Client service

Where do I go, what do I bring, how long will it take

A client with a hearing next week asks about the building, the time, the parking, what to wear, whether their partner can come in, and how long they will be there. None of that is legal advice and none of it is confidential, yet it reaches the firm as a phone call to a solicitor who is in another hearing. This is the rare category where almost everything the client wants is general, publishable and currently unwritten.

Logistics are not advice, and the distinction is clean here

"Which entrance do I use at the county court" has one answer for everyone. "Will the judge accept my evidence" has one answer per matter and belongs to a lawyer. Unlike most enquiries a firm receives, the line between them is obvious rather than delicate, which makes this the safest place to start if you are nervous about what an assistant should be allowed to say.

What to bring is the question that causes the wasted journey

Photo identification, the bundle, a list of dates, something to write with, and for some hearings proof of means. Clients turn up without one of those and the morning is lost, and the item they forget is almost always the one the firm mentions verbally rather than in writing. Write the list once, including the verbal items, and the wasted journeys mostly stop.

Say the uncomfortable parts out loud

Hearings start late. Listed times are not start times. A client may wait three hours and be heard for eleven minutes. Telling someone that in advance is kinder than letting them discover it while wondering whether they have been forgotten, and a client who was warned complains far less than a client who was managed.

Who may attend is worth checking before the day

Whether a partner, a parent or a friend can sit in depends on the hearing and sometimes on the judge. The assistant should say what is usual, say plainly that it varies, and route the specific case to the firm. What it must not do is reassure: a client who brought a relative on the strength of a chat message and was turned away at the door will remember who told them.

Frequently asked questions

Can an AI assistant answer questions about a court hearing?
It can answer the logistics: location, timing, what to bring, what to expect, who may usually attend. It cannot answer anything about the merits, the evidence or the likely outcome, and the boundary between those two is unusually clear in this category.
What should a firm publish about hearings?
The practical list for each court it attends regularly: how to get in, what identification is needed, what to bring, how long a morning typically takes, and what the listed time actually means. Most firms have this knowledge and almost none have written it down.
Can it confirm the date of a client's hearing?
No. That is a fact about one person's matter, and a chat window cannot establish who is asking. It can explain how to confirm a date with the firm, which is what the client needs in order to get a reliable answer.
Does this reduce calls to fee earners?
It removes the logistical calls, which are the ones most likely to interrupt someone who is in court or preparing to be. It does not reduce the substantive calls, and it should not: those are the ones the client is paying for.
Which languages can a client ask in?
English, Hebrew and Russian, detected from the message. A client attending court in a second language has enough to manage without the directions being in a third.

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