Imagine that your company is considering expanding its products to a new geographical market. Your company is excited to proceed, and you reach out to a law firm to ask what, if any, licenses are required. Two weeks later, when your firm is ready to sell its first product, the law firm sends you a 20-page memorandum, full of legal jargon, which you now have to sit and decipher. And you still don't know if any licenses are required!
Unfortunately, in my stint at a law firm, I found that lawyers frequently communicated with their clients this poorly. In fact, law firm culture encourages communication to be in the form of a lengthy memorandum, so that all possible legal risks, relevant or not, are documented. However, this format of communication leaves the client frustrated and confused.
I would advise law firms to:
By simplifying their communications, lawyers may find that they save time and turnaround faster on client requests. Lawyers may also providing superior service to clients while billing lesser hours, which can help them either charge their clients a lower amount, or bill at a higher rate and take on more clients. Ultimately, the most important benefit to law firms is of retaining happy clients who bring continued business to the law firm.
Unfortunately, in my stint at a law firm, I found that lawyers frequently communicated with their clients this poorly. In fact, law firm culture encourages communication to be in the form of a lengthy memorandum, so that all possible legal risks, relevant or not, are documented. However, this format of communication leaves the client frustrated and confused.
I would advise law firms to:
- Replace lengthy memoranda with clear, concise emails. For instance, in this case, the law firm should have stated: "we recommend that you obtain 3 licenses, X, Y, and Z."
- Law firms should organize their emails by headings, so that clients can skip sections that they do not wish to analyze.
- Law firms should replace legal jargon in their communication with conversational language that clients can easily understand.
- Lastly, attorneys should call their clients while sending a complex response, so that they can walk the client through the complex issues involved.
By simplifying their communications, lawyers may find that they save time and turnaround faster on client requests. Lawyers may also providing superior service to clients while billing lesser hours, which can help them either charge their clients a lower amount, or bill at a higher rate and take on more clients. Ultimately, the most important benefit to law firms is of retaining happy clients who bring continued business to the law firm.