“Going Legal”

It is well publicized that the single most common complaint about lawyers is a failure to communicate.  Communication is a two-way street and provides much fodder for contemplation.

Representing a number of different corporate entities provides an interesting view of the diverse policies corporations have once a case is sent to a lawyer.  Some clients send us a case, but continue working the case as well.  Other corporations have a policy that once the case is referred to “legal” then all communications with the debtor must run through the lawyer.  And other entities somewhat split the baby – they do not actively chase the debtor, but will deal with a debtor who contacts them.

Is one policy better than another – probably not.  The key remains communication between the lawyer and the client.  If the client is going to continue active pursuit, then it is imperative that they keep the lawyer’s office in the loop when communications occur with a debtor.

Frequently we encounter confusion when clients continue sending statements to a debtor after referring the case to our office.  Generally, once we make demand, we set the date from which interest will accrue so that the principal amount is fixed and interest accrues from a date certain.  Clients’ statements essentially do the same thing except that they show the interest added each month which gives the impression of a shifting balance and can cause confusion, especially with less sophisticated customers.  And, client’s statements do not show attorney’s fees or costs which might be recoverable.

The biggest problems often arise when a client accepts a payment but fails to inform their attorney.  This can lead to documents being improperly filed with the court and grand confusion in the middle of a court case.

The moral of this story is simple:  we as lawyers need to be diligent in checking and double-checking with our clients to make sure our information is current, but clients who have retained counsel need to be equally diligent in terms of keeping their attorney up to date.  We are working towards the same goal – a successful outcome hopefully as quickly as possible.