The Oklahoma Bar Journal January 2023

L aw P ractice T ips

Text Message Reminders: An Important Tech Tool for Lawyers

By Jim Calloway

I RECENTLY ATTENDED A presentation by Judge Scott Schlegel, a Louisiana district judge who has received many accolades for his forward-thinking views about the use of technology to improve court proceedings, includ ing text message reminders about appearances and calendars available online for scheduling. 1 He asked those attending the program if they had missed a dentist appointment in the last year. He said, “I know you haven’t because one thing about dentists is they are relentless about sending text message reminders about appointments.” His practice of text message reminders to those with scheduled court appearances in his court has not only reduced the num ber of failures to appear in his court, but many self-represented parties have thanked him pro fusely, admitting they forgot to write down the date or had it on the wrong day. Considering the possible ramifications of a failure to appear, such as being arrested or losing a court case by default, it seems this judge’s experiment is a success. So why is this not the standard practice in law firms the way it is in dentist offices?

particularly when it is a new patient, the same is true for law yers. In private practice, we always tried to call those who missed and reschedule. But some never did, whether it was from the embarrass ment of missing an appointment or hiring another lawyer in the interim, we never knew. MANUAL TEXT MESSAGE REMINDER TOOLS Years ago, a lawyer told me about her method of texting to and

Text message reminders are not always necessary. If you repre sent a corporation, it is perhaps not as important to provide a text reminder to the assistant general counsel you are working with for either a court appearance or an in-office appointment. They will enter the date in Outlook and get a reminder from that. But if you practice “people law,” this practice is likely good for your law business and your clients. Like no-shows are a financial hit for dentists,

56 | JANUARY 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL