Personal information about clients eases the relationship-building process that is part of a successful law practice. Knowing the client well and making sure the client is aware of that knowledge adds to attorney-client trust.
Client profile information can be used by attorneys to set up data bases from which they can effectively track client developments, referrals, interrelationships, and such.
Imagine these statements when spoken by an attorney to a client: "Hello . . . how is your son enjoying college life?" or "I understand House Bill 234 can have a serious impact on your business" or "I see your local zoning board meeting next week will be pivotal for your development plans." These sort of statements demonstrate an interest in the client beyond billable hours.
Tracking clients to anticipate their needs can also lead to other opportunities for the attorney. Information about clients that is organized and accessible is more important than statute or case law knowledge when enhancing a practice is concerned. Software programs now available can help the attorney and staff organize this information in a cohesive, usable manner.
ESTABLISHING A DATA BASE
To gather and organize information pertaining to clients, the attorney should begin by making a list of existing, former, and potential clients. Oddly enough, this basic and relatively simple task is often overlooked in office procedure—more than one lawyer has tried to send holiday greeting cards only to learn that a list of names and addresses of clients was not readily available.
Next, a list of areas of interest should be made and input into a format. This means that the type and amount of information gathered will be consistent from client to client. For example, some areas of interest and relevance might be
- Date updated:
- Name:
- Business address:
- Residence address:
- Business phone:
- Residence phone:
- Occupational title:
- Age and/or date of birth:
- Gender:
- Marital status:
- Children:
- Religion:
- Relatives and/or associates:
- Graduate/professional school year of graduation:
- School alumnus:
- College year of graduation;
- School alumnus:
- High school year of graduation:
- School alumnus:
- Business and/or professional associations:
- Outside interests and hobbies:
- Dominant personality type: (Amiable) (Analytic) (Expressive) (Driver)
- Probable career track:
- Name of organization:
- Address/location:
- Billing address:
- Nature of business (SIC* code(s)):
- Economic trends and anticipated events:
- Legislative, regulatory, and legal environment:
- Estimated annual revenues:
- Number of full-time employees:
- Number of part-time employees:
- Primary decision maker:
- (insert personal profile here)
- Secondary or alternate decision maker:
- (insert additional personal profiles here)
- Corporate officers or directors:
One conversation between attorney and client secretaries can provide a wealth of information. It is very important that the information gathered for a client profile is frequently updated. It can be embarrassing in the least to operate with outdated information and could do more damage than good. This task can also be assigned to a staff person.
