11/30/2009
Chair, JBA Client Dispute Resolution Committee
My hopes and dreams for the Client Dispute Resolution Committee are that we be the most inactive and under utilized committee in The Jacksonville Bar Association. I know that our president, Daniel Bean, did not ask me to stay on as Chair so I could put my feet up on the desk and take a nap, but I think Dan too would like nothing more than for the CDR Committee’s phone to never ring. Presumably, if the CDR Committee is not called into action, then clients are not having disputes with their attorneys, which, at the end of the day, is our ultimate goal.
The good news is that 2009 has seen a decline in the volume of calls by clients requesting intervention with their attorneys. If the decline in complaints is due to any lack of awareness of what the CDR Committee does, I hope this article helps to get the word out to clients. And no, I am not contradicting myself — we hope the phone is silent only because there is not a need. However, if there are legitimate client complaints about JBA attorneys, we encourage clients to make use of the CDR Committee by calling the Bar office at 399-4486. The CDR committee reacts quickly to client complaints by giving the attorney a heads-up that there is a problem, requiring prompt attention. Our involvement is intended to help the attorney and the client both. If the CDR Committee can take some action that will attend to the client’s need, while at the same time reducing the attorney’s risk of a formal bar complaint or malpractice action, then we have accomplished an important service.
Let me discuss in more detail how the CDR committee actually works. An unhappy client of a Jacksonville lawyer calls the JBA office. The Bar’s very competent staff recognizes the call as a complaint against a bar member and provides that client with the phone number of a CDR committee member. One of us then fields the call and attempts to find a resolution.
This year, I have received several such calls. As it turns out, each client had the identical compliant: “My lawyer is not returning my many phone messages.” Next, I or someone from my office contacts the accused attorney (alas, usually having to leave a voice mail), informing about the complaint, suggesting that the lawyer call the client, and asking the lawyer to let us know when that is accomplished. We then inform the client of the message we left and ask the client to call us back in 24 hours if the client has not heard from the attorney.
Some attorneys require further door-knocking from our office. We next send a letter, which by now includes a line about the lawyer’s failure to call the client, even after our firm has left a message. We have managed to get through to each lawyer with three or fewer attempts. Thereafter, to my knowledge, no Florida Bar complaint or malpractice suit was filed against any of the complained about lawyers.
The CDR Committee is lawyers helping lawyers, in a timely and relatively quiet manner. It also accomplishes a community service, which works toward fulfilling the Bar’s statement of our values that Dan and the Jacksonville Bar Board of Governors has set for all lawyers in Northeast Florida. To that end, we hope to remain very active, phone ringing or not.
