What should be done to Improve Communication between Lawyers and Clients?
Communicating Clearly and Often
Better communication between the lawyers and the client needs to be proactive so that they both feel informed and appreciated in the conversation. The lawyer should make an intentional effort to ensure that his or her client is adequately informed on what is happening to avoid the challenges of communication breakdown (Germaine, 2016). For instance, the lawyer needs to avoid technical jargon and default to plain language so that the client understands and seeks clarification if need be.
Development of Interpersonal Skills
The lawyer should improve his or her interpersonal skills to ensure that the client is cared for, heard, and informed. Some of the interpersonal skills that the lawyer should acquaint himself or herself with include active listening, responsibility, motivation, flexibility, leadership, patience, and dependability, among others (Germaine, 2016). Besides, since the lawyer will not be the only person interacting with the client, he or she should ensure that the staffs have strong interpersonal skills as well (Watson, 2013). This approach can be achieved by setting communication guidelines for clients that can be applied by new associates, paralegals, or administrative assistants.
Understand when to Automate
The automation of repetitive jobs is advantageous for any organization. However, automating communication should be done carefully at the convenience of both the lawyer and the client (Watson, 2013). For instance, simple communications such as a welcome letter or note for a new client should be automated but more personal conversations should be left to humans. This exercise is significant since no client would like to hear bad news from a robot (Germaine, 2016). Besides, no client will like to seek updates of a case and get information from a robot.
References
Germaine, E. (2016). Lawyers’ Obligations When Representing Clients with Diminished Capacity. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2877811
Watson, J. (2013). Litigation Public Relations: The Lawyers’ Duty to Balance News Coverage of Their Clients. Communication Law and Policy, 7(1), 77-103. doi: 10.1207/s15326926clp0701_04