The Well-Trained Client

So often I want to thank a client.  For being "well-trained".  This sounds a bit patronising though, right?  It's a bit like a lady calling a man "house-trained" because he remembers to put the toilet seat down - particularly when the mother-in-law is coming to visit.  Well, I have to be honest, it is kind of the same.  It just makes life easier.


Do you ring your lawyer and wonder why he/she is on the phone to someone else? (Leave a message!  Please!  We promise to listen to our voicemails daily!  If not hourly!)  Do you return letters sent to you with the documents for signature?  Do you phone to say you are sending an email, and then ring to check it has been received?  Then this is for you:


1. Please please please return all paperwork as soon as you can, unless there is a problem or a query with it, in which case please ring or send an email but don't write a letter as this will hold things up whilst the Royal Mail do their bit (or not, as the case may be).  Please don't post back the letter we have sent you, as we have kept a copy on the file already, and it just confuses us.


2. Please do not think we do not care.  We do.  Even if it is only because we want to get paid.  But the bottom line is, if you have not had a phonecall for a day, or even two, it is most likely because there is nothing to tell you.  So please remember we are human beings and do actually want to progress your matter.  We don't like it if clients have to chase us so if we have something to tell them, we usually do that, as soon as humanly possible.


3. Following on from 2, please therefore TRUST US when we tell you we are doing our best.  There is the odd day we have a really serious headache and a lot of work on and we cannot be perfect, but generally speaking, the lawyer's world revolves around making the client happy and fixing their problems.  So if you haven't heard something before and aren't sure, just ask for a fuller explanation.  We do try not to bombard you with legalese, but that does not mean we cannot explain things further when you ask.  So if you are struggling with the trust thing, just ask away and hopefully you will feel better.


4. Bad news is bad news.  Often we are the poor chaps who have to give it to you.  It does not mean the bad news is our fault in any way, shape or form, or yours, but we are paid to act in your best interests which means telling you the truth even when you don't like it (e.g. "you are very unlikely to win this case if you sue").  We do not make up bad news because we are control freaks or want to charge you more.  It just happens and someone has to give it straight.


5. Our fees are not all spent on holidays in the Caribbean.  It costs quite a lot of money simply to keep returning your phonecalls, writing your letters, and make sure we comply with the panoply of regulation affecting us.  This is no bad thing, as regulation makes us do a proper job and be accountable.  The flip side is that if it was as cheap to write a Will using a firm of solicitors as it was with WH Smiths, our profession wouldn't really have any standing with the public.  A great deal of what we charge goes on looking after you, believe it or not. 


All of my clients, without exception, are well trained - listen to what I say, appreciate the advice, and return paperwork when nagged.  That's all I'm asking really.  Although if you are able to pay my bill too, I can see this developing into a special relationship of sorts...

Why every lawyer should be a school governor

I am often asked how and why I got involved in school governorship and exactly what it is about.  The answer is simple: I was a parent.  But having started from that point I have realised quite how tremendous the volunteer army in this country is and how proud I have been to become a part of it.  As a lawyer I come ready-equipped with some of the skills required to be an effective governor: an ability to sit through meetings, sift through the chat for the pertinent points, and help to guide strategy much as one would with a client or a business interest.  The difference?  I am not being paid, and therefore enjoy this in an entirely different way.  Those amongst us who really enjoy being a school governorship feel humbled and privileged to be able to affect these children's futures, and take everything we do in that context with the utmost of seriousness, being able to remember having been children ourselves.

In addition the role of a governor is that of "critical friend" - to scrutinise and still support the Head, the rest of the School and the Chair of the Governing Body to help deliver the best results possible for the children (the whole point of the exercise of course).  All kinds of lawyers, be they barristers, legal executives, solicitors or those working in house, are required to pick the holes in the "other side" and their arguments.  What better practise for scrutiny then, of statistics, policies and results, than to have been a lawyer. 

All governing bodies run in different ways, but examples of committees including premises (that's for the property lawyers), personnel (think employment and data protection) and curriculum (think compliance).  I have taken a turn at sitting on pretty much every type of committee now and would hope that I have had at least some small skill to bring to the table on every occasion.

