by Michael R. Freed
One of the most valuable, yet quietest, committees of the Jacksonville Bar Association is the Client Dispute Resolution Committee. Its mission: to informally respond to clients’ complaints about their attorneys before the complaints reach the level of a formal complaint to The Florida Bar or, perhaps worse still, a malpractice claim.
Chaired by Richard Marguiles for the past three years, the CDRC consists of about 25 lawyers from different practice areas who take telephone calls from clients concerned or disgruntled by their attorneys’ handling of their legal matters. The calls are initially fielded by the JBA office and then referred to committee members on a rotating basis.
Unlike The Florida Bar, the CDRC has no “police power.” It cannot require attorneys to respond to the client or take other action. CDRC members simply attempt to facilitate communication between the concerned client on the one hand and his or her lawyer on the other.
Marguiles, who has served on the committee for 10 years, says that the committee members “do not take sides” but simply “listen to the clients’ frustrations and attempt to open the lines of communication between client and lawyer.”
The committee member tells a complaining client to call back if she has not received a call from her attorney within a week. The committee member then calls the attorney regarding the client’s concerns and to encourage the attorney to call the client. “Ninety-nine percent of the time the attorney calls the client promptly and is able to resolve the concerns,” Marguiles says.
In the rare instances where this doesn’t happen, the committee member may provide the disgruntled client with the number for the Florida Bar’s hotline so that the client can lodge a formal complaint against the attorney, if appropriate.
Often the CDRC member must address a client’s misperception of the legal system. For example, on several occasions, a client has called to express concern that, because her lawyer shared a laugh or small talk with opposing counsel, her lawyer was not acting in her best interest. In those instances, CDRC members assure clients that such collegial conduct should not cast doubt on a lawyer’s loyalty to his or her client.
Rather than being offended, most lawyers contacted by CDRC members are appreciative of the “heads-up” from a local peer rather than the more onerous notice of a complaint from The Florida Bar.
Marguiles’ advice, having served on the Committee for a decade: “Keep open the lines of communication with your client. But recognize that some clients will never be satisfied.”
Lawyers interested in participating on the Committee should contact the JBA’s Kelley Padgitt at 399-4486 or Richard Marguiles at 798-3700.