A hallmark of inconsiderate lawyering is the infamous 4 PM Friday dump. Some lawyers love to flood your inbox with a mountain of correspondence and documents right at the end of the week.
While I can handle this and choose, if I wish to, not to read it until Monday morning, it’s an entirely different story for laypeople without legal representation. This practice is, in my opinion, unprofessional and shows a lack of respect for someone navigating the trauma of divorce alone.
A well-known firm with multiple offices in the region has consistently used this tactic whenever I’ve dealt with them. Just last week, they sent their first letter directly to a vulnerable, unrepresented woman, causing her significant distress.
The letter, filled with legal jargon about settlement terms, left her fearing homelessness.
To make matters worse, they didn’t even recommend she seek independent legal advice, instead asking her to fill out a form outlining her finances for a “clean break order.
” When I raised my concerns about this conduct with the fee earner they defended their actions, seeing nothing wrong with sending such a letter to an unrepresented person right before a bank holiday weekend, when legal advice would be hard to obtain until the following Tuesday.
They also didn’t find the tone and content inappropriate. 😳 I never send emails to my clients or an unrepresented spouse on a Friday unless it’s good news. It can wait until Monday. I extend the same courtesy to other lawyers, preferring to send emails first thing on Monday.
Do you consider the content and timing of your communications, or do you send them out to suit your schedule, regardless of their impact on the recipient?
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