Procrastination’s Dark Side
By Mark Bassingthwaighte
All right, I’ll admit it. I am a procrastinator. If there is a
Procrastinator’s Anonymous, I should probably be a member. In fact,
I wonder if an organization such as this actually exists. I’ve always
thought about checking into that, but somehow I never got around to
it. Now, my excuse for never checking has been that I tend to perform
well under the gun. In fact, some of my best work often occurs when
I’m working under a time crunch. I am able to produce when I must.
Even better, I like the feeling of satisfaction that I get when it’s all
over having met the deadline with a job well done. It feels good. I
have earned my place.
What’s the problem then? A false sense of security is the problem
and this is the dark side of procrastination. I’ve pulled it off at the last
minute so many times before that I’m certain I can do it again and
often this is true. Of course this can only happen if no unforeseen
circumstances arise; and note that I have not shared the stories of
when I didn’t make the deadline. I assure you that I have had them.
That said, while my missing a deadline from time to time might mean
that I will need to ask for an extension, for an attorney in practice, a
missed deadline can be disastrous.
Consider Rule 1.3 (a) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional
Conduct and commentary. The rule states: “A lawyer shall act with
reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.”
Comment [3] to this rule reads “Perhaps no professional shortcoming
is more widely resented than procrastination. A client’s interests often
can be adversely affected by the passage of time or the change of
conditions; in extreme instances, as when a lawyer overlooks a statute
of limitations, the client’s legal position may be destroyed. Even
when the client’s interests are not affected in substance, however,
unreasonable delay can cause a client needless anxiety and undermine
confidence in the lawyer’s trustworthiness.”
ALPS Risk Manager Mark
Bassingthwaighte, Esq.
has conducted over 1,00
0 law firm risk management
assessment visits, presented
numerous continuing legal
education seminars throughout
the United States, and written
extensively on risk management
and technology.
Check out his recent seminar,
Should I? Best Practices for
Client Selection, by visiting
the on-demand CLE library at
alps.inreachce.com. He can be
contacted at: [email protected].
20
THE GAVEL
Procrastination can be a dangerous choice in the practice of law and
it is so easy to do. The reasons behind procrastination are many. An
attorney may assume that someone else is taking care of the matter,
may not have a complete understanding as to how to best handle a
matter, or may simply have too many matters open. Being afraid of
imparting bad news, not wanting to deal with a “problem client,” or
hoping that with enough time the problem will go away are other
reasons that attorneys procrastinate.
Sometimes the problem is an inability to organize work and a matter
has been overlooked or forgotten about. Sometimes there is an
inability to appropriately prioritize work coupled with a failure to
appreciate the importance of completing the work on a given matter
in a timely fashion. At other times procrastination arises for reasons
that are more personal. An attorney may be depressed or burned
out, thus unable to find the energy to finish a matter, or perhaps is
impaired and not thinking clearly.