Law Practice Today

You must say “No” to some requests. If you don’t, you will be so overloaded with work that your practice (and the rest of your life—for that matter) will become a wreck. Will it make some of the requesters unhappy? Sure, but it’s more than worth it. It’s necessary.

There are a few simple rules for how to maximize benefit and minimize risk when saying “No”. While they are easy to understand, these three steps can take some practice to master. Once mastered, though, everyone is better off, you and the people whose request you decide you can’t fulfill.

When someone makes a request,

Step 1. Gut check. Notice your gut reaction. If your gut says, “No more. Please, I have too much to do already,” or, “No. This isn’t the work that I do best,” proceed to Step 2. (If there is a way for you to delegate the work or your gut—not your brain—really wants to do this project even though you’re busy, just say “Yes.” And, if you are busy, find a way to make it happen. How to find that time is the subject of another article.)

Step 2. Cost check. Calculate the cost of saying “No.” Is the person doing the asking a client, senior partner, or important teammate? Are there serious, obvious, immediate, negative consequences to saying “No”? If not, say “No.” Use your judgment about the wording. “No” can be a bit too abrupt – especially for a senior member of your firm. You may need to say instead, “I know that my workload won’t allow me to handle this request in a timely matter. I hope you understand that I won’t be able to accept this assignment.” Generally speaking, you want to say it quickly (preferably under 10 seconds),and cleanly. This takes care of 25% of unwanted requests. These are the simpler situations. If the request/order came from someone to whom you cannot say “No,” go on to Step 3.

Step 3. Educate for future efficiency. Teach the asker that this sort of request is not in your or their best interest. When you cannot say “No” to this request, you accept this assignment AND you use this opportunity to open a conversation that makes it less likely that you will be asked to take on work of this nature in the future.

The idea here is that when you are being overworked and overtaxed, you are not being treated respectfully and you are likely to not be able to do your best work. If there is genuine teamwork and respect with your colleagues and clients, they want to treat you with respect. Even if there isn’t respect and teamwork, they will want you to do your best work, which you won’t do if you have too much or the wrong kind of work. You need to communicate so that the person giving you the work starts to understand that giving you this work may undermine you and the firm or relationship.

The communication includes two conversations. The first occurs when you are given the assignment and the second after the work is done. When you are given the assignment, ask questions to understand (1) what the assignment is (“How does this fit into the overall case/deal?”), and (2) how the giver suggests you can handle it best (“Who can support me with this?” “What do you recommend I take off my plate to get this done now?”).

Afterward, educate the assigner about the cost of having done his or her task (“To get this done, I didn’t get to. . . Perhaps, next time. . .”). Don’t whine. Be as subtle as is appropriate, but let the person know the honest cost. The people with whom you work want to treat you well. After a few conversations like this, the person giving you the work will understand not to give you that sort of assignment again. You will do better work, and everyone will be pleased.

One last point: If you are so overloaded that you have to say “No” immediately, even to a client or senior partner, it’s usually not a relationship breaker. Often, that level of candor is appreciated. (If not, you might not want to work there or with this person.) If taking on the project when your gut screams “No!” would jeopardize the work product in some way, you are probably doing the asker a favor by bowing out.

For a more comprehensive discussion of these specific skills and other ways to lighten your load, I recommend Bill Jensen’s wonderful book, The Simplicity Survival Handbook.