This is the third post in a series on professionalism. This one is about making “keepable promises” with regard to deadlines and deliverables. We, at Magnus, work in a world with many deadlines; very often, these are deadlines beyond the control of our clients. That is, judges set trial dates and discovery deadlines with which the lawyers must comply. Of course, waiting until a deadline is imposed is not optimal, but that is another story. In our world, when we are asked to provide services like a focus group or mock trial, there is a “ramp up” period. Things take time. Our work doesn’t happen overnight. Logistics take time. Even as the world has sped up in the last 30 years, there is still a time element. Overnight delivery sped up getting documents to us when compared to the mail. Then came faxes, then email, and for us these days, a client upload/download portal or Dropbox. Getting retained, via wire and ACH transfers, is faster than overnight delivery, but getting retained is more than just getting paid. All “delivery” methods take time. In our world, on the front end, recruiting the participants (mock jurors), booking a facility and making travel plans, and reviewing the documents/writing the survey take considerable time. After the research date, much time is involved in data analysis and report writing. Having set the stage, this brings me to setting client expectations. When we receive a call about a new case, one of the first questions I ask is when the client needs our work product; generally, this involves asking about a trial or mediation date. Sometimes, we are called too close to those dates. It is painful to tell a potential client that we do not have time to help them, and it is rare that we can’t do something. But, pulling a rabbit out of a hat takes skill. On our end it sometimes involves juggling the case load and prioritizing, or re-prioritizing. Yet, from the outset, a key to good client relations is being realistic in explaining work timetables and creating the expectations for when certain milestones will be accomplished. We never want to be in the position where we are not delivering when promised. Rather, beating deadlines is our goal and more often than not, we do!