According to rules of professional conduct and model behavior regarding client relationships, attorneys are expected to (a) keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable request for information and (b) the lawyer needs to explain a matter to the extent necessary for the client to make informed decisions regarding representations. Legal assistants and paralegals working for an attorney, by extension, need to keep the responsibilities of the attorney vis-a-vis a client in mind and communicate and/or respond within client relationships of an attorney.
General duties of an attorney in communicating with clients and in client relationships
While communicating with clients, attorneys generally need to observe the following, and unless the attorney directs to the contrary, a paralegal or legal assistant working for the attorney has to carry the same responsibilities with respect to client relationships and communications:
Inform the status of his/her case to the client
Respond to any request for information made by the client about his/her matter within time
Convey important information about a client's matter promptly to him/her
Disclose or notify the client about any failure in carrying out specific instructions of the client
Notify the client if the attorney is going to stop working on the client's matter or leaving the firm or leaving the practice of law
Notify and convey to clients developments in settlement and negotiation matters
Keeping in mind the above responsibilities of an attorney towards his/her client a paralegal should try to foster the best possible relationship with a client.
Tips to follow in client communication to foster good client relationships
Some simple rules of the thumb to follow while maintaining client relationships and communicating with clients include:
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Why not train to become a paralegal in a classroom at the very top of the world? The University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, AK, sits on more than 360 million acres in a spectacularly picturesque locale close to Denali National Park and only 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Part of a network of camp ....
Treating each client as one's own
Sending copies of all documents produced for a client to the client in time
Not using legalese when talking with or dealing with a client
Returning client phone calls as soon as possible
Being courteous and professional at all times with a client
Being prudent and never sharing personal or office problems or details with a client
Providing clients with routine and periodic status updates of their matters
Not making false promises or promises you would not be able to keep just because a client insists
Preserving the confidence of client's matters
What clients like about what they see in legal work:
Clients may not be experts in legal matters, but many of them are, or get to be so with experience of facing battles in court. Clients like open access and prompt response, they like it when they receive immediate responses to their correspondence and have their phone calls returned immediately. While clients may not be aware of the merits of legal arguments contained in documents, they can easily catch typographical and grammatical errors, they would know when deadlines are missed, and whether they are treated with respect or with contempt. All of these things matter in the relationship between an attorney and a client and the legal assistant or paralegal has a role to play in maintaining such client relationships positively.
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According to rules of professional conduct and model behavior regarding client relationships, attorneys are expected to (a) keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable request for information and (b) the lawyer needs to explain a matter to the extent necessary for the client to make informed decisions regarding representations. Legal assistants and paralegals working for an attorney, by extension, need to keep the responsibilities of the attorney vis-a-vis a client in mind and communicate and/or respond within client relationships of an attorney. 
