With all of the negative press that swirls around the legal profession the number one client complaint about lawyers in America may surprise you. That complaint is the failure of lawyers to communicate with their clients. The simple failure to return phone calls is the number one reason why a client is forced to make a complaint about the person who is supposed to be helping them.
In Virginia, Rule 1:4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct which govern Virginia lawyers states: “A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.” This rule seems simple and straight forward but has become the number one reason why attorneys are disciplined throughout the country.
At Bush & Taylor, we understand that attorney-client communication is of paramount concern. With that in mind, all client calls are returned by the attorney or the staff member assigned to the case within twenty-four hours. Additionally, each attorney’s personal cell phone number is listed on their business card, along with their direct email. Finally, our clients receive emailed copies of all documents produced by our office, as well as any documents in their case which are received by our office from a 3rd party. Simply put, this commitment to keeping our clients informed allows us to obtain better results for our clients. We are never too busy to explain what is going on in a case to our clients, or too busy to answer a client’s phone call.
See what the Virginia State Bar says about lawyer communication:
http://www.vsb.org/pro-guidelines/index.php/rules/client-lawyer-relationship/rule1-4/