Having a plentiful number of clients in a law firm is vital. To attract new clients, law firms must have a successful marketing plan. It is also crucial to make as many clients as possible happy to ensure they refer others to your law firm.
However, after successfully acquiring numerous clients, law firms must ensure that they provide competent, diligent, and communicative representation to their clients. Not only do ethical rules require competence, diligence, and effective communication, but when a law firm fulfills these duties, it is likely to have happy clients because the law firm is handling their case properly.
The law firm will also be on a firm financial footing if they meet these duties because, if lawyers are progressing their clients’ cases in a competent, diligent, and communicative manner, they will presumably meet billable hour targets, have happy clients, and the reality is that happy clients generally pay.
What Is Competence, Diligence, and Communication?
Competence, diligence, and effective communication are essential in adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. In many respects, these rules require some level of interpretation. However, it is necessary to examine the plain language of the rules.
In terms of competence, ABA Model Rule 1.1 states:
“A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.”
In terms of diligence, ABA Model Rule 1.3 states:
“A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.”
In terms of communication, ABA Model Rule 1.4 states:
“(a) A lawyer shall:
(1) promptly inform the client of any decision or circumstance with respect to which the client’s informed consent, as defined in Rule 1.0(e), is required by these Rules;
(2) reasonably consult with the client about the means by which the client’s objectives are to be accomplished;
(3) keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter;
(4) promptly comply with reasonable requests for information; and
(5) consult with the client about any relevant limitation on the lawyer’s conduct when the lawyer knows that the client expects assistance not permitted by the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law.
(b) A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.”
How To Ensure Competent, Diligent, and Communicative Representation?
Ensuring competent, diligent, and communicative representation varies by law firm. The larger the law firm, the more challenging it can become.
However, most law firms should establish an oversight system within their firm to ensure that cases are progressing as they should. It might mean:
(1) Developing a case checklist that legal professionals use within a law firm to ensure that legal staff is doing all necessary work on a case.
(2) Having regular meetings within a law firm can also be vital, as lawyers and legal staff meet with a more senior member of the firm regularly to ensure ethical case progression.
(3) It can also be necessary to limit caseloads for lawyers to make sure that they do not have so many cases that they cannot fulfill their ethical duties. Sometimes, this may mean saying “no” to new cases or hiring more staff to effectively work up new cases if the law firm seeks to grow.
What Are The Challenges In Ensuring These Duties?
Many challenges can arise in a law firm in ensuring competence, diligence, and communication. Sometimes, lawyers can be prone to procrastination or stuck in analysis paralysis. In other cases, lawyers can hinge on the requirement to charge a “reasonable fee” to argue that they should do less on a client’s case because they are keeping the fees as low as possible. Charging a “reasonable fee” is an ethical requirement, but that does not mean that a lawyer can skirt their duties to be competent, diligent, communicative, and to advance litigation. The truth is that a lawyer has to fulfill all their ethical responsibilities, including competence, diligence, communication, advancing litigation, and charging a reasonable fee.
Ultimately, emphasizing the importance of competent, diligent, and communicative representation is crucial for fulfilling one’s ethical obligations and maintaining a successful law firm. Law firms that succeed understand the importance and take proactive measures to ensure it is taking place.
