?Describe guidelines for summarizing a client interview.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The interviewing process does not end with the close of the interview. A final and crucial step in the process involves summarizing the results of the interview for the legal team working on the case. As a paralegal, you are likely to create an intake memorandum following ineach initial client interview.If the firm has a prepared intake form for particular types of cases, the completed form might constitute the interview summary. Information obtained during any subsequent interviews with a client should be analyzed and summarized in a memo for your supervising attorney or other team members to review and for later inclusion in the client's file.Your interview summary should be created immediately after the interview, while the session is still fresh in your mind. When summarizing the results of a client interview, carefully review your notes and, if the session was recorded, review the file. Never rely totally on your memory of the statements made during the interview. It is easy to forget the client's specific words, and it may be important later to know exactly how the client phrased a certain comment or response. Relying on memory is also risky because, as mentioned earlier, sometimes a statement that seemed irrelevant at the time of the interview may turn out to be very important to the case. Make sure that the facts are accurately recorded and are as reliable as possible. Also note your impressions of the client and the client's nonverbal behaviors.Depending on the nature of the legal claim being made by the client, you may want to include a visual element or two in your summary. For example, if the claim concerns an automobile accident, you might consider creating a graphic depiction of the accident to attach to the summary.