client-update-letter

name	Client update letter
description	Tell a client where the matter is, what it costs and what happens next.
category	content

Writing a client update

Most complaints about lawyers are about communication, not outcomes. This is the cheapest thing a firm can do well.

Four sections, in this order

Where we are — what has happened since the last update, in plain language. What it means — the consequence for them, not the procedural step. What happens next — with a date, and who does it. Costs — incurred to date against estimate, and any change to the estimate, with the reason.

Costs are never omitted

Even when nothing has changed, say so. A silent period followed by a bill is the single largest source of fee disputes.

Plain language

Replace procedural terminology with what it means for them, keeping the term in brackets once. "The other side has to file their defence by 14 March (acknowledgement of service)".

Bad news

First paragraph, plainly, with what is being done about it. Bad news buried on page two reads as concealment when it is found.

Never

Predict an outcome as a probability, promise a timescale controlled by a court or another party, or leave a question from the client's last message unanswered.