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Prioritize Effective Law Firm-Client Communications<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Perhaps the most critical component of a law firm\u2019s success is having paying clients. If there is no work to do and no one to pay, you do not have a viable business. So it is important to provide a great client experience to ensure your clients will return when they have future legal issues \u2014 and, hopefully, refer more clients to you.<\/p>\n
Effective communication is the primary factor influencing a client\u2019s opinion of a law firm\u2019s services. Of course, it is almost unavoidable today that lawyer-client communications are largely done via technology. Consequently, how well a law firm handles communications technology \u2014 from document sharing and scheduling to email, text and video \u2014 plays a sizeable role in a successful lawyer-client relationship.<\/p>\n
Understand the Client\u2019s Communications Style<\/h2>\n
For many decades, it was a given that clients would receive communications in the way that the law firm deemed appropriate. There was little wrong with that, as there were few communications options available, and the U.S. Postal Service was universally considered the best unless time constraints required a delivery by courier.<\/p>\n
Now there are dozens of communication options, and your potential clients have already determined their preferred digital communication methods.<\/p>\n
So now, once you have been retained by the client, you need to discuss their preferences.<\/strong><\/p>\n Some people prefer texting to phone conversations. Some may only infrequently check their email inbox. Others may have different digital communication practices. Hopefully, the firm can demonstrate how its client portal addresses its clients\u2019 needs. (More on portals below.) But you should have a fill-in-the-blank item at intake, not a series of checkboxes, to allow for customized solutions. For example, the client who \u201cforgets\u201d to check their email regularly might receive a text message notifying them when they have received an email from their lawyer. Practice management solutions may have features to automate this process.<\/p>\n Sometimes you may have a client who does not own a computer and seems unlikely to read a 10-page document over the phone. In that situation, the firm may use snail-mail for communication and schedule someone to personally reach out every few weeks just to ensure the client is up to speed. Other clients, in contrast, will appreciate a FaceTime or Skype video call from the lawyer or legal assistant.<\/p>\n Note that email newsletters to clients are often deleted unread, so make sure your subject line for your direct communications to clients includes the law firm name and perhaps the word \u201cfree.\u201d (Although spam filters seem to hate the word \u201cfree.\u201d)<\/p>\n While many larger law firms have specialized IT solutions constructed in-house, most midsize and smaller law firms use a practice management system supplied by a third party. Most of these solutions contain a client portal function. One thing these tools do is provide a secure client portal that the client can log in to and review documents and messages shared by the firm. Clients of all types can benefit from these portals.<\/p>\n For example, an assistant general counsel on a road trip might appreciate logging into the law firm\u2019s client portal to review documents far more easily than she could log into her own company\u2019s records. Or, an individual client who has trouble dealing with encrypted email would like the alternative of easily logging into a website via a username and password to get the information there instead.<\/p>\n Did someone say email? <\/strong>Most people now understand the many reasons why email is not secure. If a client insists on using email, however, it is their confidential information, and the firm will respect their decision. Once the risk has been adequately explained and documented, it is ultimately the client\u2019s choice. Perhaps, though, you could convince the clients that a password-protected attachment to an email would be simple and safer.<\/p>\n What about texts? <\/strong>I was recently involved in a business transaction with some younger people who texted everything \u2014 large multipage attachments, photos of documents and instructions to the lawyer. Since I do not currently use practice management software because I don\u2019t represent clients, I transferred all attachments to a folder on my computer. I\u2019ve invested too much time scrolling back through text message threads trying to locate an attachment. But most modern PMS tools should be able to handle and organize text messages in the same way that they do emails.<\/p>\n Encryption used to be challenging. Now, almost all business email is encrypted in transit using TLS (Transport Layer Security), which replaced an older technology called SSL. Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and most major providers automatically encrypt the connection between the mail servers when both sides support it. Users don\u2019t really notice this or have to do anything.<\/p>\n In addition, instead of trying to encrypt or password-protect attachments individually, secure file-sharing links are simple and easy to use, linking to content on OneDrive, SharePoint, Box, Dropbox or similar services. A benefit is this type of access can be limited to particular people and can also be revoked later.<\/p>\nEmbrace the Client Portal<\/h2>\n
To Encrypt or Not to Encrypt?<\/h2>\n