SCR 20:1.4 addresses the lawyer’s duty to communicate with the client.
11 The current pandemic or any other disaster or emergency makes regular contact with clients more important than ever. The client needs to know how to contact the lawyer just as the lawyer must know how to contact the clients.
For example, if telephone calls and emails are routed through the firm’s communication system, the lawyers must regularly access office voicemail, email and any other methods of client communication regularly used in the office to ensure no communications are missed. If firm lawyers work remotely, they must have a system in place to regularly handle mail – both timely sending and obtaining that which is delivered to the firm office.