Meeting clients in person is a great way to connect and better understand their needs, which will help you to provide the best representation possible. While exchanging phone calls and emails is efficient, actually getting to know someone face to face can help deepen your professional relationship. It will also help your client feel more comfortable and confident in your representation. Therefore, if your client ever needs an attorney again in the future, or has a friend or family member looking for help, you will likely be the first choice.

Here are a few tips to ensure a smooth and effective client meeting:

1. Plan the meeting well in advance and make sure that it is convenient for the client. It is always good to volunteer to travel to the client, and if he or she is disabled you should also offer to meet in his or her home. Once the meeting date, time and location have been established, follow up a few days before to confirm. You want to make sure you are both on the same page so that neither of you miss the meeting!

2. If you are bringing a case manager or another attorney, be sure to let the client know ahead of time so he or she knows what to expect. You can also offer to have a family member or close friend of the client join. While the goal is to form or further solidify a current business relationship, you also want to establish a good rapport with the client. Therefore, it is especially important to make sure that your client feels as comfortable as possible. Additionally, if your meeting is at a coffee shop or restaurant, make it clear that you will take care of the bill.

3. Have an agenda for the meeting. Make sure you know what you want to discuss going into the meeting, but also keep it casual enough so that the client can speak freely and enjoys your time together. Allow the conversation to flow normally, but have an idea of how to bring it back to business when the time is right. Go to the meeting prepared with a list of important questions to ask the client. It’s helpful when the questions are conversational rather than "Yes" or 'No" questions or ones that they could easily fill out on a form.

4. After your meeting, follow up with a thank you note or email to let the client know how much you appreciated their time. Provide him or her with a brief summary of your discussion and let him or her know of any next steps for the case. Also, if you promised the client any information that you did not have on hand at the time, be sure to get this to him or her promptly.

Having an in person meeting is a great opportunity to get to know your client better than via phone or email and can help to establish a long-term relationship. Additionally, with referrals being a key part of a successful law firm, having a good rapport with your clients can help increase the chances that they will recommend you to a family member or friend. However, if you are still looking for more clients and are interested in trying our legal case leads, give us a call today at 617.800.0089.