"Don't take this the wrong way …"

We just finished up a case for some clients: guys wrongly accused of taking trade secrets from their employer in a bid to set up a new competing business. We ended up with a terrific result, getting the lawsuit dismissed and allowing them to continue their careers with no money changing hands. We did it effectively for what turned out to be a very reasonable fixed price.

After it was over, the clients were very appreciative. They thanked us for our work and our results. In an email, one of them expressed more gratitude, and then added this:

Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope I never have to speak to you again professionally.

Huh. Now I know what he meant, and I know that he meant it half tongue-in-cheek. But just half. As good a job as we'd done for him and his colleagues, as much value and caring and support as we had given him, it was — overall — a negative experience for him.

And this wasn't the first time I'd had this expressed to me over my 16-year career. A long-time client would call after a months-long hiatus, and I'd go, "Hey, it's been a long time" and he'd go, "I know. It's been nice." Ouch. Now I know that my client isn't saying that he dislikes talking with me. It's just that he'd rather not have to talk to me.

And this bothers me.

Maybe it's the nature of the work we do: people usually aren't very happy when they need employment-law or business-litigation help.

And yet.

And yet I can't help wondering if there's something we can do — if there's something lawyers can do — to make clients want to deal with them. In the same way that they want to deal with other great businesses.

People love to buy the latest gadgets from Apple. People love to fly Southwest. People love to visit Disney parks, or buy shoes from Zappos.com, or buy groceries from Whole Foods. Is there something we can do to make people love dealing with their lawyers, or is our field fundamentally different from other businesses?

This is an important question, and one that I'm spending a lot of time thinking about. I'll let you know if I find the answer.

What do you think? Can a law firm be like Apple, or are lawyers doomed to being necessary evils? Share your thoughts in the comments below.