ABA National Solo and Small Firm Conference 2009 Recap – Client Service and Unbundled Legal Services

Today’s post will recap another session at this year’s ABA National Solo and Small Firm Conference; this time, I’m recapping the session on client service and unbundled legal services.

Many lawyers fear providing unbundled legal services, because they are afraid of malpractice claims or claims that they should have performed additional work that wasn’t covered under the unbundled legal services agreement. But these days, the tight economy means more and more clients in need of legal help may not be able to pay for a ‘full service’ lawyer.

As this panel pointed out in their presentation, no one brings a small problem to a lawyer. While you may think that the matter is small, to the client, it will always be a big problem.

One of the presenters for this session was Jeff Hughes, who started The Legal Grind in 1996 (you can see a profile of Jeff in the ABA Journal’s Legal Rebels). Jeff started The Legal Grind as a full service coffee house and law practice (“coffee and counsel”). His intention was to provide better access to legal services and to show clients that there’s more to the law than litigation.

One of the things that Hughes did when he started The Legal Grind was to identify its core principles. This is an essential step for all lawyers and firms, but too few go to the trouble of defining their core values. These are the values that drive not only what you practice, but how you practice, with whom, and for whom.

The Legal Grind has created a very specific schedule of lawyers with different areas of expertise to consult on different days. Clients sign various forms and waivers and it is made clear to them that the services provided are limited – and that agreeing to meet at the coffee house may mean that the lawyer can’t guarantee that a conversation can be overheard. Clients who are especially concerned can make separate arrangements to meet in a more private room.

According to Hughes, providing unbundled legal services works because clients can do much of the work themselves, but can obtain legal guidance when needed, thereby keeping costs low.

Hughes was joined on the panel by Forrest Mosten, who noted that courts are overwhelmed with pro se litigants who can’t afford full legal representation, but who may be able to afford some legal advice. He noted that providing unbundled legal services was a great solution for solos because the work is ‘cash and carry’ and there are no receivables.

In addition, providing unbundled legal services may bring you clients you would not have gotten otherwise, but who may return for additional services in the future. He also opined that the more lawyers that provide unbundled legal services, the more work there will be – turning the notion of competition on its head. According to Mosten, the more that lawyers provide services in this way, the more clients will want them – the market for unbundled legal services will grow.

The panel asked some great questions about client service, including:

• Do you have a client library?
• Do you teach people how to be good clients?
• Is your staff trained on how they should treat clients, or are they only trained to pump out work?

Finally, Mosten noted that the perception is that lawyers are unresponsive, impotent (have little control over outcome), overwhelmed and costly. In response, he asked, “How can you change your practice in small ways to make it more personal, less intimidating and more sympathetic?”

Good question.