I was reading an article over at Law Practice Management concerning confidentiality of client information in the reception area and it reminded me of one place where many lawyers lose their confidentiality hat – the desk.
You see, back in the old days I used to have the messiest desk in the entire nation. OK, perhaps a bit of hyperbole but still – it was a crazy desk. People couldn’t find anything, and I liked it that was because it made me feel as if my own system of organization was somehow superior. After all, I could find anything in 5 second flat so it didn’t matter if my paralegal got lost among the ruins of coffee cups and stray memo pads.
One day a new client came into the office to sign a retainer agreement. Nice guy he was, and we chatted amiably for about ten minutes. I produced the retainer agreement and he shook his head. “Sorry,” he said, “I think I’m going to go with another lawyer.” With that, he rose and made as if to leave.
Whoa! I thought to myself, going into crisis mode. The conversation was good, the rapport was built, and the solution was clear and simple. Why was it that I was not closing this deal?
So I asked him. “What happened?”
He sat back down slowly, weighing whether to give it to me straight. Then, exhaling carefully, he said, “It’s your desk. I can see all of the other client files you’ve got, including their names and personal information. If I can see their information, someone can see mine. I know you’re probably the right lawyer to handle the job for me, but I’m just not comfortable with the notion of someone else seeing my private stuff.”
I was floored. On the one hand it made total sense and one the other I’d been blindsided. There was no way I could salvage the relationship, so I thanked the prospect very much and told him how much I appreciated his candor. And I did.
That night I stayed in the office until 11pm cleaning my desk. And from that day forward, whenever a client came into the office the desk was either completely empty or contained he file of the client with whom I was meeting – face down, of course.
