that
morning
coffee…
time
to
discuss
my
plea
deal!
Here
at
Kaleidoscope,
the
newly
minted
8am’s
inaugural
conference,
lawyers
gathered
to
hear
about
the
dangers
lurking
in
their
pockets.
Rather
than
being
happy
to
see
us,
the
phones
they
lug
around
carry
a
ticking
ethical
timebomb
poised
to
erupt
as
their
terminally
Millennial
clients
demand
to
talk
about
their
cases
over
SMS.
It’s
not
an
outlier
scenario
anymore.
Mark
Palmer,
Chief
Counsel
of
the Illinois Supreme
Court
Commission
on
Professionalism,
explained
that
59
percent
of
clients
want
to
communicate
with
their
lawyers
by
text.
And
not
just
to
reschedule
depositions,
but
to
make
key
substantive
decisions
despite
the
security
and
recordkeeping
risks
involved.
Like
any
good
service
professional,
the
secret
for
lawyers
hoping
to
navigating
troublesome
client
demands
lies
in
redirection.
“That’s
such
a
great
question…
it
requires
more
detail
than
I
can
get
into
here,
how
about
we
schedule
a
call
for
tomorrow
morning?”
Keep
the
client
happy
by
routing
scheduling
and
general
information
through
the
convenience
of
text,
but
shunt
their
serious
questions
over
to
an
in-person
meeting,
or
at
least
an
email,
as
soon
as
possible.
The
medical
profession
would
never
let
you
text
the
doctor’s
cell
phone,
Palmer
explained,
lawyers
have
to
catch
up.
But
until
every
firm
runs
through
a
clunky
portal
like
your
HMO,
take
some
steps
to
protect
yourself
and
the
client.
Turn
off
notifications.
Definitely
kill
the
message
previews.
Disable
those
laptop
echoes
that
mirror
your
client’s
latest
text
onto
multiple
devices.
And
tell
your
client
to
do
the
same.
Conduct
your
law
practice
as
if
you’re
hiding
an
affair
better
than
the
Coldplay
couple.
While
that’s
a
bit
glib,
the
stakes
are
serious
in
family
law.
One
attendee
asked
about
managing
communications
when
texting
could
jeopardize
the
client’s
safety.
As
Palmer
noted,
in
the
old
days,
firms
might
slap
big
red
letters
on
the
file
warning
any
future
associate
or
admin
to
only
contact
this
client
at
their
office
number.
Attorneys
need
to
be
a
bit
more
creative
in
the
digital
age,
but
the
obligation
remains.
If
the
younger
and
younger
clients
—
the
march
of
time
comes
for
us
all
—
can’t
understand
the
importance
of
keeping
conversation
limited
to
more
secure
channels,
consider
adding
a
“communication
policy”
to
the
engagement
letter.
The
kids
crave
boundaries,
even
if
those
boundaries
are
just
keeping
your
litigation
war
plans
from
getting
Pete
Hegseth-ed
to
the
other
side.
Clients
crave
the
personal
touch
and
the
immediacy
that
comes
from
texting.
As
service
professionals,
lawyers
need
to
nurture
that…
responsibly.
Which
means
making
sure
the
client
feels
seen
with
scheduling
reminders,
but
discouraged
before
they
slide
privileged
communications
into
your
DMs.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.