C COUNSELOR’S CORNER KNOWING WHEN — AND HOW — TO SAY GOODBYE Disengaging from a Client Under Nebraska Law BY NICK BJORNSON AND KRISTIN KRUEGER, ATTORNEYS, KOLEY JESSEN CPAs are wired to help. When deadlines loom and clients falter, the instinct is to step in, answer one more question, push a return across the finish line, or provide a “quick look” after the engagement has supposedly ended. But professional loyalty has limits, and under Nebraska law, failing to recognize when a client relationship has run its course can quietly extend legal exposure long after a firm believes the engagement has ended. Disengaging from a client is not just about ending the work. It is about ending the duty, and that requires clarity, judgment, and documentation. As the Journal of Accountancy1 observed, CPAs often rationalize continuing troubled relationships. A client may be a longtime acquaintance, a referral source, or a respected figure in the community. Others are “good people” going through a difficult phase, late payments, poor records, or repeated pressure to take aggressive positions. Walking away can feel personal, even disloyal. Yet the same article emphasizes a hard truth learned repeatedly: Problem clients rarely improve, and delay increases risk. Firms that avoid timely disengagement often do so at the expense of staff morale, practice focus, and liability control. 16 Nebraska CPA
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