Answer: In our firm, the answer is absolutely yes. Color us spoiled, and even unlawyer-like–but we refuse to represent clients we do not like and respect. Screw the money. We’d rather sell women’s shoes, be full-time lobbyists, or take up careers as street people.
Only a few books I can find on the subject of rendering services to customers in the business sections of Borders or Barnes & Noble ever mention the question. In the context of lawyer services, it’s simply this: except for some court appointments and pro bono engagements, what if we only chose to represent clients we liked?
By “like”, I mean it loosely: to derive for whatever reason real pleasure and satisfaction while doing legal work for a individual or organization.
My firm shies away from individuals as clients, regardless of his or her resources. We usually represent businesses. So in the case of an organization, we “like” the client because overall we somehow feel comfortable with or maybe even admire the personality, business culture or goals of that client, personally like/admire the client reps and general counsel, or both.