The Oklahoma Bar Journal January 2023

client information sheet, schedule a doctor’s appointment or make the retainer payment. The service recognizes a phone set to a language other than English and translates the messages to that language. It also has mass messaging capabilities, so you can easily wish all your clients a happy holiday or let them know the office will be temporarily closed for bad weather. There is no payment app included, but you can easily use the service to send a cli ent a payment link via messaging. Another interesting feature is having clients give the firm a rating at various stages in the rep resentation. If the client is giving a higher rating, like a Net Promoter Score of 9 or 10, they are encour aged to write a Google review. Conversely, if you are receiving an NPS of 5, the app prompts the law firm to contact the client to see what can be done. But this is not cheap. While a price quote from the company depends on several factors, a subscription for unlim ited users in a small law firm could cost $350-$400 a month. BEST PRACTICES In my opinion, the best practice today with text reminders is to be a bit relentless: 1) Send a reminder message a few minutes to an hour after the appointment is scheduled to help a client or potential client get it on their calendar, 2) Then send another reminder 48 hours before the appoint ment (or hearing) and 3) A final reminder on the morning of the consultation. As you can see, there are several methods of text message interaction with your clients available with today’s tools. Whatever tool you

funding to over $11 million.” 7 We met with some of Case Status’s employees to review its features over Zoom, and it has some impressive features. While Case Status is referred to as a mobile client portal, I’ve always looked at portals as some thing that could provide the client access to digital copies of the doc uments in their file that they could log in to view at any time. I would describe Case Status as a powerful client communication hub. I also suspect many of their subscribers also subscribe to a practice man agement system. But that is not intended to diminish what Case Status does. While I won’t quote too much from their marketing material, one customer recently participated in a Case Status webinar where the law firm reported a 30% reduction in phone calls from current clients, a 90% reduction in emails from cur rent clients and a triple-digit per centage increase in Google reviews. Those results would draw a lot of attention in most law firms. The law firm communicates with its clients through a mobile app that is branded for the law firm. The client installs the “Johnson and Smith, Lawyers” app on their mobile device. If your firm has wanted to have a law firm app, here it is. All Case Status communications are sent to the client’s mobile phone, but the features go beyond simple texting. There is a client dashboard full of client information, including a progress bar showing how the sta tus of their matter is proceeding. One very interesting aspect of this is the ability to place a client mat ter “on hold.” When the client logs in to the app, the display is colored red and shows the message, “Your matter is on hold.” It also indicates what the client needs to do to take the matter off hold, e.g. , complete a

employ, I believe you will see a financial benefit from confirming your clients’ appointments, particu larly when it is a new client deciding whether to retain the firm. Cutting down on “no-show” appointments or failure to appear in court situa tions is in everyone’s best interest, clients and lawyers alike. Mr. Calloway is OBA Management Assistance Program director. Need a quick answer to a tech problem or help solving a management dilemma? Contact him at 405-416-7008, 800-522-8060 or jimc@okbar.org. It’s a free member benefit. 1. www.onlinejudge.us/bio. 2. “Generational Changes in Communication Styles,” OBJ , January 2020, https://bit.ly/3Fe41dS. 3. www.apptoto.com/pricing-gecko. 4. https://bit.ly/3FJOow1. 5. www.smokeball.com/communicate. 6. Some of the rates noted above require an annual prepayment. 7. https://bit.ly/3hlHmV4. ENDNOTES

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL