Solicitors do not reply, seem to be having internal issues, what to do?

GervisLooper

EssexHebridean said:

TBG01 said:

GervisLooper said:

Tiglet2 said:

It's very annoying when solicitors don't respond to a client's telephone calls or emails, but generally speaking the majority of solicitors are extremely busy so they tend to assess how urgent your request is. 

If you just want an update on progress, then the time taken to respond to you means that other more urgent matters are put aside. 

If your request is going to progress matters, i.e. you have the answer to a query they have raised with you or have some evidence/paperwork they need and have been waiting for, then they should respond far quicker.

Responding to queries which don't actually help progress the case are not important in legal conveyancing work.  As one solicitor recently remarked to a client, "we need to get on with the work, rather than talk about it".

 

Maybe but I think it is unprofessional to just ignore. It takes all of 30 seconds to give a quick status update 

Everyone says that. Everyone says "Oh if they just said they were busy I'd leave them alone", however solicitors know this won't be the case.

Arguably this is nothing new, but solicitors work in an age of main character syndrome. Clients think their transaction is more pressing than everyone else's. Solicitors work in an age where people can turn to the Internet and read one sentence that makes them think they know better than the solicitor. Solicitors work in an age where emails can be sent and received instantly with a response demandad instantly.

Painfully true. Look at it this way, if a solicitor has 50 clients on their books at one time, and each of those clients asks for an update, then by the time those emails have been read the file has been got out and checked through so the solicitor can refresh their memory on that particular case. Then a response drafted, checked and sent - that is going to be a minimum of 20 minutes per file. That is a decent chunk of the solicitors time each and every week which then can’t be used in doing the work that clients are actually paying for.

If that were the case then they would not/should not put at the end of the emails "if you have any questions do not hesitate to respond" they could simply put "we are a busy firm and it is best for both of us to limit communication to essential emails" or something of that nature.

EssexHebridean

And then clients would complain that was “rude”. 

Hoenir

GervisLooper said:

Tiglet2 said:

It's very annoying when solicitors don't respond to a client's telephone calls or emails, but generally speaking the majority of solicitors are extremely busy so they tend to assess how urgent your request is. 

If you just want an update on progress, then the time taken to respond to you means that other more urgent matters are put aside. 

If your request is going to progress matters, i.e. you have the answer to a query they have raised with you or have some evidence/paperwork they need and have been waiting for, then they should respond far quicker.

Responding to queries which don't actually help progress the case are not important in legal conveyancing work.  As one solicitor recently remarked to a client, "we need to get on with the work, rather than talk about it".

 

Maybe but I think it is unprofessional to just ignore. It takes all of 30 seconds to give a quick status update and I am paying them money. It isn't like I am just a vagrant off the street asking for their time to chit chat.

It's not 30 seconds though. Constant distractions waste valuable time. Picking something up then putting it down before returning is an unproductive use of time. There are only so working hours in a working day. You try accounting for how you spend your time in 5 minute segments every day. With targets for productive chargeable time over the course of a month.