By: Ray Wendolowski
One of the biggest challenges to helping clients as an attorney is keeping them well informed about their case in a way that is both helpful and easy to understand. It’s very easy to assume that a client will understand you when you tell them that the defendant has filed preliminary objections in regards to service and that you are going to file an amended complaint and attempt service again. This makes perfect sense to me, and likely to any other PA attorneys reading this, but any non-lawyer would likely be very confused.
In general, you should not assume that a client will understand any aspect of the law, no matter their level of sophistication, and you should make sure to explain what is happening in the case in laymen’s terms. Legal jargon can confuse your client, and can then lead to client dissatisfaction because they do not understand what has occurred in the case. It may take a little extra time to explain things to a client this way, but it will create a better relationship with the client and make the client more satisfied.