Potential clients are turning to online review sites to screen attorneys. Since attorneys do not get the same volume of clients compared to restaurants and grocery stores, attorneys do not get a lot of reviews. This means that every client review is a big deal.
And if you are like me, you are probably going to skim through all of the same, bland-sounding five star praises to heaven and look for the negative reviews. Because negative reviews combine two things that go well together: snark and drama. If someone was willing to spend an evening writing a scathing, emotional review, it must be true. And the customer is always right, right?
So I combed through a number of online attorney reviews, focusing on the snarky, angry, “I wish I could give zero stars to this @$$%&*%#!” reviews. While there were some rants that were unfair, questionable, vulgar, and even incomprehensible, there were a fair number of legitimate gripes from disgruntled clients. Here are the most common attorney complaints I saw online.
Broken promises and unmet expectations. I noticed a lot of these complaints were directed at firms that do contingency work. The client was under the impression that he would be awarded a certain amount of money and the attorney would get a percentage. However, after the case settles, the client does not get anywhere near the money he was either led to believe or had hoped to receive. He also learns that he is also responsible for certain costs like medical bills. So after everything is paid, the client ends up getting substantially less than he thought and sometimes even nothing at all.
Some complain that another lawyer could have gotten them a better deal, or that they were better off negotiating with the insurance company themselves.
Of course, firms doing work on an hourly or flat-fee basis have received similar complaints. The attorney promises a certain result or strongly hints at one and it doesn’t end up happening.
Some firms have a number of these complaints. I looked at their websites and their local advertisements. Some of them prominently announce that they regularly obtain multiple million-dollar settlements and verdicts. They also brag about winning difficult cases that no one else would take.
Obviously, lawyers should manage expectations throughout the course of representation. I realize that sometimes it’s easier said than done. Especially when payroll or the next student loan or rent payment depends on being optimistic.
Rude behavior. The client or the potential client did not get along with someone at the office. That might be a secretary, legal assistant, or another lawyer in the office. The cause of the rudeness varies. Sometimes the client is rude and the person on the other end eventually responded in kind. Other times, someone at the office may have had a bad day and took it out on the next client on the phone. Or the client might be overly sensitive.
Sometimes clients can be insufferable, but I keep my cool by reminding myself that the client is also under a lot of stress and so their anger is not personal.
Also, firms should regularly monitor employees’ conversations with clients. They should advise clients to contact supervisors or attorneys if they have any issues with staff.
Failure to communicate. Another common complaint is that there is no communication between the lawyer and the client. They claim that no one picks up the phone or answers emails. Sometimes the phone line is disconnected. We all know that failure to communicate with a client can be a serious ethics violation. But in the age of the internet, this can also cost you business. So if the client is trying to get a hold of you, communicate with them. Otherwise, they will communicate to you through a negative online review which can be as much of a headache as an ethics violation investigation.
“My Case Was Handled Only By A Mere Paralegal.” These clients say that they meet with the lawyer for an initial consultation and after the clients sign up, they never speak to the attorney again. Instead, their case gets assigned to a paralegal or a legal assistant.
An attorney might have the most diligent, professional, and underappreciated staff in the world, and it is very likely that the staff knows more about the case than the attorney does. And many clients don’t mind working only with the staff so long as their case is progressing along. But I’ve come to understand that clients want to speak with the lawyer because they believe the lawyer is the authority. After all, that’s who they are paying. When these clients are only able to talk to a staff member, even a good one, they start to feel unwanted or question whether their case is winnable.
As I was reviewing these complaints, I noticed a few things. A typical neighborhood solo or small firm gets either no bad reviews or only a few compared to many positive reviews. However, firms with a higher number of bad reviews tend to advertise heavily on newspapers, park benches, billboards, etc. This makes me wonder what kind of client screening processes these firms have and whether negative reviews actually have an effect on obtaining business.
The internet gave clients a new place to voice their complaints. However, the complaints today haven’t changed that much from those I read about in ethics class many years ago. So despite all of the talk about technological advances and the Future of Law™, some basic aspects of law practice such as bedside manner and communication remain paramount and will not change.
Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at [email protected] and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.
