“I hired you,” screamed the client. “I didn’t hire your lame ass associate,” he continued. “If I’d wanted some nitwit lawyer, I’d have hired that lawyer across the hall with the wandering eye,” he ranted.

“Bait and switch,” he breathes out through his nose. You can already feel the heat of the grievance coming by certified mail.

The Dangers of the Handoff

Handing cases off to associates is fraught with peril. It’s difficult to keep clients comfortable with the transition, yet it’s impossible to grow substantially if you can’t delegate the work to others.

What’s an ambitious attorney to do?

• Do you keep a hand in every file and remain the voice of the case?
• Do you attend every hearing, having been prepped by the associate?
• Do you make yourself available for every sensitive phone call?
• Are you just available for “strategy” meetings?

There are as many answers to this question as there are lawyers. I’ve heard hundreds of opinions on how to deal with handoffs and keep things going well.

Unfortunately, no matter what your plan is, there’s always a client who can find a way to be unhappy with the system. No approach works 100% of the time. Some clients are going to persist until they find a way to be irate.

How Do You Solve the Problem?

My experience reveals two pieces of advice:

First, watch out for your ego. Sometimes we appreciate finding evidence that supports the idea that we’re important and needed. When a client is upset about our lack of attention, it makes us feel important. The ego thing turns our focus to this issue when it may not be a particularly important problem.

I’m sure this ego thing only applies to others and not to you. However, be aware that it’s sometimes the root of this problem for those “others.” They really, really need to feel important, and if this happens once in a while, they see it as a big issue even when it’s not really all that significant. Those “others” are silly, right?

Second, get your associates communicating with their clients. The only clients who get upset about handoffs are clients who aren’t feeling good about the status of their representation. If things are moving along and clients are getting consistent, adequate information and communication, then they usually aren’t distressed. It’s the clients who feel uniformed and neglected who freak out.

Neglected clients blame the handoff because they don’t know why they’re upset. The fact of the matter is that the problem isn’t the handoff; it’s the neglect. When you fix the underlying communication issue, you usually resolve the handoff issue. The solution lies in fixing your associates’ communication skills and systems.

So how do you make handoffs go well? You teach associates to communicate frequently. Associates who talk to clients regularly (which is probably more often than you think is required) will have happy clients. Happy clients don’t complain about handoffs. On the rare occasion when they do complain, it’s more likely to be about them than about you or your system, so don’t let your ego drive it up in importance.

Handoffs are easy when communication is happening. Keeping clients happy is hard, regardless of whether they’ve been handed off. Communication is the answer. Get your associates talking, and handoffs, and everything else, will go smoothly.