Basics for Accepting and Working With a Client: 

(Abridged version. See below for entire policy.) 

1. A Program Circle may invite a client to a one-time legal consultation: A Program Circle may choose to give a client advice on a one-time basis, so long as the Circle clearly communicates to the client, in writing, that no ongoing attorney-client relationship is to be created. 

2. Give all staff notice of conversations with prospective clients or one-time consultations: When you are having a conversation with a prospective client or giving a one-time consultation, post an “INFO” in the #prospective_clients Slack channel. For example - "INFO: The Housing Circle is having a conversation with a prospective client named ____ who is thinking of forming an LEHC in Oakland." This does not apply if the consultation is totally non-legal in content.

3. Each client should be tied to a Program Circle: Any prospective or current client should be tied to a Program Circle, so that we know what circle is bottom-lining that relationship, and so that any staff members working with the client will be accountable to and report to that Circle.

4. Program Circle has the autonomy to accept a client for further representation and decide the terms of the relationship. A Program Circle has the autonomy to accept and structure the relationship with a client, so long as it alerts all staff members and welcomes feedback. A proposal to the GC is not necessary.  

5. A staff attorney should bottom-line all work with clients in legal matters: An attorney in that Circle will bottom-line representation to ensure competent and ethical representation, even if that attorney delegates responsibilities to non-attorneys, fellows, or volunteers.

6. Create new Asana task for each client. The Program Circle should create an Asana task for new clients in the “Clients” project and should post a link to that Asana task in the #prospective_clients Slack channel, inviting staff to give any feedback in the comment area of that Asana task. The Circle should include in that task details about the proposed services and other aspects of the relationship, including the name of the supervising attorney and whether and how it furthers SELC’s tax-exempt purposes.

   • For example more detail about what type details to include see the Information to Record about Each SELC Project Policy

7. Check with the Admin Circle if you believe the client might generate unrelated business income (UBI) for SELC. UBI is income generated from (1) trade or business that is (2) regularly carried on and is (3) not substantially related to the tax-exempt purpose of our organization. Our Legal Compliance Management Role helps to track the totality of SELC's UBI to make sure it doesn't exceed limits for 501c3s.

8. Fill out the Client Selection Questionnaire. Before providing legal representation beyond a one-time consultation, the staff member(s) planning to work with the client will fill this out and share the answers in the Asana task tracking the prospective client. There may be rare situations where it’s not possible to provide answers to these questions before committing to taking on the client. That’s okay. In those cases, please still answer these questions as soon as possible after taking on the client.

9. Request the client receiving ongoing legal representation from the Law Center to become a member a membership based movement organization. A non-exclusive list of membership based movement organization can be found in the Client Selection Questionnaire. 

10. Have all clients fill out the Demographics and Release Form: Each member, partner, or founder of the organization that will be attending the legal consultation should fill SELC’s Client Consultation Demo & Release Form out prior to any legal consultation provided by SELC. This is in order to understand the communities we serve and for reporting purposes to our funders, please ask the client to complete.

FULL CLIENT RELATIONS POLICY

1. Basics for Accepting and Working With a Client: 

1. A Program Circle may invite a client to a one-time legal consultation: A Program Circle may choose to give a client advice on a one-time basis, so long as the Circle clearly communicates to the client, in writing, that no ongoing attorney-client relationship is to be created. 

2. Give all staff notice of conversations with prospective clients or one-time consultations: When you are having a conversation with a prospective client or giving a one-time consultation, post an “INFO” in the #prospective_clients Slack channel. For example - "INFO: The Housing Circle is having a conversation with a prospective client named ____ who is thinking of forming an LEHC in Oakland." This does not apply if the consultation is totally non-legal in content.

3. Each client should be tied to a Program Circle: Any prospective or current client should be tied to a Program Circle, so that we know what circle is bottom-lining that relationship, and so that any staff members working with the client will be accountable to and report to that Circle.

4. Program Circle has the autonomy to accept a client for further representation and decide the terms of the relationship. A Program Circle has the autonomy to accept and structure the relationship with a client, so long as it alerts all staff members and welcomes feedback. A proposal to the GC is not necessary.  

