The Closing Letter
Adriana de la Torriente
Torriente Marum, LLC
www.torrientemarum.com
Sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark. A few months ago, I discussed sending clients a welcome letter at the start of representation to introduce them to your firm and set expectations. Think of the welcome letter as the capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and the closing letter as the punctuation mark. When you reach the punctuation mark, you know the author has completed their thought. Similarly, when a client receives your closing letter they understand that your representation is complete. Although the structure and content will vary from practice area to practice area and from client to client, you should consider covering the following in your closing letters:
Thank you for choosing our firm to represent you in this matter. Take the opportunity in the closing letter to thank the client for choosing your firm for representation. For example, “Thank you for choosing ABC Firm, LLC, to represent you in your automobile injury case.”
Our representation is complete upon entry of a final order. Your closing letter should make it clear that your representation is complete. One attorney I spoke to regarding closing letters stated that he always returns to the Representation Agreement when writing a closing letter. He explains in the letter: you hired our firm to do this, we did that, therefore our representation is complete. For example, “You hired us to represent you in a modification of child support. We had a final hearing on that matter on Tuesday, May 1, and your child support was modified to $X.”
Please find the enclosed final order in your matter. If you were engaged to represent the client in litigation, send the client a copy of the final order. In the letter, note any important elements in the order, particularly deadlines that will occur in the next 30 days. For example, in a child custody case, the non-custodial parent may have to elect visitation by April 15. If you are sending your closing letter on April 1, you may want to remind them of their election deadline. Likewise, if you were retained to draft a contract, you would send the client a copy of the contract and instruct them on the final procedures for executing the contract.
Should you need a professional to assist you with ____, please contact us. We can provide a referral. As attorneys, we interact with a wide variety of people in different professions. Use your network to provide a service to your client by referring them to people you trust. If your client just won a big settlement or is receiving alimony from a divorce, you may refer them to a competent financial planner. If your client just got divorced, you may want to recommend an attorney who can advise them on changing their will or a realtor who can help them sell their house.
We have documents in our file that you may want returned to you. Please call our office to make arrangements to pick them up. If your representation required you to send and receive discovery on behalf of your client, you may have boxes of documents taking up valuable space in your office. Remind the client to come by to pick up their documents and that you will destroy anything not picked up within a certain amount of time.
It was a pleasure working with you. If we can ever be of assistance again please do not hesitate to call. Thank the client while reminding them of your practice areas. In researching this article, a criminal defense attorney said that he sent a thank you letter to a client of his whom he represented in a criminal matter. In the letter, he included that he also practiced personal injury law and represented clients in automobile injury cases. The client immediately referred his mother who had recently suffered an injury. Also, you may want to include a business card. Happy clients are the best referral sources.