Speaking nicely with shoppers and different counsel not often wins awards (though we predict it ought to). Doing it poorly, nonetheless, can alienate shoppers and even threaten a lawyer’s livelihood. It’s not essential to change into a grasp of all types of communication in an workplace. However it’s crucial to have not less than an intermediate understanding of present communication instruments.
Legislation companies have numerous decisions relating to communication strategies. They’ll choose up the cellphone and name one other social gathering, e-mail them, textual content, and even ship correspondence by way of the mail. They’ll additionally textual content message somebody, schedule a video convention, or immediate message internally utilizing Slack or MS Groups. Hell, many attorneys nonetheless use fax machines.
Every of the mechanisms above has its goal. A cellphone name is in real-time and has a private contact, whereas an encrypted e-mail is safe and traceable. A textual content message is simple for shoppers to reply to, whereas mail is normally thought of safer for the supply of delicate data.
Each agency will doubtless want to make use of most—if not all–of those communication strategies of their places of work. Figuring out which to make use of is determined by a variety of elements, together with safety, ease of use, and essential performance. Though correspondence usually appears reactive, it’s best to determine guidelines and processes for every type of communication.
What Type of Communication to Use
Safety Evaluation
A legislation agency’s first consideration relating to know-how ought to normally be safety. Though {most professional} guidelines of conduct solely require a “cheap” normal for safety, the sensible results of which can be continuously creating. It’s higher to be over-secure than under-secure and to reassess periodically.
There are two important points to a legislation agency’s safety evaluation of its communication instruments. First, decide if the knowledge is confidential or in any other case protected. Then decide if the communication technique is encrypted or safe. If the agency desires to guard the knowledge, the strategy of communication and the last word repository of that data should be safe, or—within the case of digital data—encrypted.
Performance
Though it feels prefer it’s crucial facet, legislation companies ought to contemplate the operate and value of the communication second. If a agency is attempting to get discovery photographs off of their consumer’s cellphone, insecure textual content messaging is rarely an possibility. However, a agency shouldn’t make issues tough for different events with out good cause. Requiring a possible new consumer to ship an consumption kind by way of fax can be ridiculous.
With a bit of forethought, companies can preserve the safety of their communications and get all of the performance wanted out of their most well-liked technique. Typically it takes a bit of little bit of self-discipline on the a part of the agency and a few training on the a part of the shoppers or different third events.
Constructing Communication Processes
A legislation agency’s communication strategies must be documented like every other course of within the workplace. There must be a written protocol for why inside communication will likely be despatched by way of e-mail relatively than Slack or MS Groups. Doc sharing with third events must be carried out utilizing a tried and examined technique. And everybody within the workplace ought to know what will be shared by way of textual content message and what’s off-limits.
Extra about Communication
Communication strategies and types are just one facet of a legislation agency’s methods and processes. Healthy firms will construct this into their general finest practices. To be taught extra about this—and different—methods, go to our Healthy Systems web page.
Final up to date March eighth, 2023