Keeping Your Supervisor Advised of the Case Status

Keep the supervising shareholder advised as to the status of the case. Many young associates do not grasp the significance of this rule because its breach is not within their life experiences--yet. Imagine being organized. Having your day planned. You are expecting to get through 10 matters on your desk. Then you get a phone call. Your associate is sick. There is a hearing on calendar. The associate was supposed to prepare for and attend this hearing. The client who has a lot at stake will be at the hearing. You drop everything and run to the hearing. On the way to the hearing you realize that you know virtually nothing about the case. What you do know is that the client will be livid if you ask for a continuance. You do your best at the hearing. When you come back to the office, how do you think you will feel about not being kept advised about the case? Warm and fuzzy?

What if there was no hearing, but you run into the client or the client calls you and says, “What the heck is going on in my case?” Do you think you will have similar feelings? How do you think the shareholder feels if he or she wakes up in a cold sweat when the case floats from the subconscious to the conscious at 2:00 a.m. and wonders if the complaint was filed before the statute of limitations ran or whether the expert was named before the deadline ran?

If, however, you keep the shareholder advised, and you periodically ask his or her opinion about something related to the case, you will make the shareholder feel important, you will have a double check in case you have unknowingly committed malpractice or violated an ethical duty and you will prevent the shareholders from developing associate-induced ulcers or insomnia.

When you need to update me, write your updates emails like Points and Authorities. Tell me the point up front, then walk me through the details. Otherwise, I have to read to the end of your email to see that you are telling me that Smith's attorney, sent you the invoice we think our client needs to get reimbursed from her insurance company for the mold issues. Then tell me the details -- so I don't have to read all of the details if I understand.
A better way to keep me updated is to send the shareholder a copy of such an email to our client--so you bill once for giving me and the client an update. This avoids double billing the client or not billing for time spent giving me an update after you have updated the client.