Rekindle Your Legal Partnerships: 3 Heartfelt Tips to Strengthen Ties with your In-house or External Counsel

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for roses and champagne—it’s the perfect time for more trust, clarity, and collaboration with your counsel. Redact the guesswork; here’s how to build relationships that last long after the Cupid arrows fade.

1. Start with a “Heart-to-Heart” Alignment

Chemistry matters. Before diving into a matter, host a kickoff call to:

Share your “why”: Explain the business impact of the project (e.g., “This contract affects a $5M long-term partnership—we need airtight terms by Q2”).

Ask theirs: Understand their bandwidth, expertise, and preferred working style.

Set a “no-surprises” pact: Agree on escalation paths for roadblocks. 

Pro tip: Send a bullet-point recap post-meeting to lock in alignment, and yes, TL;DR’s melt all the hearts.

2. Write Love Letters (aka Clear Instructions)

Ambiguous requests = heartbreak. Instead:

Ditch the jargon: Replace “review ASAP” with “Markup redlines by Thursday EOD, priority high with indemnification clauses.”

Attach a “cheat sheet”: Share internal stakeholder contacts, key dates, and style preferences (e.g., “Our GC prefers bullet points over memos”).

3. Date Night Rules: Schedule Regular Check-Ins

Don’t ghost your counsel between milestones. Try:

Weekly 15-minute syncs: Use these to celebrate quick wins (“The judge loved your motion!”) and tweak priorities.

Quarterly “Coffee Chats”: Discuss big-picture goals (e.g., “How can we streamline NDAs next quarter?”). Give your counsel the tools to guide your hand.

Keep the Spark Alive All Year

Like any great relationship, success with counsel hinges 👀on consistency and clarity. This Valentine’s season, take one small step—a clearer email, a gratitude note, a feedback chat—to show your partners they’re valued. 

After all, the strongest alliances aren’t built on billable hours… they’re built on trust (and yes, a scintilla of Michelin star dining and fine wine, once in a red moon).

P.S. Still feeling the love? Share this with a colleague who’d appreciate a little less friction (and a lot more collaboration) in their counsel relationships.