You, not your client, should hire the expert. Whether it’s a private investigator, business valuation specialist, home appraiser or vocational expert you should do the hiring. Don’t let the client do it.

Many of us refer the client to the expert, have them meet independent of us, and let them arrange the engagement. That’s a bad idea.

Why do we do it that way? Usually for two reasons.

First, it allows us to avoid getting involved in the payment of the expert’s fee. The client contracts directly with the expert. The expert has the conversation about rates and retainers. We get to stay away from all that financial unpleasantness and we avoid an uncollected bill coming to us after the case is over.

Second, we don’t want to spend the time on the task. It’s a pain arranging for everyone to get together and exchange details. By giving the client the expert’s number we can walk away from the hassle of making the engagement happen.

Unfortunately, we need to get involved. Why?

Again, two reasons.

First, there may be attorney-client privilege or work product issues depending on the law in your state.

Second, and this is the important one, the client needs a seamless experience that is well managed. The client came to you to deal with the divorce because it is an unknown (just like hiring an expert). They expect you to manage the process in it’s entirety (unless they express otherwise). They assume you’ll make this process easier and they want to feel taken care of.

When you send them off, alone, to the expert they have no idea what they’re doing. They haven’t engaged these types of professionals in the past. They don’t know what they really want from the expert. They don’t know what they don’t know. That’s why they hired you in the first place.

Make it easy for the client. Deliver a positive experience. Let them know that you’ve got things under control and are managing all of the details.

Keep in mind that the relationship between the client and the expert reflects on you. Our client surveys reveal that a relationship that goes sour over a problem with an expert results in a dramatically reduced likelihood of a referral. The client thinks of you and the expert as one entity. You can’t distinguish yourself from the expert in the mind of the client so you should be completely involved so that the relationship gets managed to the client’s satisfaction.