5 Reasons Lawyers Should Make House Calls

 

• Lawyers who make house calls have become much more popular of late.
• From busy millennials to the housebound elderly, many potential and present legal clients can benefit from lawyers who come to them rather than them going to the lawyers.

Whoever said the days of house calls are long gone has not lived in today’s modern times.

Sure, there has been some variation throughout the years when it comes to house calls; milkmen who delivered milk, orange juice, cheese and eggs through a home’s back door have evolved into whole grocery stores that drop off shopping cart-sized amounts of food.

Mechanics are known to go to clients instead of clients driving (or towing) their cars to the mechanic.

And even doctors with whom the term “house call” originated has returned to the fold by offering their patients bedside health checks in their own homes.

Lawyers have, of late, also begun to see their clients elsewhere other than the law firm where such meetings would ordinarily take place. Lawyers and clients alike have instead found it beneficial to meet in a locale that’s best for the client.

These house calls can work within any practice area, but are especially beneficial in family law, general counsel, and in particular personal injury.

Legal problems are much more easily resolved with home visits by multiple types of lawyers. Look at it from the point of view of a new way to practice law in which legal matters and legal questions are fully disclosed in the privacy and comfort of one's own home.
 
Check out the following five reasons why the lawyers in your law firm should consider seeing their clients off-site, and how doing so can be advantageous to your law firm as well as your clients.
 

1. Your clients will feel more comfortable.

Your law firm’s clients will potentially feel more at ease in a familiar setting such as their house. This is particularly true with difficult cases in which a client along with their attorney has to make hard choices regarding a certain legal issue.

Of course comfort doesn’t and shouldn’t have to be regulated to a client’s home. A client can feel as comfortable in a restaurant or coffee house as their own home.

Keep in mind that the meeting place should naturally be up to the client. Make it their choice or suggestion. Or, if they cannot come up with a place but are still reluctant to meet inside your law firm, let your attorney pick the spot to meet with an emphasis on the tastes of the client.
 

2. Making house calls allows for convenience.

Convenience is an important factor to consider as your attorneys evolve toward making legal house calls.

This is especially true when a client is incapacitated or immobile, which leaves them little choice but to have a lawyer see them rather than they leaving their homes to see a lawyer.

You should also consider where your law firm is located and think about how a client’s commute to your location may not be something they want to do. The traffic, the time of day and distance can all be factors your client may not want to put themselves through.
 

3. Complicated cases might be less complicated in the confines of one’s house.

A comfortable client is going to be more open to resolutions, particularly for cases that are acutely complex or otherwise difficult to understand.

Clients will be able to think more clearly, and make decisions without the hustle and bustle of a law firm in the background. This can result in your attorneys getting more of their work done in addition to maintaining a good working relationship between your firm and its clients.
 

4. Your law firm will benefit from lawyers who make house calls.

Word-of-mouth recommendations tend to spread quickly. This will more than likely be the case if the public catches onto the notion that the attorneys in your law firm now make house calls.

This can benefit you in many ways as many individuals simply do not have the time to meet an attorney on that attorney’s terms.
It will be much more acceptable to potential clients if they know your attorneys will go the extra mile to bring convenience to their clients rather than the other way around.
 

5. Everyone else is doing this, so why shouldn’t your firm?

Market share is a strong term used within today’s business climate. This can include law in which one firm competes with another for a larger slice of the legal pie.

Conveniences such as making legal house calls can have a large impact on the status of your law firm, and all for the better.

People will realize lawyers in your law firm as being more conscious of the clients’ needs than their own needs. To that end, a client will feel more appreciated for bringing their legal needs to your law firm.
 
Conclusion

To maintain a client-conscious law firm is to put their needs before your own. This is especially true when meeting clients. As opposed to meeting in your law firm, send your lawyers out to see the clients.

Make it as easy as possible with them so that they can feel comfortable as well as confident in the legal services your attorneys provide to them.
 
For more information, look into these articles:
 

• How and Why Do Law Firms Die, And What Can You as a Lawyer Do About It
• Are Your Law Firm Leaders Truly Leaders?
• The Parent/Legal Trap: The Challenges of Being Both a Parent and a Lawyer