How Long Does It Take for Your Lawyer To Call You Back? Chicago Firm, Laner Muchin, Says, 'Two Hours. Guaranteed!'

Business Wire, June 19, 2003

Business Editors/Legal Writers

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2003

Ask business managers and in-house corporate lawyers the thing that drives them crazy about lawyers, and one of the most common responses is the time they spend waiting for a call back.

"It's absolutely one of my top three issues," says James R. Jenkins, Vice President of Legal and External Affairs for United States Cellular Corp. in Chicago. "When I pick up the phone to talk to a lawyer, it's not about the weather; it's because I have an issue."

Mr. Jenkins cites responsiveness as a key reason that his company has long used the labor and employment law firm of Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, which guarantees clients a call back within two hours.

"I deal with a lot of lawyers," says Mr. Jenkins, who heads U.S. Cellular's legal and regulatory department. "Some are excellent. Some, despite their credentials and smarts, are very unresponsive. They forget that they have a client on the other end."

Although the 40-lawyer Laner Muchin has a long history of requiring its lawyers to quickly return client calls, the firm recently put its guarantee in writing, promising in a series of ads and a brochure that its lawyers will call clients back within two hours, "or sooner if you need us...no voicemail purgatory."

Further, the firm challenges prospective clients using other law firms to call their own lawyers first, and then try calling Laner Muchin. "See who calls you back first; we're betting it'll be us. If it's not, we'll buy you lunch and donate $100 to your favorite charity."

Laner Muchin's promise is no marketing gimmick.

In the firm's 50-year history, Laner Muchin lawyers have always been required to promptly call back clients. Dick Laner, a recently retired partner, was famous back in the days of pink message slips for going through the message racks to see who among the firm's staff was keeping clients waiting. Those that did weren't on staff for long.

Recently, when the Chicago firm with clients such as Oprah, Chicago Bulls and CNA Insurance decided to invest in marketing efforts, it retained a consultant to recommend an approach that would separate it from the pack. Ross Fishman, who advises law firms across the country, was amazed to find a ubiquitous commitment throughout the firm to return client calls within a couple of hours.

"I've never heard of a firm doing that," he says. "Some try to get back to clients within the same day. Most firms don't have a standard at all."

So Mr. Fishman proposed the firm go public with what he thinks could become the gold standard in client service for law firms, once word gets out.

The firm is releasing a brochure, and a series of advertisements, that guarantee clients and prospective clients a call back within two hours of their original call. If an attorney is in trial or otherwise unavailable, another lawyer from the firm will return the call.

To make sure the firm delivers on its promise, firm leaders upgraded the telephone system to make navigating from voicemail to a live person, and checking messages, easier.

In addition, the partners formed a Two-Hour Committee, and charged it with developing a training program and manual to reinforce the policy to lawyers and staff, as well as lay out options for meeting the two-hour callback standard.

"We respond within that time limit as a matter of course," says senior partner Tony Dombrow.

Individual firm lawyers have the flexibility to decide how they are going to meet that standard, provided the standard is actually met, Mr. Dombrow says. Many leave their cell phone numbers on their voice mail messages. The firm's phone system provides options to have a lawyer paged, or to leave a message that will beep a lawyer's cell phone.

Lawyers leaving for vacation are charged with providing others to respond to any inquiries while they're out. "We take a teamwork approach," Mr. Dombrow says.

In addition, firm lawyers are designated to be on call around the clock for emergencies--which do happen in the world of labor and employment law.

"There are times of crisis when people need and deserve a rapid response," notes Mr. Dombrow. "For example, if an employee must be terminated on the spot, legal advice on how to properly handle the issue will be needed immediately."

Reaching your employment lawyer quickly "is very important," confirms Henry West, Senior Vice President of The Marmon Group, a holding company for several hundred diverse companies. "You're usually calling because there's a problem or expected problem that can be serious if it's not handled properly."

The Marmon Group has used Laner Muchin for everything from union negotiations to management training and employee dismissals. Mr. West says he likes the fact that Laner Muchin lawyers provide him with numbers where they are reachable.

"When you call a law firm, if you get voice mail--which you get 99 percent of the time--they send you to the secretary and if she's not there you end up leaving a message."

It's the time spent waiting for the call back that sends business people and in-house lawyers searching for new help. According to a July 2002 survey by the Corporate Legal Times, 80% of corporate counsel rate responsiveness "very important" to them when making decisions on who to retain for their work.