So, as a lawyer, you have to recognise that honesty sometimes equates to saying nothing. Telling clients any of the following in the introductory meeting won’t win you plaudits with your colleagues or, more importantly, your boss.

1. I use forms and precedents but charge you as if I did it from scratch. Many documents prepared for clients are slightly edited versions of old templates.

2. I hand off work to peons but charge you a lawyer’s rate. Much of the work is actually done by paralegals, secretaries, and interns.

3. My Oxbridge education doesn’t make me a better lawyer. Clients shouldn’t get hung up on the universities lawyers went to or the brand of their shoes. But most can’t help it.

4. I hope you don’t look too closely at the expense report. Due to their size, large law firms can often get great rates for things like copying services, long distance calls, and other disbursements… but charge clients a higher rate and pocket the difference.

5. You don’t really need me. Many basic legal tasks, such as simple contracts, uncontested divorce, and other transactions can often be done by clients themselves, or with the help of paralegals and other non-qualified legal professionals. Fear is a lawyer’s friend in the scary world of law.

6. My fee is negotiable. Lawyers are normally open to negotiating their hourly rate. Reluctantly.

7. You’re always on the clock. Lawyers can bill clients for every minute they spend thinking or talking about the case. So every communication clients have with a lawyer should begin with the question: “Are you billing me for this?”. But they will forget.

8. I don’t know much about the law. The legal system is so complicated that most lawyers are only experts within a very specific niche. Just as one wouldn’t ask a podiatrist to perform open heart surgery, clients shouldn’t expect personal injury lawyers to give sound trademark advice. Knowledge asymmetry – making professionals rich for centuries.

9. I don’t refer you to the best lawyers. In many jurisdictions lawyers are allowed to pay each other referral fees as long as the fee is properly disclosed to the client. Do most clients actually read all the letters lawyers send them, don’t think so.

10. Your bill is only a guesstimate. Lawyers bill clients in six-minute intervals. But this level of precision shouldn’t fool anyone—not all lawyers are fanatically staring at their stopwatches to ensure clients are not getting overbilled. Padding? Moi? ‘Doc review’ category on timesheets is a winner though.

11. I don’t have to tell you how I screwed up in the past. Lawyers don’t have to disclose to their clients a history of sanctions or other disciplinary actions. But some are available if clients look hard enough (unlikely) – the Law Society’s disciplinary decisions are available online.

12. I put on a tough act but that won’t actually help your case. A Few Good Men aside, Litigation is not won by testosterone-filled lawyers who shout down their opponents and break down witnesses into puddles of tears. The most aggressive lawyers can end up costing clients the most money.

13. Mediation might be the better choice. “Litigation is a sinkhole”.

14. I can’t easily fire you as a client. There are rules regulating when a lawyer may do so and they are important for clients to know; but they probably don’t.

15. I’m training junior lawyers on your time. Very often the lawyer hired is not the one clients see most of. While the seasoned lawyers are used to lure in clients, client matters might be delegated to young lawyers fresh out of law school. Understatement.

16. I’m a dime a dozen. Recent layoffs should tell the client universe that there is an oversupply of lawyers out there – it’s a buyers market. But recruiters don’t market lawyers to clients, lawyers do.

Adapted from the American Express Open forum for small businesses.