Vol. 78, No. 5, May
2005
The Tale of a Satisfied Client
Clients expect that attorneys will
satisfy their legal needs. When
attorneys also show understanding of the client's situation - limited
access to transportation perhaps - and deliver an unexpected service or
courtesy, clients are well-pleased.
by
State Bar executive director
Recently, my mother updated her will and her various powers of
attorney. After my dad died in 1989, my mother moved to Wisconsin and
had a will, power of attorney, and power of attorney for health care
drawn. Now, 14 years later, Mother wanted everything updated.
As we walked from the car to the attorney's office, Mother said
rather quietly, "I hope he's good, he's charging me $300 an hour.
The last one only charged about $125."
Given the number of hours she had been billed the last time to draw
up her simple will and powers of attorney, I began to wonder if this new
attorney was more high-powered than my mother needed, and if maybe I'd
be helping out with the bill.
Then we were in the attorney's waiting room, a comfortable room but
not ostentatious, and soon we joined the attorney in one of the
conference rooms. My mother was a bit nervous, but the attorney quickly
put her at ease, asking her if she wanted me to stay. She, after all,
was the client. They reviewed the then current documents and they asked
each other questions. He provided her with numerous alternatives, and
she made her choices. After about 20 minutes, he stated that he thought
we could conclude this rather quickly, and then he excused himself,
saying he'd be back in about 10 minutes. We waited, chatting a bit,
wondering what the next steps were, because Mother's last experience had
resulted in a much longer conference and required at least one trip back
to the attorney's office several weeks later.
As the wall clock indicated that nearly 15 minutes had passed, the
conference room door opened and in walked the attorney with a sheaf of
documents - my mother's new will and powers of attorney. We were both
surprised at the speed, and we wondered about the documents' accuracy.
The attorney reviewed them with Mother. Everything she had expected and
wanted was in the documents before her - all her decisions regarding
health care, power of attorney, and disposition of assets. Once she was
satisfied (my mother is not easily satisfied), he asked if she wanted to
sign them now. She did. He brought in a couple of witnesses, the
documents were signed, and we were on our way, with the promise that the
number of copies she requested would arrive in the mail within two
weeks. The entire process had taken about an hour.
A few weeks later, I ran into the same lawyer at the State Bar
Center. I told him my mother was extremely pleased with her new will and
surprised at how quickly the matter was handled. He said that he had
learned that one of the biggest problems elderly people have is getting
to the attorney's office. "So with wills and powers like your
mother's, it's easiest for all of us to handle the whole matter in one
trip. Computers are wonderful things."
Later, the bill arrived in my mother's mailbox. It was for the
previously stated hourly rate times one hour, and some copying charges,
and was nearly half the price she had paid over a decade earlier for the
same type of documents. Mother couldn't have been more pleased.
Wisconsin Lawyer
