Published By Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
We readily admit that legal services can be a fleet of paper sailing on an ocean of ink. There are so many written documents that it almost appears that every issue has its library. It is all important, but there is something more critical to high-quality legal services. That is communication.
It Moves Things Along
Group legal plans will promote their services and the Internet connections. It is great to have websites and important to have FAQ pages, but there is more to good pre-paid legal services. Many people are intimidated by the law. What makes sense to an attorney on a website can baffle an average employee. There must be more to communication than templates.
The best way to explain the significance of communication is that there are two primary sources:
- Written communication
- Oral communication
Written communication is more than just drafting the documents. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services knows this, and we add a little extra. Our nationwide network of attorneys is allowed to write letters on legal stationery for the sake of our group legal plan members. This is beyond writing simple wills because the attorney must do more than fill in the blanks.
Oral communication means speaking up on behalf of a plan member. The words are not spoken in a law court but on the telephone to another party. One of our pre-paid legal services allows our attorneys to make telephone calls on behalf of a group legal plan member. It means doing more than just following a script.
Perhaps the most effective form of communication, primarily oral, takes place in a meeting between a Countrywide lawyer and a plan member. We encourage these because it helps develop a rapport between the individual and the attorney.
It is in these meetings that the quality of oral communication is critical. The attorney must listen, understand the issue the group legal plan member is facing, and then explain a solution. That verbal explanation must include a tone of empathy and understanding. Emotional intelligence must come through in any oral communication. The same is true with any correspondence with the plan member. Countrywide expects that from every lawyer that works with us. We value Their legal expertise, and we treasure their empathy.
Working with the Client
It is essential to have open lines of communication with a client and work with that organization. This relationship is at the plan development stage. Each prospective client has its workforce. We ask the decision-makers to help us draft the plan document. Countrywide will explain each pre-paid legal services benefit option to the management and outline the benefits. We will answer every question. The client then will choose those options which will be part of the plan document. The final plan document will include all those selections, and Countrywide provides the administration and the member services.
There are some other communication services we have as part of our benefit. Reminders are sent out to those people for whom we have written simple wills. These suggest that the individual review their will to see if any changes need to be made, and we will make those revisions. We know that people have questions after meetings with the attorney.
Consequently, we permit a plan member to make as many telephone calls as necessary to the Countrywide attorney on a given issue. This is also an opportunity for the attorney to strengthen rapport and trust.
Open, honest, and expert communication is at the heart of the Countrywide group legal plan benefit. If you would like to know more about what we can do for your employees, please contact us at your convenience. We will gladly answer any questions that you have, and we hope that we can start a dialogue with you that leads to our mutual benefit.