Client Care Policy (Jan26)

Introduction

Good client care is not only an ethical obligation—it is fundamental to our success. Without clients, we have no business, so it is imperative that we treat clients well to retain them and to attract new clients to the firm.

Purpose

This policy aims to inform all of us about how we expect clients and potential clients to be treated. The client care standards set by this policy are intended to ensure that clients receive the best possible service and are therefore more likely to return to us in the future or to recommend our services to others.

Scope

This policy applies to us all, including managers, consultants, and any third party that this policy has been communicated to.

Responsibility

Timothy Halliday is ultimately responsible for client care within our firm and for this policy. This means that they will review client care standards regularly and monitor our performance against those standards to ensure that we are delivering an optimum service to our clients. Performance will be measured against client satisfaction, complaints and claims data.

All of us (and any third party to whom this policy applies) are responsible for ensuring that we adhere to the client care standards set by this policy. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.

Policy statement

We, as a firm, are committed to providing an excellent level of service and to acting with integrity in all our dealings with clients. We recognise that some clients will not be used to dealing with providers of legal services and the experience can be daunting and stressful.

Our clients are entitled to expect a genuine commitment from everybody working for us, whether they are involved in the handling of the client’s instructions or not. We must show clients that we attach an appropriate priority to their requirements.

Handling enquiries from potential clients

We may receive enquiries for new instructions in several different ways i.e., telephone, email, letter, website or in person. We have set out our service standards for these main methods of communication:

Telephone enquiries

If an enquiry is received via the telephone, staff on reception should try to obtain as much information as possible about the services that the potential client might require, and the urgency of the matter must be established. The relevant fee earner should be contacted to see if they are available to take the call.

It is understood that fee earners are not always immediately available to speak to new clients. Therefore, each fee earner should both have a voicemail set up and each department should designate a secretary or fee earner to be available for dealing initially with new client enquiries.  The receptionist should be informed of the arrangement.  Outline information about the client’s concerns should be obtained and then the enquiry should be passed to an appropriate fee earner.  If possible, an appointment should be agreed.  If an appointment is made for the new client to attend the firm’s office, information should be provided regarding directions, and (where appropriate) parking facilities.  The objective is to show the potential client that something is being done, and to secure a new client matter.

Calls should be returned within a maximum of 24 hours. For urgent matters, contact must be made within 8 working hours, even if this is to say that we do not currently have the capacity to take the matter on.

Email enquiries

When an email enquiry is received from a prospective new client to the firm’s general mailbox, the receptionist must forward the email to the person responsible in the relevant department. Checks should be made to ensure that the relevant person is in the office or at least contactable on that day. In their absence, the email should be forwarded to another appropriate person who will then determine who is best placed to deal with the enquiry.

All email enquiries from prospective new clients must be answered within 24 hours.

Enquiries by letter

The post is opened by a director, who will assess any new enquiries without delay.

Where a potential client includes their telephone contact details in a written enquiry, a call should be made in the first instance to acknowledge and discuss the enquiry. Where no other contact details are provided, the reply letter should be sent out within 24 hours.

Enquiries made in person

If a potential client attends our offices without an appointment, the receptionist should take some brief details from the client, namely the service area that they are enquiring about and the urgency of the matter. Clients must not be made to explain their legal problems or requirements in any detail in our reception area as we cannot guarantee client confidentiality.

The receptionist should then contact the relevant fee earner to ascertain whether anybody is available to speak to the potential client and whether a room is available to ensure confidentiality. Where nobody is available to attend to the client immediately, the potential client should be offered an appointment having regard to the urgency of the matter.

Before agreeing to act

Once initial instructions have been taken, an assessment must be made as to whether we should take on the potential client’s matter which considers the following issues:

• Firm policy. We should only take on matters which are within our policy about the types of work we will undertake and generally within acceptable risk parameters. You may only take on a matter which falls outside that policy with the permission of the COLP.
• Competence and resources. We should decline to act unless we have the resources, skills, and procedures to carry out the instruction.
• Consent of all clients. You should be satisfied that any person providing instructions on behalf of others has the authority to do so (SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors paragraph 3.1). That includes those providing instructions on behalf of fellow clients or legal entities. Be alert to any indication that instructions may be affected by duress or undue influence.
• Credit risk. If there is a significant credit risk (i.e., we may be unable to recover our fees and disbursements) only agree to act if the client provides sufficient funds on account.

This assessment is made as part of the file opening procedure and should be evidenced on the file.

Timothy Halliday (COLP) will make the final assessment as to whether we can take the matter on in light of the above considerations.

Client vulnerability

All clients are potentially at risk of becoming vulnerable, but these risks are increased by having characteristics of vulnerability. These could be poor health, such as cognitive impairment, life events such as new caring responsibilities, low resilience to cope with financial and emotional shocks and low capability such as poor literacy or numeracy skills.

Not all clients with these characteristics will experience harm but they are more likely to have additional needs. If we fail to meet those needs, these clients may have limited ability to make decisions or represent their own interests, putting them at greater risk of harm.  As such, the level of care that is appropriate for these clients may be different to others.

