As clients discover they can get excellent legal services provided by amiable attorneys, they will begin demanding both qualities. This is already happening. Thus, rapport building represents an important weapon in your competitive arsenal. When a client first comes to you, there are a number of factors that work against a feeling of rapport. The client is usually uneasy in the first meeting.
Most people have very little experience working with attorneys.
Uncertainty provokes anxiety. Also, clients are usually there because they have a problem that has them preoccupied. This increased level of tension is not conducive to creating rapport with a total stranger. The next barrier to rapport building is the unfortunate perception that attorneys are sharks that would gladly rip flesh from your bones for the sheer sport of it. Hyperbole aside, the public has a clear distrust for attorneys.