A post from student blogger Brittany

We are taking a Patent Practitioner course this semester and our discussions have been extremely interesting in regards to difficult client interactions and how case law alters practicing methods. We were presented with a scenario in which we had a deadline for two different clients on the same day. One client has always been helpful, timely and just an overall pleasant person. On the other hand the second client is disrespectful, aggressive and there is a clear difference of personalities. We were asked how would you handle this situation and if we would treat the clients any differently.

Of course my stance was to meet the deadline for both clients despite my personal relationship with either client. I did however go on to say that I would make sure the response for each client puts the claims in condition for allowance. Although I may not personally care for a client as a practitioner it is vital to put those feelings aside and always remain professional. We cannot forget that we depend on clients for billable hours. Our professor did caution against allowing clients to be disrespectful to the point of which one would need to withdraw representation all together.

Having these very honest conversations with seasoned professionals in the field are great ways for newcomers like my MSPL cohort to prepare ourselves for a variety of clients once we start practicing. These conversations in parallel with working with our capstone mentors have provided great practical experience with client counseling that I know I didn’t have previously. I tend to wear my emotions on my face, so I must be mindful of that as I speak with clients. Additionally, I’ve been told that I have an accent, I vehemently disagree with this statement, so that’s something else I need to work on in regards to client counseling. Overall I’m excited to interact with a variety of clients.