In general, there are three broad categories of vulnerable clients:

1. Clients who have capacity to make decisions and provide you with instructions, but by reason of a range of mental and/or physical and/or learning disabilities require enhanced support to engage your services and give you instructions;
2. Clients who lack mental capacity to make decisions and provide you with instructions, for whom a range of statutory and other safeguards must be followed; and
3. Clients who are vulnerable to undue influence or duress and who may or may not have mental capacity to make decisions and provide you with instructions.

It is worth noting that the SRA Enforcement Strategy also categorises vulnerable clients as including:

• clients facing barriers preventing access to legal services due to cost or geographical reasons.
• clients involved in sensitive family matters (NB Resolution, the membership organisation for family law practitioners, says that all family law clients should be considered as vulnerable); and
• clients facing loss of personal liberty or deportation.

The following are examples of characteristics and conditions that may render a client vulnerable:

• Advanced age, childhood, or youth
• Physical disabilities or ill-health
• Cognitive impairment
• Loss of mental capacity to make relevant decisions.
• Mental health problems
• Learning disabilities
• Sensory impairment
• Dementia
• Acquired brain injury caused for example by a stroke or head injury.
• Severe facial or other disfigurement
• Difficulty in accessing and/or understanding complex information, for example, because of psychological or emotional factors such as stress or bereavement.
• Communication difficulties, including no or limited speech, English as a foreign language, limited ability to read or write and illiteracy.
• Experience of domestic violence or sexual abuse
• Heavy reliance on others (family or friends) for necessary care, support, or accommodation
• Long-term alcohol or drug abuse
• Exposure to financial abuse
• Being subject to modern day slavery

It is worth emphasising that vulnerability is not a static state; it may be short term, or permanent, and may result from the structure of the financial market, the nature of the legal services being provided, the client’s personal circumstances, or a combination of factors. It could be said, for example, that lay clients in financial distress are vulnerable, during a cost-of-living crisis. Similarly, corporate clients can be categorised as vulnerable due to outside market forces such as an economic recession which is making it difficult for them to continue trading.

Given the wide variety of clients that may be impacted, the possibility of vulnerability should be considered whenever you are consulted or instructed by a client in any matter; the firm believes that clients involved in conveyancing matters are at particular risk.

The assessment should be conducted whenever possible with the client alone. You should not assume that anyone accompanying the client (including a family member) has their genuine interests at heart.

It may be useful if you also observe how any relative or friend who has accompanied the client behaves towards the client and vice versa as that may identify whether there is the risk of undue influence or pressure.

If you are concerned about a client’s capacity, especially in relation to a decision with serious consequences either for them or other people, it is advisable to seek the opinion of an appropriately qualified professional. Where possible, you should choose a professional who knows your client and has expertise relevant to your client’s condition. You should explain to the professional the legal test of capacity and ask for an opinion as to how the client’s medical condition may affect their ability to make the decision in question.

Protecting client confidentiality

We are all bound by the SRA Standards and Regulations which require client confidentiality to be maintained. This means that nobody is permitted to reveal to any other person outside of the firm the nature of instructions provided, or advice given to any client (other than in accordance with the client’s instructions or unless one of the exceptions applies).

In most cases, it will be inappropriate to reveal that we have been instructed by any named client. You must not reveal any client information to friends or family without the appropriate written client consent.

Everybody must take care to maintain client confidentiality including by adopting the following precautions:

• Do not discuss client information in the reception area or in public places where you may be overheard (whether in person or over the phone).
• Ensure that all confidential waste is shredded or put into the confidential waste bins for professional disposal – do not put any confidential waste in general waste bins.
• When using a shared printer/copier, collect copies as soon as they have printed.
• Check any outgoing post before sending it:
  • Does it contain any papers relating to another matter?
  • Is the address on the envelope correct and for the right client?
  • Is the envelope properly sealed and clearly addressed to the intended recipient?
• Ensure that all client appointments take place in a private room and never in the reception area.
• File all client papers properly and ensure that they are kept in secure storage.
• Do not leave any client papers unattended in public areas.
• Archive closed files promptly.
• Do not leave files and papers in open view when they are not being worked on.
• Ensure that meeting rooms are cleared of client papers after the meeting.
• Do not leave computers unattended – always lock computers when you are away from them even if only for a short period of time.
• Laptops and memory sticks must be encrypted, and password protected.
• Homeworkers must have the same regard for confidentiality as is expected in the office and must ensure that the individuals that they live with do not have access to client information.
• Ensure that emails contain the correct recipient address(es) before sending them.
• Before forwarding client email correspondence to a third party, ensure that you are not unintentionally disclosing any confidential information.

Protecting clients’ data protection rights

The firm is the data controller (for the purpose of data protection legislation) of personal data that clients provide to us. This means that we have a duty to comply with the provisions of the relevant legislation when processing clients’ personal data to safeguard their data protection rights. This includes only processing personal data if we have a lawful basis for doing so.

The firm has appointed Timothy Halliday as its Data Protection Manager, and he is responsible for overseeing the firm’s compliance with data protection legislation.

