New Client Memorandum

I would like to introduce you to my staff and advise you as to some of my office management practices that relate to our lawyer/client relationship.

JENNY MIRSKY AND KERRY MACDONELL

My legal assistants are Jenny Mirsky and Kerry MacDonell. They both can work on all my files. Generally, Jenny works on the Matrimonial files, and Kerry looks after Wills and the Administration of Estates files. If I am unavailable to take your telephone call, please speak with either one of them. Remember, however, that they are not in a position to give legal advice and you should always email me with your questions rather than them.

TELEPHONE

I generally take calls between 8:30am and 5:00pm if I am not with clients, or do not have on my "Do Not Disturb" because I am focusing on getting some specific work done, as I often do in the early morning, or after 5:00pm.

I try to return my calls the same day, especially if the call is in the morning, if not I will return the call the next day. If you call in the late afternoon I will try to return your call that day however as I might be in court in the afternoons, or have clients late in the day, I cannot always return the call that same day.

If it is a true emergency please call one of my assistants and she will assess whether there is a need for me to get back to you as soon as I am able, even after hours.

You should call me and not my assistants for advice. You can speak with my assistants for making appointments or for a status report on your file, or as stated if you cannot reach me and believe it is an emergency, but please do not ask them for any legal advice. They are not qualified to provide legal advice.

CELL PHONE

As my wife will attest, I do not always have my cell phone on though you can try my cell phone (613-797-3573) in an emergency, but it is not a reliable way to get a hold of me.

VOICE MAIL

We have a client friendly voice mail system that allows you to leave short messages if I or my staff are unavailable or if it is after hours. My extension is 117, Jenny's is 101, and Kerry's is 120. You may leave a short message on my voicemail, however if it is a long message it should be done by email. Our voicemail system does not allow for extremely lengthy messages, and therefore your message will likely be cut off.

EMAIL & INTERNET SITE

Even though I have an Apple iphone, as well as email at home and at the office, I do not check my mail every time a message comes in. So an email sent at 9:00 a.m. is not like a telephone call at 9:00am. It may not be seen for a few hours.

Though you can email me 24 hours a day, do not assume that I will look at it until business hours that day, and if it arrives on a weekend, I may not look at it until Monday, though often I do look at my emails Sunday morning.

Email is the best way to ask small questions, and give me facts rather than long voicemails. I do often answer my emails in the early morning before work.

Do not reply to my assistant's email address, though an email may have been sent by them for me. REPLY TO ME. Also please do not reply to my home email address, which is pascoe5122@rogers.com, though I may have sent you an email from home. Reply to my office email address which is lspascoe@thepascoedifference.com.

Please try not to repeat the long threads of an email when it is unnecessary to do so. Just the last email that I wrote should be in the thread.

My email is checked by my staff when I am on vacation, but only handled in emergency situations. The same is true for voicemail.

STATUS REPORTS

Please feel free to email or phone me and ask me for a status report if you think that something should be happening on your file and it is not. You do not have to wait to hear from me. There is no charge for a simple status report. If you have not heard from me by the time you think you should have please feel free to contact my office.

You must remember that there are a number of factors which affect how long a file will take that are completely out of my control. The court system has built in delays; often I am waiting for the spouse to respond or waiting for the other lawyer to respond. So often it takes some time to complete a file (though not as long as it seems to see a doctor in this province).

What is often not appreciated or understood by clients is that at any one time I may have 100 open files, and 50 – 60 files that I could work on. Therefore I cannot work on every file immediately, or when I want. I have found that a third of my day is devoted to appointments, and a third of my day is to calls and emails that were unplanned, and only a third for planned work. So it takes time to get work done, and therefore it takes time to complete a file when the other built in delays in other parties are taken into account, including my own client's delays in getting me information. I attempt to get things done as soon as possible. I have implemented policies being good precedents and doing dictations on the spot so to move a file along, but the reality is that some files simply take a lot of time to complete.

If you have any questions or comments concerning my communication policy, I would be pleased to hear from you.

ELECTRONIC STORAGE OF FILES

It has been my practice to retain all my files rather than discard them after a certain number of years. However, after many years of practicing law, I now realize it is impractical to keep storing my files in storage however, I am now scanning everything so I will be able to store your present file electronically on my computer for as long as I am practicing law. Therefore in the future I can provide you with material you may require but have lost. At your last consultation we will review your file to ensure you take back any original documentation I might still have. I will also provide you copies of all pertinent documents and provide you with electronic versions of important signed documents.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Included in my packets and in this manual is my resume that sets out in more detail my areas of practice and information about myself.

CLIENT COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

I have always not only been open to suggestions from my clients to improve my services, but have actively sought their opinions. That is why I have had my survey contest since 1993. The winner that year was a client who suggested I learn about this new technology I had not heard about yet. He told me about "the internet". I now particularly would like client feed back as to how to improve my follow-up services. I annually award Ottawa Senator Hockey Tickets for the best suggestion.

REFERRALS ARE APPRECIATED

Your referrals of family and friends (or even people you do not like) are also requested. Word of mouth advertising is an important element of my practice and any lawyer's practice. If you are happy with my services please tell the world (and if you are not please, tell me).

CLIENT INFORMATION FORM

To continue our relationship, I will retain your detailed data so I can better serve you on a going forward basis. On my website, on my general forms page, I have a Client Information Form, which I would ask that you use when information changes.