A few years back, I was unable to make it
to a school parents evening, so I phoned to arrange an appointment to discuss
my son’s progress with one of his teachers. I asked to speak to the head
teacher but she was too important to speak to me. Instead I was given an
appointment with one of the members of the management team. Throughout the
meeting I became more and more irritated by the patronising tone which was
directed at me. The deputy told me that I was asking for flexibility from the
school that lawyers and accountants wouldn’t give to their clients. Now this
was the last straw. Needless to say,
the conversation got slightly heated after this. I had to tell him, “Actually,
I am a lawyer, and after I leave here (at 8 pm) I will be meeting with a client who
cannot meet me during normal working hours - because she is a teacher!” That
silenced him.
I was annoyed by the mere suggestion
that the head teacher couldn’t see me because it was out of normal working
hours and that a lawyer would be exactly the same. It is simply not true. The
days are long gone when lawyers worked from nine till five, five days a week,
with six weeks holiday and Friday afternoons on the golf course. Through the giving of mobile numbers and
e-mail addresses, lawyers have made themselves much more accessible to their
clients at all hours and in all places.
For our clients, if not our families, so much the better!
But with increased accessibility comes
increased liability it seems. David
Hodson reports at this link on a decidedly troubling development.
This will writing lawyer opened electronic
communications from his client over a weekend but because it was a weekend, he
did nothing with them. Basically, he completely ignored the client’s son when he knew that his
client was nearing the end of his life. That element of urgency makes the key
difference. I don’t read this case as
declaring open season on a lawyer’s weekends and I don’t see it as warranting
interruptions to family life without exceptional cause. However, a lawyer who wants to treat his or
her time out of the office as being sacrosanct will have to learn to ignore the
insistent, siren calls of the computer and blackberry!
Blog Disclaimer: Nothing in www.austinkempfamilylaw.blogspot.com blog should be construed as legal advice. If you require legal advice upon any family law related matter then you should instruct a solicitor. Any links to other blogs or web sites are provided for convenience only and Austin Kemp Solicitors cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of such linked blogs/sites.
