Avoiding Communications Claims in Family Law

• Author: Dan Pinnington
• Date: January 05, 2015

No matter what the area of practice, the number one source of claims at LAWPRO is a breakdown in communication between the lawyer and client.

Between 2008 and 2013, nearly 4,600 communications claims – an average of 762 a year – have been reported to LAWPRO. The total cost of these claims to date is about $158 million – and likely to rise as more recent years’ claims are resolved.

In the Fall 2011 issue of LAWPRO Magazine we asked LAWPRO claims counsel with expertise in the various areas of law to provide insights into the communications mistakes they see in their daily handling of claims files. We hope this approach makes it easier for you to implement risk management steps in your own practice.

Yvonne Bernstein, litigation director and counsel (PPL) with extensive experience in family law claims, talks about the potential for misunderstandings and communication breakdowns in family law.

Email communication must be very clear

The increased use of emails to replace face-to-face meetings has significant implications in family law where emotions (and tensions) often are high; clients can be difficult, emotional and prone to misunderstanding (and for these reasons some lawyers find the lack of face-to-face contact a good thing).

While email is a faster form of communication, the in-person conversation provides visual cues and the discussion is more interactive. The lawyer can judge reactions, and make sure everyone understands. Email promotes a more stilted, incomplete communication, says Bernstein.

In a recent claim a client was informed by email about what was being negotiated, and agreed to the settlement; but the client had not been given enough information on a certain part of the settlement. He later sued the lawyer on the grounds that if he’d known how valuable this concession was, he never would have agreed. “The client could have asked,” says Bernstein, “but the on the other hand the...