Churchill & Bad News

................yes, madam. But in the morning, I shall be sober; you will still be ugly.

Nobody likes to give bad news, and most of us are leery of "shoot the messenger" syndrome. Yet giving bad news is an occasional part of the job for most lawyers in private practice, particularly litigators. Under Ethics Rule 1.4, lawyers must keep clients "reasonably informed about the status of a matter."
On June 18, 1940, in his "finest hour" speech, Winston Churchill gave what was probably the greatest example ever of conveying very bad news in an effective way. On that date, he addressed the House of Commons and -- through the BBC -- the free world, following the defeat of the French army by the Germans.
He did not mince words and did not waste time getting the worst out first. In his very first sentence, he acknowledged the "colossal military disaster." He flatly reported that "the Battle of France is over." Nor did he shrink from describing what was coming next: "The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be thrust upon us."
Finally, he did not overpromise as to the outcome, stating only that there were "good and reasonable hopes of final victory."
Having given the bad news without flinching, he was able to finish with the stirring and memorable call to "brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'"