5. A staff attorney should bottom-line all work with clients in legal matters: An attorney in that Circle will bottom-line representation to ensure competent and ethical representation, even if that attorney delegates responsibilities to non-attorneys, fellows, or volunteers.

6. Create new Asana task for each client. The Program Circle should create an Asana task for new clients in the “Clients” project and should post a link to that Asana task in the #prospective_clients Slack channel, inviting staff to give any feedback in the comment area of that Asana task. The Circle should include in that task details about the proposed services and other aspects of the relationship, including the name of the supervising attorney and whether and how it furthers SELC’s tax-exempt purposes.

   1. For example more detail about what type details to include see the Information to Record about Each SELC Project Policy

7. Check with the Admin Circle if you believe the client might generate unrelated business income (UBI) for SELC. UBI is income generated from (1) trade or business that is (2) regularly carried on and is (3) not substantially related to the tax-exempt purpose of our organization. Our Legal Compliance Management Role helps to track the totality of SELC's UBI to make sure it doesn't exceed limits for 501c3s.

8. Fill out the Client Selection Questionnaire. Before providing legal representation beyond a one-time consultation, the staff member(s) planning to work with the client will fill this out and share the answers in the Asana task tracking the prospective client. There may be rare situations where it’s not possible to provide answers to these questions before committing to taking on the client. That’s okay. In those cases, please still answer these questions as soon as possible after taking on the client.

9. Request the client receiving ongoing legal representation from the Law Center to become a member of a membership based movement organization, and notify them that SELC will provide $150 towards the first year of such membership. A non-exclusive list of potential options can be found in the Client Selection Questionnaire. 

   1. What do I mean by "membership based movement organization?"

      1. "Membership Based:" I mean an organization that is a voluntary association that depends on membership contributions to exist and is ultimately accountable to its members. In this case, accountability means an organization that allows its members active and meaningful pathways to participate in the organization's work, direction, and leadership. I do not mean an organization where becoming a "member" means being a donor and put on a mailing list (eg SELC, Sierra Club, ACLU, Green Peace).

      2. "Movement Organization:" I mean formal organizations explicitly connected to and engaged in actions to advance a social, racial, economic, environmental, etc. justice movement's goals and acts as a connection for local individuals/orgs to state, federal, and international (translocal?) movement activities.

10. Have all clients fill out the Demographics and Release Form: Each member, partner, or founder of the organization that will be attending the legal consultation should fill SELC’s Client Consultation Demo & Release Form out prior to any legal consultation provided by SELC. This is in order to understand the communities we serve and for reporting purposes to our funders, please ask the client to complete.

2. Responding to Prospective Clients Inquiries: 

1. Avoiding Overcommitting Our Resources

   1. If someone asks you -- in person or via email -- whether SELC can provide legal representation to them, the default answer should almost always be: "No." You can tell people that SELC only rarely accepts clients for representation outside of the Legal Cafe. However, if you believe that working with such a client might be viable for SELC (based on the factors listed above), you may indicate to the client that you will discuss it with coworkers, and that the client should otherwise assume in the meantime that the answer is no. If you create in any prospective client an expectation that they might become a SELC client, it is your responsibility to follow-up in a timely manner and clearly communicate in writing that SELC will either engage or not engage them.

2. Avoiding Private Benefit in Special Situations With Prospective Clients: 

   1. Responding to requests for private legal services by SELC staff: At a SELC event or via SELC communications medium, if a prospective client asks you to provide legal services in your private capacity, send them to talk to another SELC staff person who can give them a talk about why it’s important to shop around for legal services. That staff person may explain something to this effect: “Some of SELC’s staff members engage in practice of law separate from their work at SELC. We understand that you have asked _______ to provide legal services in a private capacity. SELC is careful to avoid sending clients to our staff members, since that could provide inappropriate private benefit to staff members. For this reason, our protocol is to strongly encourage you to learn about other legal service providers in the area (we have attached a list) and to shop around for the right lawyer. If you ultimately conclude that working with _____ is your best option, that is fine. However, again, we do believe that your interests are best served by learning about and considering multiple service providers.”

