Using Technology to Communicate with Clients

Transcription

1 Using Technology to Communicate with Clients 21 st Century Client Communications Opportunities: More, better ways to interact, educate, collaborate, and communicate with clients Challenges: Perception of being on call 24/7/365 No time to think 1

2 Client Communication is Key Rule 1.4 Communication (a) A lawyer shall: (2) reasonably consult with the client about the means by which the client's objectives are to be accomplished; (3) keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter; (4) promptly comply with reasonable requests for information; excerpted from 2010 Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct Client Communication is Key In 2013 the Commission docketed 6,073 investigations (4% of all registered attorneys) Top three types of grievances are: conduct involving fraud or deceit (77%) allegations of neglect (29%) failing to communicate (27%) Investigations by Years in Practice Fewer than % Between 5 and % Between 10 and % Between 20 and % 30 or more... 34% (source: Annual Report of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission for 2013) 2

3 Communication in the 21 st Century Law Office How does the client want to communicate? Fax? Paper? ? Website? Telephone? Be able to deal with client s technology needs, not make the client deal with yours Discuss appropriate delegation Staff will handle some client communication Manage expectations Do you have a guaranteed response time? Include this in the engagement letter 3

4 Communication in the 21 st Century Law Office Guard the client s confidentiality Mobile devices Laptops, smartphones, tablets Digital Voic Electronic Documents Third party vendors/cloud services Gotchas Mis-sent Reply All Forwarding long threads BCC 4

5 And even MORE Using spam filters? Don t forget to whitelist the court! Don t fall prey to spear phishing, whaling and scams What about your clients: What address did your client provide? Is there a work policy that would cause privilege waiver? See ABA Duty to Protect the Confidentiality of Communications with One s Clients Need to encrypt? Encryption: ABA Formal Opinion But, what about disclaimers? 5

6 Disclaimers and the Firm s Website ABA Formal Opinion August 5, 2010 Websites have become a common means by which lawyers communicate with the public. Lawyers must not include misleading information on websites, must be mindful of the expectations created by the website, and must carefully manage inquiries invited through the website. Websites that invite inquiries may create a prospective client-lawyer relationship under Rule Lawyers who respond to website-initiated inquiries about legal services should consider the possibility that Rule 1.18 may apply. 6

7 What NOT To Tweet Transmitting Electronic Files Password protection Encryption Authentication Acrobat, MS Get a certificate E-signatures Registered Hightail, rpost 7

8 Know What You Are Sending Forget ! Try Online Collaboration Engage the client in the work Web conferencing E.g. Webex, Join.me, GotoMeeting, FreeScreenSharing.com Chat, screen/application share, audio, video, whiteboard, etc. Document collaboration AgileWords, MS Office 365, Box 8

9 Extranets Empower Your Clients Clients can review, approve, check out their own files Password protection, only see what you want them to Extend your workflow: ClioConnect NetDocuments MyCase Box.net Basecamp Invoices as Client Communication 20% of grievances: failing to communicate with client, including failing to communicate the basis of a fee Don t use shorthand or cryptic descriptions Show the value of your bill 9

10 Invest in Law Office Software Time/billing/accounti ng Don t forget Smartphone/Tabl et Conflict of interest checking Calendar/docketing Case/practice management Document management Document assembly Pro-Active Communication Automagic communication Clipping services Google Alerts, WatchthatPage enewsletters icontact, Constant Contact Shared Research Instapaper, Evernote Blogs, Social Media Networks 10

11 How to Capture and Keep Clients Stop, look, and listen Communicate Establish and meet expectations Pick the right clients Seek feedback Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Constant Contact for online survey tools that are easy to use and inexpensive Thanks! 11

12 Catherine Sanders Reach Law Practice Management & Technology The Chicago Bar Association linkedin.com/in/catherinereach 12