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Practice Pointer: Reinforce Information for Your Client

June 9, 2015 1 Comment

Client communication is key! You must communicate with your client regularly so that they will know what is happening and so that you can answer any questions they have. Because criminal lawyers spend a great deal of time communicating in person (with frequent court settings, visits at the jail, telephone calls, etc.) you end up sharing a great deal of information verbally with your clients. Often, clients become confused about what you have relayed or they simply cannot remember it all due to the stress of the situation and the volume of information they must process. The question becomes how do you reinforce the information for your client?

Simply, you do so with written correspondence. It is important to provide your client with as much information as possible so that your client can make appropriate and informed choices about his or her case. Think about all the information you share with your client in a typical case: the offense as charged, the punishment range, possible enhancements, possible defenses, summaries of evidence, witness information, collateral consequences (ALR, occupational licenses, ability to seal or expunge, sex offender conditions, immigration consequences, family consequences, employment consequences, firearm possession rules, and so much more). How can your client remember and process all of this information following that 30 minute jail visit? How can your client explain some of these to family when they seek family advice on how to proceed?

Provide your client with written guidelines. Cheat sheets if you will. You can create a general “how to” page on getting an occupational license and/or reinstating a suspended license. You can create a general “informational” page on the ability to seal or expunge records. You can create a general “how to protect attorney-client privileged information” guideline to warn your client about talking to others, especially in the jail. There are many general information categories that apply. Create “cheat sheets” or general information sheets to hand out to your clients to reinforce some of this common information. Think of it like FAQs. You know the questions clients routinely ask you. Start a list, create a handout or two, and get these into your client’s hands.

Additionally, when you convey important information about your client’s case directly to him or her, follow that up with a written letter that summarizes your conversation. Yes, it takes time, but it’s about helping a client. When there is a plea bargain on the table and a timeline for accepting or rejecting it, send a letter to your client reminding him or her. When you need a list of witnesses for guilt/innocence or punishment/mitigation, send a letter reminding your client to get that information to you timely. And, most importantly, when your client disregards your advice, send a letter stating what your advice is and that he or she has declined to follow that advice which could result in certain consequences. This is about keeping the client informed and making sure you have a file of what you have or have not shared with your client.

Add correspondence to your case “checklist” and make sure you are providing information to your client. The correspondence might even include a “welcome letter” and a “closure letter”. Send your client a welcome letter upon representation, something that spells out your scope of representation, how they can best contact you, your typical schedule for returning calls or letters. Send a follow up when you have the details of the charge explaining the offense and its range of punishment. Send plea offers. And finally send a closure letter to let them know where to go from here, i.e. when they might be eligible to seal or non-disclose their records, how to proceed on probation, what to do if they encounter problems or have questions, and thank them for entrusting you.

Anyway, you get the point. There are many things you can do to reinforce the information you provide to your client. Just start with the basics and get in the habit of providing more information to your client.

Practice Pointe: Setting Up Client Files

June 9, 2015 Leave a Comment

By JoAnne Musick

So, you have a new client; whether that client hired you or you were appointed by the court, you need to get a new file opened and set up so you can get to work. In my office, we use a checklist (below) to make sure we have preliminary information about the client and his case. Every client needs a file, even if you choose a paperless office!

We start with a contact sheet (our happen to be on yellow paper to make them easy to spot on a desk and in a file). The contact sheet is created when the client (or his family) first calls the office. This is replaced with an order of appointment for non-hired cases. The contact sheet has preliminary information from the call so that the attorney can start to evaluate the case and keep notes. This contact sheet will exist on every potential client contact. It tracks when an attorney speaks with the potential client, what was discussed, whether an in-person meeting was set up, etc. So even a call that doesn’t result in a hiring is tracked and kept for conflict purposes and institutional memory, if you will. We have found that a call from a client “shopping for a lawyer” will often result in a later call to set an appointment or meet. And with the contact sheet, we will know everything that has been previously discussed with the client or family. Once the client hires, that sheet ends up in the client file.

Our office pulls the JIMS or other district clerk data on all new clients and potential clients (current charge and any priors). So this is included in our checklist for setting up the file. When the file is created, the legal assistant checks to make sure all of that information is included in the new file.

We have every client (retained or appointed) fill out a “client information sheet”. This two page document has name, address, phone numbers, relatives who may know client’s whereabouts, the charge or legal matter, a space for client to self-report priors (so we can cross check), the complainant’s information (when known), and a space for client to add anything he wishes for the attorney to know up front.

It’s also important that every client sign a contract, so we include this as a part of our checklist. (If appointed, the order of appointment serves the same purpose.)

We send an engagement letter to each client, confirming that we are retained or appointed to represent them and what they can generally expect. It also gives instructions to clients about the use of social media, not talking to anyone other than their lawyer, etc.

Our checklist is a simply one page list for opening the file so that assistants and lawyers alike can quickly make sure that all preliminary information is in the file and available as work begins. Again, this is just an example of how we open our files, and I hope it is of help to those starting their practices or looking to hone their procedures.

Practice Pointer: Firing a Client

June 9, 2015 Leave a Comment

by Pat McCann

If there is one group who should know about bad relationships, it is criminal defense lawyers. We could write books on surviving them, with chapters by local experts [you all know who you are!] but here is one topic that may not get discussed enough – getting rid of bad clients. We all have ones we want to dispense with, appointed or hired, and we all often, in a similar view to our perverse pride in surviving bad relationships, continue to represent them as badges of honor. However, my uncle, who is semi-retired now, had a great point once over dinner; he asked me “If ten to twenty percent of your clients are taking up fifty percent of your time, aren’t you hurting your other clients by keeping them?” That was my wake up.

Here are three simple questions to ask in determining whether you should fire a client. Do you cringe when you hear they are on the phone or see their name come up on your smarty-pants phone? Do you deliberately avoid setting appointments with them? Do you consistently lose your temper with them, or consistently struggle? If the answer to these is “yes”, fire them. Here is how:

Withdrawing from a case requires notice to the client [should be in writing sent certified mail, return receipt requested, NOT email] with a full statement of all settings remaining, availability of the file for pickup or the file itself returned, and a letter explaining, short and sweet, that either they have failed to follow advice or pay you, or that communications have broken down so badly that the attorney client relationship is irreparably compromised. You will also need to file notice with the courts, and if you are appointed, a motion requesting withdrawal [which can sometimes be handled informally by approaching the judge and explaining, without revealing confidences, that this just ain’t working] and ask for another lawyer to be appointed. Do it, and when you feel that sense of relief, you will know you did the right thing.

Practice Pointer: Reinforce Information for Your Client

Practice Pointe: Setting Up Client Files

Practice Pointer: Firing a Client

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