CLIENT SERVICE POLICY
The characteristic that most clearly differentiates Burke Costanza & Cuppy from its competitors is our commitment to delivering exceptional service to our clients. That commitment is so deeply ingrained in our Firm culture that we make it here, in writing. No other law firm in northern Indiana does so. Our goal is to raise the clients’ expectations about lawyer responsiveness, and then exceed them.
Responsiveness in the litigation process has two basic components: responding to client inquiries and keeping the client abreast of the status of his or her matter.
Responding to client inquiries
Clients make inquiries in a variety of ways. They make phone calls to their lawyer. They send e-mail or written requests for information via mail or fax. They sometimes even make personal contact by visiting the office, attending an event related to the matter such as a deposition, or by making contact at an unrelated event, such as a social function. Regardless of the means by which contact is made, any inquiry by the client must be met the same way: by a speedy response designed to bring home to the client the message that his or her lawyer is providing the degree of attention that the client feels he or she deserves. To that end, it is our policy that every client inquiry will receive a response by the close of the business day following the inquiry. Some questions are complex or require research to answer. Sometimes your lawyer will be out of the office serving other clients’ needs. As a result, it is not always possible that a complete answer to the client’s inquiry will be available on this timetable. However, some response, indicating that the client’s inquiry has been received, and is being addressed, will be provided within this time frame. Clients have a right to expect that, and we are committed to delivering it.
Keeping the Client Advised
Our goal, in terms of client service, is to give the client service that is well above what the client has come to expect from law firms in general. It is not uncommon for the client to feel uncomfortable because the client is uninformed about recent developments in his or her matter. We commit to keeping our clients completely up to date on the status of their matters. We send the client copies of correspondence or pleadings as they are generated, as well as the more traditional status letters or reports, and keep the client advised in this fashion. This includes copying the client on reports to the insurer in cases where we have been retained by an insurance company to represent the client’s interests, using blind copies to the client of letters sent to opposing counsel in the case, providing copies of pleadings, discovery responses, etc., when they are served, and similar inclusion of the client on correspondence relating to the matter. We also routinely use blind copies to include the client on e-mail correspondence on the case. In this way, clients are kept abreast of all matters relating to their cases. And of course, if the information provided raises a question in the client’s mind, our responsiveness policy insures that the question is addressed speedily.
At Burke Costanza & Cuppy we differentiate ourselves from other law firms by our exceptional level of service. Litigation can be a difficult experience for clients. We strive to make that experience less disconcerting by keeping the client “in the loop” at all times.
For more information on our exceptional client service policy in litigation matters, please contact
Robert F. Parker in our Merrillville office.
| 
