Among our many titles, the one the least attention is paid to is that of “counselor”. We lawyers tend to forget that we are counselors as well as advocates and that implies a certain type of relationship that arises between a lawyer and client. A client should feel comfortable with the attorney she chooses and the attorney should make her feel as if he is truly listening to her. This doesn’t mean that the lawyer will be invited to family functions or that a client can’t have a strictly business relationship if that is her choice. A good attorney is one who makes a client feel as if her matter is the most important thing in the world to him at that moment and one who always has her needs paramount in his mind. An attorney’s “deskside manner” is just as important as his knowledge of the law. Consideration works both ways, however, and a client should realize that there will be times when she won't have direct access to her attorney (the attorney cannot come directly to the phone, etc.) and that not everything is an emergency. Having said that, the attorney should always make a client feel that someone is tending to her matter and that he or someone from his office will get back to her in a timely fashion (for example, short of an emergency, many attorneys have a 24-hour rule). If an attorney doesn’t make a client feel that way, a client should politely sever the relationship and fine one who will.