents complete, and other file notes neatly ordered. Turn over the whole file but make copies of all relevant documents for yourself for personal review.

• Read all documents carefully – Anything that your lawyer prepares must be reviewed by you for factual accuracy and to inform you of what is being written and represented on your behalf. If you have any questions, ask them before anything is filed to save questions of strategy or accuracy later on.

• Listen, listen, listen – Do not become the client from hell calling or writing your lawyer every day. Call when you have something to report. Wait for your lawyer to contact you. Listen to the same advice you give your own clients.

• Understand the winding nature of the process – Things travel slowly in a these types of proceedings. It is a marathon not a sprint. Remember that your file may not be the most important to be dealt with so go with the flow even if it is slow.

• Set priorities – Let go of things that distract your concentration on this matter like unreasonable clients, unrealistic expectations or overwork. Focus on what you can do to best assist your lawyer.

• Use effective stress management techniques – Take care of yourself. Sleep eight hours per night, eat three healthy meals a day, exercise regularly, breathe deeply when you feel the stress overwhelming you, cut down or cut out coffee and smoking, meditate, talk about your feelings with someone you love and trust, appreciate what you have and do not focus on what you do not have. If you are not feeling physically well, go to your family doctor and get a full physical checkup.

• Access Resources – Go to www.lawpro.ca and follow the PracticePro section to the online Coaching Clinic. You will find 150 modules to help you with stress relief, practice tips and communication skills. Invest some time in yourself.

• Look at the situation realistically – It is easy to look at the worst case scenario and expect that that will happen. This is called catastrophising. Alternatively, it is also possible to look at the situation and get the mind set that nothing bad will happen. With your lawyer, realistically assess the upside and downside. Put it into perspective.  

• Stay in control – Control what you can – your responses, your perspective, your thoughts. Leave the rest of the things that you have delegated to those you assigned them to. If you obsess about the case and cannot seem to shake the fear, guilt or anger, allow yourself a set time limit every day to devote to the issue. Write a journal about your feelings, make an audio tape, work with your hands while you think about the issue, scream into a pillow, pray or take a long walk to meditate about it. But, when the time limit is up, it is up. Shut it down for the day. Move on to other responsibilities and self-care needs. Live in the moment.  

• Accept your feelings – Balance your doubts. Identify and limit self recrimination. Do not allow yourself to sink into despair. Talk to someone who understands and who can listen sympathetically. Get professional help from a therapist or counselor. 

• Prepare for the Discovery, Trial or Hearing – Review the file carefully. Review the questions with your lawyer that will be asked of you and prepare for cross examination. Be prepared to address the tough issues head on. Speak confidently and with precision. Do not try to tell your whole story in a gush of information when you are asked your name.

• Put yourself in the defendant/respondent’s shoes - Do not take the system for granted because you work in the courts. It is different when you are one of the parties. Review where you sit, how you act, how you dress and what you are to do.
  
• Use the “Best Friend” technique – Imagine that it is your best friend being grilled. Stand up for yourself as you would for your best friend. Speak confidently and with precision.

Call OLAP – Talking to another lawyer who understands the legal system, the legal culture that we work in and the stresses of everyday practice is important to prevent isolation. The Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program has a corps of 100 volunteer peer support lawyers who understand other lawyers. They are willing to lend a friendly, sympathetic ear to any caller who needs help with stress, burnout, addictions or mental wellness challenges. OLAP can refer you to other resources if that is needed as well. Ask for support not advice. To contact the Program Manager, Leota Embleton, please call 1-877-576-6227. To contact the Volunteer Executive Director, John Starzynski, please call 1-877-584-6227. Or visit the website at www.olap.ca .

BACK TO MAIN STARZYNSKI ARTICLES PAGE

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE (MS WORD)

Legal Profession Assistance Conference (LPAC) |Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) | Lawyers Assistance Program of British Columbia (BCLAP) | Nova Scotia Lawyers Assistance Program (NSLAP) | Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) | The Lawyers Assistance Program (LINK) | The Alberta Lawyers Assistance Program | Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (Saskatchewan) | The Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO) | Law Practice Consulting