Ask Questions to Avoid Killer Clients, Shrink Recommends

After a courthouse murder-suicide in Connecticut four years ago and an alleged kidnapping of a lawyer and arson earlier this month that apparently was triggered by divorce filings, a state legal publication has sought expert advice on what an attorney can do to spot a potentially violent client and try to avert such crimes.

Even ordinary people going through extraordinary stress can pose a significant risk, psychologist Sidney Horowitz tells the Connecticut Legal Tribune in an article reprinted by New York Lawyer (reg. req.). Horowitz has taught for years at Yale University's medical school in New Haven and serves as a special master in local family court cases.

So don't assume, he says: Ask new clients questions about issues known to be associated with dangerous behavior such as substance abuse, he recommends. And, if a client does have a drinking or drug problem, refer the individual for appropriate help. The life you save by doing so could be your own, Horowitz notes.

For starters, Horowitz himself always asks people whether they carry a firearm. Not long ago, when his posed this query to a woman in his office, she rummaged in her handbag and pulled out a pistol with the safety off, he recounts. "It scared the stuffing out of me."

Related additional coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "How a Kidnapped Conn. Lawyer Managed to Escape"

Updated at 6:09 p.m. to link to additional ABAJournal.com post.