November marks our 45th Partners Club event, and at this event, we are focusing on leadership, how to use AI tools, and building and managing your remote team.
The number one BAR complaint is “failure to communicate”, and the number one reason for that is because law firms typically don't have a system to manage communication. And the number one reason for a lack of system is because they haven't inspired leadership throughout the ranks of understanding how to build it.
Clients are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the level of communication from their law firm. This dissatisfaction may be real or simply perceived, but it’s enough to trigger BAR complaints.
So, how do we solve this problem and reduce the risk of complaints? The answer is a system… a leadership funnel inside the workflow quadrant of client communication. A combination of human-run processes and the power of AI. This won’t be perfect, but it can create a near-perfect system that increases client satisfaction and reduces risk.
The Consequences of Poor Communication
When communication is weak, a few things happen:
- Bar complaints – obviously, we want to avoid these.
- Client attrition – clients cancel, and revenue drops.
- Low staff satisfaction – your team gets frustrated answering the same questions repeatedly. For example, they might think: “Why can’t you just return Mrs. Smith’s call? And by the way, her cousin is calling me too, plus five other clients are waiting.” They’re overloaded and stressed, and it shows.
- Lack of social proof – poor communication leads to fewer positive Google reviews, and in some cases, bad reviews that can hurt your reputation.
Overall, poor communication impacts revenue, staff morale, and client perception.
There are many common causes of poor communication. Sometimes firms struggle because they take the wrong types of cases, what I call “hamburger cases”, just to keep the work coming. Other times, even firms that only take cases they can serve well still struggle because their communication system is broken.
The Solution
When I built my firm in Phoenix, we grew quickly… over 125 new clients per month! That generated more than 2,500 unique client service requests monthly. We had a few dozen employees, and no matter what I did, they couldn’t manage the volume. Employees were frustrated answering the same questions repeatedly, and clients weren’t getting the service they deserved.
I realized there were three fundamental solutions:
- Proactive Communication (Red, Yellow, Green)
We moved from reactive to proactive communication. We implemented what we called Red, Yellow, Green calls.
Every month, someone reached out to clients via text, email, or phone to check in.
If everything was fine, it was green.
If there was a minor issue, it was yellow, requiring management attention.
If it was serious, it was red, requiring immediate management intervention.
This system gave us a way to catch issues before they escalated and to show clients that we genuinely cared.
- Structured Communication for Each Case Type
Every case has stages, and clients often feel “left in the dark.” Even if nothing is happening in a case, clients need updates.
We broke down each case into stages and built:
- Automated communication sequences
- Personalized touches, like handwritten notes at certain milestones
- Clear explanations of what’s happening, even when there’s no active work
You have to map out the lifecycle, identify what the communication point should be, and start communicating in an automated fashion and some non-automated fashions with your clients. The goal is for clients to feel cared for and confident that their case is being handled, even if nothing is actively changing.
- Centralized Communication and Technology
We implemented a centralized communication system using a ticketing system. Each client request received a ticket ID that tracked:
- When it opened
- When it closed
- Resolution time
We also built in Net Promoter Score surveys, so we could ask the client about their overall satisfaction.
Today, we would integrate AI with this system to make it even more efficient. Here are some ways you can use AI in your communication systems:
- AI can help create better communication templates and scripts
- AI can diagnose data trends to spot problems before they escalate
- AI can help build a knowledge base or wiki for common client questions, so your team doesn’t have to figure out answers from scratch
This allows the same team to handle more volume while improving accuracy and response times.
Addressing the Hourly Billing Concern
Some firms worry about ethics when non-attorneys answer client questions. My solution:
Attorneys still provide the answers once. Non-attorneys can copy/paste or summarize as needed.
If you want to bill the time, schedule a short 15-20 minute call with the attorney, making it fully billable while giving the client quality service
This ensures that attorneys aren’t overwhelmed and can still get the work done while clients receive prompt, accurate answers.
Improving Your Client Communications
If you want to reduce BAR complaints, increase client satisfaction, improve staff morale, and increase revenue… then you need to do three things:
- Implement proactive communication
- Build a centralized communication system
- Leverage technology and AI to make the system faster and more efficient
Additionally, we have created a playbook that walks through this step-by-step. If you’re not a Partners Club member, you can grab a copy via the QR code if you want more detailed guidance.
