Why It"s Important to Incorporate a Client Questionnaire in Your Criminal Practice
Lately I have been incorporating a client questionnaire into my criminal practice after my law firm has been retained for representation on a criminal matter.
I have found this to be not only an excellent idea that I should have been doing earlier, but it also helps me to learn about my clients personal background more quickly than I would otherwise.
So what is a client questionnaire? Basically it is kind of like the form you fill out when you go to the Doctors office.
Except it doesn't have all the mumbo jumbo medical terms.
Essentially it is one page.
Includes the clients contact information.
Background information including birth place, college attended, current employment, any known medical issues, etc.
Then I include a few questions about the incident.
Who they were with? Where they were? Place of arrest, etc? Why is a client questionnaire a good idea? Well for one I have a one page document that I can reference anytime I'm working my client.
Instead of continuously asking them about their background, I have that information at my disposal.
Instead of asking them who they were with, I have that information and can contact those people when I like.
Additionally I have found it to be helpful when I'm presenting information or my clients background when I'm in court.
Typically this occurs at the arraignment when a Judge is making the determination of whether the client is a flight risk, whether they have ties to the community.
Or if I'm just trying to show the client is a good person, they are gainfully employed, have a family, grew up in the area, etc.
It is kind of annoying and a little embarrassing to ask a client to explain all of those things to a Judge.
This why if a Judge asks how long they have been at their current job, the attorney can answer that.
Also this is not so much of a problem for me since I'm a solo practitioner.
But I guess if you worked at a large firm with hundreds of individual clients.
Not businesses or corporations but actual people something like this will help you remember their background and information over the course of the representation.
I imagine at those bigger firms that have hundreds of clients there might be an occasion where the attorney confuses the client with another.
This would eliminate that problem, and the embarrassment that would come with it.
I have found this to be not only an excellent idea that I should have been doing earlier, but it also helps me to learn about my clients personal background more quickly than I would otherwise.
So what is a client questionnaire? Basically it is kind of like the form you fill out when you go to the Doctors office.
Except it doesn't have all the mumbo jumbo medical terms.
Essentially it is one page.
Includes the clients contact information.
Background information including birth place, college attended, current employment, any known medical issues, etc.
Then I include a few questions about the incident.
Who they were with? Where they were? Place of arrest, etc? Why is a client questionnaire a good idea? Well for one I have a one page document that I can reference anytime I'm working my client.
Instead of continuously asking them about their background, I have that information at my disposal.
Instead of asking them who they were with, I have that information and can contact those people when I like.
Additionally I have found it to be helpful when I'm presenting information or my clients background when I'm in court.
Typically this occurs at the arraignment when a Judge is making the determination of whether the client is a flight risk, whether they have ties to the community.
Or if I'm just trying to show the client is a good person, they are gainfully employed, have a family, grew up in the area, etc.
It is kind of annoying and a little embarrassing to ask a client to explain all of those things to a Judge.
This why if a Judge asks how long they have been at their current job, the attorney can answer that.
Also this is not so much of a problem for me since I'm a solo practitioner.
But I guess if you worked at a large firm with hundreds of individual clients.
Not businesses or corporations but actual people something like this will help you remember their background and information over the course of the representation.
I imagine at those bigger firms that have hundreds of clients there might be an occasion where the attorney confuses the client with another.
This would eliminate that problem, and the embarrassment that would come with it.