For The Holidays, Give The Gift Of A Big Block Of Cheese

Share your 'cheese' -- your time -- with all of your 'constituents' -- your clients. You won't regret it.

Fans of the old television series The West Wing may recall one of the most well-known episodes colloquially known as Big Block of Cheese Day.

For non-fans of the show, or for recent members of the Bar too young to recall the show, the episode centered around an edict from the President’s Chief of Staff to his senior staff that they meet with all constituents, including those a little too fringe to otherwise get a formal meeting. The show explains that President Jackson used to keep a two-ton block of cheese in the White House to encourage members of the public to enter at any time to have a snack and engage directly with the government.

The episode then proceeds to chronicle the various members of the staff as they meet with groups ranging from those advocating for the building of a cross-walk for wolves over an interstate to a group convinced of the existence of UFOs. The episode ends with the president’s staff reflecting on the fact that they actually learned a bit from the groups and with the various groups expressing their appreciation for being heard.

Although the concept was started by the fictionalized president in the television series, the Obama administration brought it to real life as they reserved a day a year for similar causes. As you might expect, the concept was received warmly by constituents and even the press.

So for those attorneys still searching for that perfect last minute gift, let me encourage you to set out your own big block of cheese and give the gift of your time.

Granted the vast majority of us may not work in a political office, but we each still have a constituency. It may be our clients or opposing counsel, but for me, it is the patients of our hospital.

This past week I had a potential “legal risk” referred to me by one of our switchboard operators. The operator had been on the phone with an “irate caller who was planning to sue the hospital because we put fluoride in his water which was causing him to get migraines.”

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Most reading that referral might dismiss of it outright and never call the patient back, which I normally would, but in the spirit of the holidays, I decided to do some cursory research on the patient. Turns out, he is a regular patient of ours and has been for some time. Wanting to at least be responsive to one of our regular patients, I decided to call him back.

As we spoke, for over 45 minutes, I learned he was not an irate caller, nor was he threatening to sue, but rather he wanted to educate our physicians on the dangers of everything from fluoride in our water to the threats posed by GMO food.

He spoke, I listened, and we ended the call with him thanking me for my time and expressing his appreciation that someone took the time to listen. Nothing that I did was extraordinary, nor am I attempting to pat myself on the back too much, but I would like to think I earned our hospital the continued loyalty of our patient.

As attorneys, we are trained to be mindful of our communication with a potential adverse party, but sometimes open communication is just what may be needed.

You may roll your eyes, it may end up being a waste of time, and you may walk away cursing my name for having made the suggestion. But this holiday season, consider setting out that big block of cheese and seeing what sort of goodwill you may catch with it. And who knows, you may just stave off that next lawsuit.

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Stephen R. Williams is in-house counsel with a multi-facility hospital network in the Midwest. His column focuses on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management. You can reach Stephen at stephenwilliamsjd@gmail.com.