Herding cats: Client communication in the legal profession

Administrative effort

Time spent on conversations, requests, reminders, and updates soon adds up. Now, since that’s billable time, you might not feel an urgency to reduce it, but it would be replaced by other chargeable work, and streamlining can mean better legal outcomes sooner.

Sending emails, filing correspondence, arranging meetings, and asking for documents aren’t the most fulfilling aspects of legal work, and reducing the hours spent on them frees time for more stimulating and substantial practice.

Download our guide and learn how software can help lawyers spend more time on law and less time on admin.

Client experience 

That wide range of media also increases the risk of duplication. An unrecorded message could mean the firm requests something more than once, chases a request that’s already been fulfilled, or even communicate contradictory information. None of that creates a favourable impression.

Then, in the same way, the firm might be overwhelmed by juggling emails, WhatsApps, phone calls, and Zoom meetings, so might the client be. In navigating the sheer range of channels, the client can easily miss messages or updates. Alternatively, in their haste to fulfil their duties, the legal team may inadvertently bombard the client with information and requests, which can be quite stressful, especially in the context of ongoing legal matters, when tension is often high.

Security

Another curse and blessing of the data age is the ease of transferring files and information, and the range of methods for it. Convenience is an undeniable positive, but when it comes to security, not all channels are created equal, and the casual way we send and receive messages can encourage a somewhat lax approach to security.

Breaches are of course damaging to the firm’s reputation, and can adversely affect the outcome of a case. Discipline on both sides of the client-firm relationship is vital.