Please refer to the Data Protection Policy for more information on clients’ data protection rights and steps we must take to ensure that these are protected.

Responding to client communications

All client communications should be answered within 48 hours (two business days). Where the communication requires significant consideration or further work to be done and it is not possible to respond within 48 hours, the communication must still be acknowledged, and the client should be given a timeframe within which they can expect to receive a full response. Where the timescale given cannot be made, the client must be updated prior to the timescale lapsing.

The same standards apply to communications received from third parties working on or directly involved with the client’s matter.

Keeping clients updated on their transactions

We understand the importance of keeping clients updated as to the progress of their matter and that different clients will have different expectations. It is therefore important to manage these expectations and give realistic timescales to clients at the outset.

Whilst the appropriate frequency of updates for each type of work is different, generally, we will aim to update clients on at least a monthly basis (unless we have agreed a less regular update frequency with the client), even if there has been no progress made due to circumstances outside of our control since our last communications.

This is in addition to our commitment to update clients on the cost of their matter at least every three months, to ensure that they continue to have the best possible information about the likely overall cost.

Should it become necessary for the file handler with conduct of a matter to change, the client must be informed of this promptly.

Referral arrangements

We, as a firm, have decided to accept paid client referrals from different sources; referral agreements for each referrer are held by the COLP and are reviewed every six months. Appropriate due diligence has been undertaken on each arrangement to ensure they are compliant with the SRA Standards and Regulations and the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO).

If you are a file handler, you must ensure any clients referred under an agreement are provided with details of the referral arrangement (name of referrer, referral fee) in their client care letter.

We have a duty to ensure we act in a client’s best interests and that our independence is not impacted upon by third parties, so if you believe these may be at risk from a referrer you should report them to the COLP.

Referring clients to third parties

We do not routinely refer clients to any other businesses and therefore do not have a preferred list of such businesses. Therefore, any referrals made by staff should be clearly expressed as personal recommendations and not professional recommendations.

Nobody is permitted to enter into formal referral arrangements, particularly where such arrangements involve the receipt or payment of a referral fee, without written permission from Timothy Halliday (COLP).

Reasonable adjustments

We must be mindful that some clients may require reasonable adjustments to be made in order to access our services because of a disability. The purpose of making such adjustments is to ensure that those clients are able to receive the same service (as far as this is possible) as clients who are not disabled.

Therefore, whenever anybody is making an appointment for a client to attend our offices or to attend a client away from our offices, enquiries should be made into whether the client has any requirements that may require us to make a reasonable adjustment.

If a request is made for a reasonable adjustment that you do not think we can reasonably make or are unsure of how to address the request, please refer the matter to Nicola Robinson (COFA) who is responsible for equality and diversity across the firm.

Client care information

Please refer the section on ‘Taking and confirming instructions’ in our File and Case Management Procedures Manual which sets out the information that must be communicated to clients in writing (unless another form of communication is deemed more appropriate) as part of the client care standards.

Records of standing terms of business

There must be a record of any standing terms of business in place with regular clients and fee earners must be able to produce the relevant versions on request, however it is the firm’s policy that new terms of business will be sent on each matter to ensure they are the latest versions.

Costs information

Please refer to the section on costs information in our File and Case Management Procedures Manual for details on what costs information must be provided to clients as part of the client care standards.

Complaints handling

The complaints handling procedure is intended to resolve as many problems as possible within the firm rather than clients seeking redress through the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) or the SRA. Resolving problems in-house helps to preserve the good will of the client and our reputation.

Everybody makes mistakes and therefore the chances of receiving a complaint occasionally are not remote. However, we expect honesty from staff when such instances do occur in order to ensure that the matter can be dealt with promptly and effectively. In return, staff can expect full support from us.

Please refer to the Complaints and Reporting Policy for full details about our complaints procedures.

Review of the complaints record

The COLP will review the central complaints record at the monthly compliance meeting and analyse any trends. This will form part of the annual risk management review.

However, it is important that we all learn from issues highlighted as a result of complaints. Therefore, lessons learned will be shared across the firm as they arise. The COLP will communicate such lessons to staff as appropriate.

Client feedback

Client feedback is a great way to improve client satisfaction with our services. Remember that a satisfied client is more likely to instruct us again and recommend us to others.

When every matter has concluded, a client feedback questionnaire should be sent to the client (either by post or an online link dependant on how to client has preferred to communicate). All returned forms should be forwarded to Nicola Robinson (COFA) who will keep a central record of them.

The feedback forms will be reviewed, and any recommendations made to improve services will be carefully considered. Nicola Robinson (COFA) is responsible for reviewing all feedback at least annually and analysing any trends as part of the annual risk management and our business planning review.

Procedure to accept and decline client instructions

Please refer to the following sections of our File and Case Management Procedures Manual for full details of our procedures:

• Accepting instructions.
• Declining instructions.
• Situations where instructions must be declined; and
• Ceasing to act.

Review of this policy

This policy will be reviewed at least annually by Timothy Halliday (COLP).

January 2026