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What is Adequate Communication with Your Attorney?

Disappointment with the results, advice or communication you receive from your attorney can cause anger and anxiety. When you believe your attorney is not communicating with you, what can you do? More importantly, what should you do?

An attorney is not expected to be infallible or perfect. A lawyer does not undertake to be an insurer or guarantor of a particular result, unless you and your attorney have agreed to achieve a specific result beforehand. In general, a lawyer undertakes a responsibility and obligation to provide fair and reasonable professional services on par with other attorneys acting under similar circumstances. Some states require that an attorney act with an adequate degree of skill, with reasonable care, and to the best of his or her knowledge. Lawyers are always expected to know what is proper and improper pursuant to law and to present the wisest course of action to the client. But an attorney is neither required to exercise extraordinary skill or ability, nor will he or she be held liable for an error of judgment, so long as the attorney exercises his or her best judgment based upon his or her knowledge and experience.

Once you have retained an attorney, the relationship of attorney and client is formed as to the particular matter of the representation. Along with this, certain duties of communication fall on the lawyer in regard to the client and the subject matter of the representation.

Under the prevailing standards of professional responsibility that govern lawyers, a lawyer is required to "keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information." In addition, a lawyer must "explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation." There is, however, far more to effective communication and good client relations than complying with these rules. Many topics that prevent malpractice, directly or indirectly, involve communication with clients, or at least general client relations.

The rapport that supports and maintains the trust in the attorney-client relationship depends on the quality of the communication. There are a variety of methods of communication but, as a rule, any form of communication is better than no communication. Telephone conferences often can substitute for a personal conference. Forwarding a pleading with a short note on it, while not as polished or effective as a letter or phone call, is much better than no communication at all. Even forwarding copies of pleadings without any note on them, if explained properly in advance by the attorney, is communication that can enhance an attorney's image for cost consciousness. The need for communication varies from the permissive to the compulsory. The broad area of permissive communication is governed by rules of courtesy and good sense. Thus, it is very important to return telephone calls promptly. The failure to do so creates the impression of deliberately ignoring a client. If an attorney cannot do so personally, a secretary, paralegal or another attorney in the firm should do so. Even if no one else can provide assistance, the client will not feel ignored.

The failure to return a phone call promptly can create the impression that the client is not important. It is one thing to delay in preparing complex documents or in scheduling a long conference, but failing to spend a few minutes on the phone usually will generate negative feelings. A client's sense of time may be far different from an attorney's. Clients will not have the same perception of what is reasonable delay, based on court dockets, scheduling conflicts between attorneys and the demands of other clients in the firm. Because the client's perception of an attorney's commitment is critical to building rapport, attorneys should consider suggesting that clients call them at home in emergencies. Most clients will do so only when significant problems exist. If used selectively, attorneys can show that they care about their clients.

With the advent and proliferation of electronic mail (e-mail), an attorney and client may wish to do some or most of their communication by e-mail. The same rules about telephone etiquette apply to e-mail and a prompt response is always appreciated.

The lawyer has the right to expect that a client will leave his or her name, phone number and a brief message if unable to reach the lawyer. The lawyer must also be able to rely on the client to tell the lawyer if the client has concerns about the lawyer's advice or that expectations are not being met, including those relating to communication between the attorney and client. Communication requires honesty and commitment to the process. A healthy attorney-client relationship depends on effective communication. Where it does not exist, both the attorney and the client need to address the problems they are having or that they perceive they are having and take steps to fix those inadequacies. It is only where one party refuses to address communication problems or where, after trying to fix them, they still persist, that the parties must look at dissolving the attorney-client relationship.

If you feel that your expectations about how we communicate with you are not being met, please let us know right away and we will see that any problem is fixed. We are committed to meeting you needs as our client.

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Copyright © 2001 by A. Clifton Black, Attorney at Law. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.