How good are you at keeping quality records of your pre-engagement communications?

Pre-engagement communications are important because they eventually form part of your legal matter files and should be managed like any other client communication and are subject to a lawyer-client privilege.

The management of such records can be governed by the same records control procedure that I discussed in one of my previous post.

Pre-engagement communications may take the form of a free first interview, free email legal advice, telephone and email communications, enquiries by friends and the public. These are all communications that the practice may have with potential clients before the client-lawyer relationship is formalised by the retainer agreement.

At the time when you created a pre-engagement record your client may not have been registered in your practice management system. The question arises: what do you do with such records which may include initial interview and phone communications, handwritten notes, email records, letters and faxes etc?

Depending on the type of document management system that you are currently using you may scan all documents and save them with all emails into a pre-engagement communications electronic folder. Alternatively if you rely on a paper based document management system you may be prin all electronic communications such as emails and file them into a pre-engagement communications binder together with all paper based records.

If you have implemented a process which ensures that all pre-engagement communications are identified, stored, protected and later merged with the client's matter file you are on your way to reducing certain risks to your practice and clients.

These are some of the questions that you need to answer before drafting the procedure for managing pre-engagement communication records:

• Have you identified the types of pre-engagement communications?
• How do you record your initial interview with a client?
• Do you provide preliminary advice or opinion to clients before signing a retainer agreement?
• How do you keep a record of all your pre-engagement phone conversations?
• Who reviews the pre-engagement communications to ensure that they are appropriate?
• What is your process for ensuring that all pre-engagement communication are attached to the matter file after retaining the client?

The answers to these questions can be incorporated in the records control procedure. In the alternative a separate procedure can be drafted addressing only the management of all pre-engagement communications. See the example below.

Other procedures that your practice should establish include mail handling, physical file management, archiving and IT.

An example of a mail handling procedure follows:

Next I will discuss the management of the most important document in your legal practice - your retainer agreement.

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