Office of the General Counsel

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal
• Citation: Vol. 25 No. 6 Pg. 0054
• Pages: 0054
• Publication year: 2020

Office of the General Counsel No. Vol. 25 No. 6 Pg. 54 Georgia Bar Journal June, 2020

Pandemic Pandemonium: Don't Forget the Basics

BY PAULA FREDERICK

"This is Mindy Jones, you're handling my divorce case," the voice mail message begins. "You said you'd call if we still have to go to court next week. I haven't heard from you so I'm assuming we don't. I sure don't want to go out if I don't have to, so please let me know if you get this message."

You make a note of the call and start the next message. "Hello? Mr. Jones? I'm not sure you will get this message; I sent you a letter last week but didn't hear back..

Next call. "Hi, this is Ann Kramer. I was just calling to see if your office is open? I want some advice about a possible divorce... "

"Why doesn't anybody just listen to the outgoing message?" you wonder. Although you are teleworking right now, your voice mail provides all the information a caller needs in order to track you down. And yet the frantic calls keep coming....

Are there special requirements for communicating during a pandemic?

Yes! People are anxious, and that anxiety extends to their pending legal matter. At the same time, lawyers may be checking messages less often and devoting less time to nonessential matters. Rule 1.4 requires communication that is appropriate for the circumstances. In the extraordinary circumstance of a global pandemic, clients may require more handholding than usual.

The Bar's Client Assistance Program conducts much of its business by telephone, so it has continued with business as usual even when the Bar building has been closed. As usual, the number one complaint clients have about their lawyer is poor communication. A few lessons from the CAP playbook:

• First, if a client isn't certain that you got their message, they are going to contact you again. And again. And again. Acknowledge communication promptly, even if it...