Lawyers are often criticized for not returning calls or acknowledging messages from both clients and colleagues. Given the many electronic means that technology has afforded us to communicate with one another, I find this lack of response to be a legitimate concern. Lawyers exist to serve our clients’ legal needs; therefore, timely responses are a critical element of our legal services.
At Jules Halpern Associates LLC, we tend to be scrupulous about returning phone calls promptly – typically within an hour or two, and certainly the same day. Additionally, when a client or colleague e-mails us, we always acknowledge the e-mail so that the sender knows it was received, even if we need additional time to review the matter or the communication was received after hours. For us, timely responses and acknowledgements are about respecting our clients and colleagues whenever they need us.
A prompt response earns immediate goodwill and reassures the client that his or her inquiry has been received and will be reviewed. We are proud of our punctual responses and acknowledgements to inquiries, and hope that our actions help ease the concerns our clients may have when they reach out to us. Additionally, our responsiveness continues to help us earn the trust that is so critical to establishing a long-lasting attorney-client relationship.