Mary walks into your office for the first time. She needs an attorney to help her probate an estate and has been referred to you by a friend. She’s greeted warmly by the receptionist and asked to wait. Mary glances around the tiny reception area at the chairs – they’re only 3 feet away from the desk and that proximity makes her a little uncomfortable; but she sits anyway. As she waits, she can’t help but see documents lying all over the receptionist’s desk. As the receptionist answers the phone, she overhears the phone conversations; one is regarding a family law client, another is to a court asking about custody arrangements for two children. She’s shocked when she recognizes the names of the children – they go to her grandson’s school! She had no idea there was trouble brewing in the family. She picks up a magazine to help get her mind off the fact that she can see the receptionist’s computer screen and everything she’s working on. After all, she came to discuss her issues, not find out about other people’s problems. After 30 minutes of waiting, she finally gets to see the attorney. They discuss the estate and what needs to be done. The attorney then indicates that if Mary wants to hire him, all she has to do is give him a retainer for 50% of his fee. Mary is a little confused about this; she expected to sign some kind of contract or agreement. But the attorney assures her that’s not necessary; the cancelled check will indicate that she hired him. Mary is just not sure about all this. After all, her daughter is in the legal field in another city and told her what to expect - and this wasn’t it! As Mary leave the office, she feels relieved – she doesn’t want her business known all over town like that poor family the receptionist was talking about. She is really appalled and is definitely not going back to that firm!
Does this sound like fiction? This didn’t really happen, did it? Yes, it did. The “Mary” in the story is my mother, and she experienced everything written above. Do you have any idea of the ethics exposure your firm may be experiencing? To find out, take the Confidentiality Quiz.
To ensure that your staff is aware of their link in the legal ethics chain, download our Ethics Poster to place near your other employee awareness notices.
And to complete your reading of the above article published May 2008 in the Texas Bar Journal, click here. Contact Legally Large to help you protect your firm from any ethics exposure.