Communication and respect

I can think of few things I hate more than unreturned phone calls. When I call a professional who is working for me, whether it's my CPA, realtor or anyone else, I expect a return call. If they are too busy to answer my question, at least an acknowledgment of my call is the minimum required by professionalism and basic courtesy.

I think this principle is especially true in the attorney-client relationship. This is a special relationship predicated on mutual trust. I trust that my clients are telling me the truth and not withholding important information. My clients trust that I am working diligently to advance their interests. This relationship is nourished by good communication. Unreturned calls can quickly result in resentment, frustration and worst of all, mistrust.

Every now and then I am contacted by a new client who is unhappy with his or her lawyer and wants to hire me. This unhappiness is rarely the result of incompetence or errors on the part of the other lawyer. Instead it is almost always lack of communication. I encourage these people to try to work things out with their existing lawyer and sometimes they do. Other times, the lack of communication has done too much damage to the relationship and the trust cannot be restored.

I have always been committed to responding to all of my client communications within 24 hours, whether the communication comes through email, fax or phone. This is a commitment I make to myself as well as to my clients. I believe this commitment helps me to do my job better and reflects the respect I hold for my clients. There have been times in the past when I have failed to keep this commitment, and the result has almost always been misunderstanding and unhappy clients. To those clients and former clients who have ever felt ignored or disrespected by me, please accept my apologies. You deserve better.

I now publicly renew my commitment to acknowledge all client communications within 24 hours. To my clients, I encourage you to hold me accountable to this commitment. I expect nothing less from the professionals who work for me and you have a right to expect nothing less from me. Without concerns about communication and mutual respect, we can work together to achieve the best possible outcome in your claims.

For more information about how I practice law, or to discuss any issue relevant to a personal injury claim, please check my website: www.dubinlawoffice.com, send me an email: matt@dubinlawoffice.com, or give me a call: (206) 720-1501.