   2. When someone asks for information about service providers: You may give or send that person a list of relevant service providers, but must ensure that there is at least a 3:1 ratio of non-staff and staff on that list. 

   3. When you believe that it serves a client’s best interest to suggest they consider working with a SELC staff person in their private capacity:  In recognition that SELC staff have unique expertise that is hard to find elsewhere, there may be rare occasions where it makes sense to suggest that person consider consulting with a staff member in their private capacity. At a SELC event or via SELC communications medium, if someone indicates a need for legal help or asks for help choosing a service provider, and you believe it is in the client’s best interest to suggest that they consider consulting with a SELC staff member (including yourself) in their private practice, you should do the following: 

      1. First, give the talk about the importance of shopping around for legal services (or if you personally have the unique expertise, send the person to another SELC staff to give this talk).  

      2. Then send or give a general service provider list and let the person know that you or someone at SELC will get back to them. 

      3. Consult with the most relevant Program Circle to: a) assess whether it makes sense for SELC to consider representing the client, b) brainstorm other potential service providers, and c) get feedback on whether it’s actually in the client’s best interest to suggest that they consult with a SELC staff member in their private capacity. 

      4. Have someone other than the suggested staff member respond to the inquiry. 

      5. Record the outcome in the Clients Spreadsheet under “Past Prospective Clients.”

   4. Before entering into a private relationship with a client, review the Outside Economic Opportunity Policy.

3. Tracking Clients: 

1. Each staff member and Program Circle must track prospective, current, and past clients. Specific accountabilities include:

   1. Tracking all prospective, current, and past clients in this tab in the Master Client Doc. Indicate for every client or prospective client whether you are still in conversation, whether they've become a client, when you have terminated the relationship, etc.

   2. What to track for prospective clients: Each staff member and Program Circle may have discussions with prospective clients, and must track information about those prospective clients in the Client Spreadsheet, including information about individuals and organizations with relationships and transactions with the client (to help manage conflicts). It is not necessary to track a prospective client if you have only one conversation with that client and decide not to pursue a potential client relationship. For example, if a client asks for further representation after a Legal Cafe and you decline on behalf of SELC, there is no need to enter that person into the spreadsheet.

   3. Use the Asana Client space: In Asana, put all client notes and tasks under the project labeled "Clients." The purpose of this to prevent non-staff Asana users from seeing our notes on clients.

   4. Use deadlines and task assignments: Ensure that you create tasks for any deliverables and intermediate steps necessary to carry out the client representation. Assign all tasks to an individual and give them deadlines. That way, it'll be more obvious to us when we have overdue tasks for clients. This is to prevent us from dropping balls and committing malpractice.

4. Checking for Conflicts: Prior to having a consultation or detailed discussion with a prospective client, the Circle will ask the prospective client who they have transactions with that they might want advice on (such as landlords and employers). Write down those relationships in the General Clients tab in the Master Client List google spreadsheet. Check to see if any of those other parties are former SELC clients by reviewing the Legal Cafe Clients tab and General Clients tabs in the Master Client List Spreadsheet. In addition, review the tab on Private Benefit and Conflict Management to determine whether any SELC staff are involved with the other parties (such as serving on their Boards or working for them). If you detect a potential conflict, consult with the Client Keeper before moving forward with any consultation.

5. Clarifying the Relationship in Writing: SELC must enter into a written engagement agreement with every client for whom we provide more than one-time legal advice. Attach any engagement letter and disengagement letter to the client's primary task in Asana.

6. Maintaining Client Confidentiality:  All staff should assume that the identity of our clients and the details of our work for the clients are confidential unless a client has given us permission to share their identity and other details of our work for them.

Updated 12/15/22: Added item 9, request the client receiving ongoing legal representation from the Law Center to become a member of one of the membership based movement organizations.

Updated 09/26/23: Revised item 9 based on "PROPOSAL: Update Question 10 of Client Selection Questionnaire"