Following my own experience, I was unsurprised to see that the bods at the Law Society have had a similar epiphany and in fact set up a scheme called Allies which aims to have a "lawyer in every school". (See http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/aboutlawsociety/corporateresponsibility/allies.page)  As I am not a member of the Law Society at present, I guess I should not be surprised not have heard of this sooner, but I wonder if they are doing enough to promote it?  It seems to me to be common sense to have, as schools become more and more like businesses (I'm not saying I agree with that politically in any way, mind), a lawyer and an accountant on board.  This is particularly worthwhile as the services delivered by local authorities are dwindling, being outsourced, and often being over-charged for. 

If you work in the law and have an interest in shaping the world of the future I would urge you to consider contacting your local authority, who will be able to discuss vacancies with you, or the School Governor's One Stop Shop, at http://www.sgoss.org.uk/ who recruit tirelessly for volunteers and place them in schools with vacancies.  You probably have a lot more to give than you think.

Conveyancing Quality Scheme picks up speed - will it work?

Well, it's been a busy month out and about reminding people who I am, what I do, and why they should recommend me to their clients, but finally the light is dawning and the market seems to be gently improving.  Of particular interest to me this month is the Law Society's new Conveyancing Quality Scheme (see here: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/accreditation/conveyancingqualityscheme.page) which is causing quite a stir amongst property lawyers.  The idea is to further regulate conveyancing lawyers with a new kind of kitemark and in order to obtain this accreditation, firms are required to fill in enormously complicated forms, credit, fraud and CRB check anyone involved with the work, and promise to stick to a new code of client care (amongst other things).  Whilst well received by some organisations - for example the Conveyancing Association (see their press release here:

http://www.theconveyancingassociation.co.uk/pdfs/20101020%20Response%20to%20LS%20CQS.pdf) and some property practices (check out the view from Arc Property Solicitors here:

http://www.arcpropertysolicitors.com/blog/conveyancing-quality-scheme-conveyancing-kitemark/) there are also those (many of whom who prefer not to be quoted!) who have commented that this is just another administrative burden for them: they know how to do their jobs, they are SRA regulated in any case and there will always be the prudent many fighting to prevent damage being done by the negligent few.  Of particular concern to those of us in practice is the lack of formal statement by the Council of Mortgage Lenders confirming they will require practices to be members of the scheme to retain their panel membership (and thus be able to act for both purchaser and borrower in a property purchase) but the very potent rumour that they are likely to insist upon it eventually.  The difficulties encountered by small firms with panel membership are already pushing some to breaking point: how with this development affect them?

 

Despite the criticisms levelled at the new Scheme, with the support of all major lending institutions and insurers, it is likely to become well known in the coming year and in particular once the Law Society begin their public campaign, designed to reassure clients (as well as lenders who have expressed increasing concerns about rising property fraud in the last eighteen months) that higher standards are being enforced across the profession.  For a firm quoting the same cost in legal fees the difference in winning an instruction could, in the future, be the addition of this quality standard on their notepaper and website. Clients sometimes need all the reassurance they can get.

 

At the risk of sounding like an old duffer, I do think that any initiative that attempts to raise standards and weed out those firms providing a poor service and inadequate legal advice has got to be a good thing in principle.  Clients want to know that they can trust the advice they are being given, and that a reputable organisation (like the Law Society) is behind those professionals that they are dealing with.  Together with the new Legal Ombudsman, I would say this is more "power to the people".  If clients are not happy dealing with a firm not part of the Scheme - they won't have to - although somewhere along the line I suspect they will be made to cover the cost of this latest intervention into our practice standards.

 

 

New Year, New Beginning!

Well, it's that time again I guess...New Year, everyone wants a fresh start and all that.  Lucky for me, I have got one, having joined a new firm (I am new, not the firm...!) with a great team and tons of admin support, meaning I can spend time checking the law (yes we do that sometimes) and even seeing clients, instead of filling forms in and fielding accounts requests.  In fact I'm really looking forward to it.

The downside is of course, that if you do any work in Wills and probate, you will be aware (in fact you will be aware anyway) that this a kinda depressing time of the year in law - the elderly pass away during the colder snaps and after Christmas there is a statistically proven rise in divorce instructions to solicitors.  Whilst the cynics amongst us would see this as good for business, it's actually not very nice dealing with other people's heartache all day, even if it is what you are paid for.  It is, however, rewarding knowing you have helped someone through a rough time.

Onwards and upwards as they say!  The few estate agents I have had time to speak to so far this year have been pretty upbeat - people are putting their houses on the market in much higher numbers than November and December, which I put down to a combination of "new year enthusiasm" and the rotten end we had last year after all the spending cuts were announced.  It might be a tough year, but at least things are moving.