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HOEY
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Straight Track #38
When I first brought up the idea of a firm evaluation, almost everyone in our firm was opposed: “This isn’t done in the legal profession…It’s unprofessional… Why should we open ourselves to criticism…No one is ever completely satisfied with a settlement or verdict…It just isn’t done….” None of those answers could overcome the argument that we are in the personal service business. Who better to ask whether we’re doing our job than our clients? This evaluation is the logical conclusion to our introductory letter to the client that informs him of the team members in our firm who have the primary responsibility for his case. We then drafted a form trying to make it simple and direct, addressing the real issues that we perceived were important to our clients throughout our representation. I have taken the liberty of posting the document along with this article. If you have any suggestions as to adding or removing any questions, it would be appreciated if you would e-mail us your recommendations. Remember we’re sitting on the other side of the table and we might not always realize what is important to you. Click below to go to evaluation: http://www.hoeyfarina.com/HFD5/eval.pdf To date, the evaluation has generated 26 responses out of approximately 100 inquires. According to my statistician friends that’s a pretty good response. The overwhelming positive responses, with some comments that were emotionally moving, have reaffirmed our commitment to our clients and generated a tremendous morale boost within our office. Several clients made positive suggestions as to how we might more effectively communicate with them, e.g., e-mail. As a result of their input, we now ask each client for an e-mail address at his home so we can easily communicate information about the progress of his case, as well as send him our weekly newsletter, Straight Track. After we receive a completed evaluation, I review it thoroughly and discuss the comments with the team in our firm that was reviewed. I then write a letter to the client thanking him for taking the time to answer the evaluation and explaining to him what we have done as a result of his comments. In that letter I also emphasize that whatever the client's future needs, we will always offer our assistance. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll find someone who does. All in all, this new venture into uncharted waters with our confidential firm evaluation forms has been very beneficial. The feedback helps us understand what we're doing right and what we need to improve. It also helps us understand the factors that contribute to our client’s decision to hire our firm. With this information, we know we will be able to do an even better job of representing the injured railroad worker. Again, don’t be bashful. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know. Merry Christmas and Warm Regards, Dillon |
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