Brandon Burke A text shows up on a client’s lock screen the moment it arrives. An email can sit unread in a crowded inbox for days. Your staff know this, so texts from personal phones tend to creep in whether or not the firm has a policy. Texting clients as a lawyer is fast, and it works. The risk is in what gets sent, where it’s sent from, and whether any of it reaches the case file.
So the real question isn’t whether your firm should text clients. It’s which messages belong in a text, which belong in email, and which belong in a secure client portal.
Here’s what the ethics rules ask, a channel-by-channel guide, and a short texting policy your firm can adopt.
What the ethics rules actually ask
No ABA Model Rule bans texting. The rules ask for two things that pull in slightly different directions: keep the client informed, and keep their information protected.
ABA Model Rule 1.4 requires a lawyer to keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter. It also requires prompt replies to reasonable requests for information. A quick text can help with both.
ABA Model Rule 1.6(c) requires reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of client information, or unauthorized access to it. “Reasonable” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
The ABA explained what it means for electronic communication in Formal Opinion 477R, issued in May 2017. The opinion doesn’t require encryption for every message. It calls for a fact-based judgment. The more sensitive the information, the more care the channel needs. The opinion also suggests talking with clients about how you’ll communicate and what level of security fits their situation.
For texting, that judgment gets concrete fast. Standard text messages aren’t encrypted end to end. They show up on lock screens. They sit on phones that spouses, kids, or employers may pick up. A reminder about Tuesday’s appointment carries little risk. A message about a diagnosis or a settlement figure carries a lot more.
Rules vary by state, and some state bars have issued their own opinions on electronic communication. Check your state’s version of these rules. None of this is legal advice.
What to send by text, email, or client portal
The simplest working model: use the text to prompt the client, and keep the substance somewhere secure that stays on the record.
| What you’re sending | Where it belongs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment or deadline reminder | Text | Short, time-sensitive, low sensitivity if kept general |
| “There’s a new update on your case” | Text or email | Points the client to the detail without carrying it |
| Scheduling back-and-forth | Text | Fast, and nothing sensitive changes hands |
| Request for a document or form | Text nudge, form in the portal | The request is harmless, but the returned document isn’t |
| Case status detail | Client portal | Stays behind a login and on the record |
| Medical records, bills, or photos | Client portal or secure file sharing | Highly sensitive, and should never sit in a message thread |
| Settlement offer or figures | Phone call, then in writing through the portal | Needs a conversation, then a secure written record |
| Bad news, like a denial or a lost motion | Phone call first | A text feels cold and invites panic |
| Signed agreements and final documents | Client portal | A clean, retrievable copy for both sides |
Email sits in the middle. It works for longer explanations and routine correspondence. It can also be forwarded, misaddressed, or read on a shared family account. Our guide to email for lawyers covers where it fits and where a portal does better. If your firm relies on email, a clear email confidentiality clause is worth having too.
For documents specifically, see our guide to secure file sharing with clients.
The text is the nudge. The detail lives somewhere secure and on the record.
That single rule answers most “can I text this?” questions. If the message only tells the client to look somewhere, it can go by text. If it carries the substance of the case, it belongs somewhere safer.
The problem with texting from personal phones
A lot of the texting risk at a law firm comes down to the phone, not the channel.
When a case manager texts a client from a personal phone, several things go wrong at once:
- Nothing reaches the case file. The client’s question, the answer, and any promise about timing live on one person’s device.
- Turnover takes the conversation with it. When that staff member leaves, the client is still texting a number nobody at the firm answers.
- Nobody else can see it. A supervising attorney can’t review what was said, and coverage during vacations falls apart.
- The device isn’t the firm’s. If the phone is lost, shared, or synced to a personal cloud account, client information goes with it.
There’s also a Rule 1.4 angle. If a client later says nobody kept them informed, the firm’s proof is scattered across personal phones. It may not be recoverable at all.
None of this means staff are doing something wrong by wanting to text. Clients respond to texts. The fix is to give that instinct a firm-owned home.
Ask for channel preference and consent at intake
The easiest time to settle how you’ll communicate is at the start of the case. A few questions at intake prevent most problems later:
- How do you want to get updates: text, email, or both?
- Is this phone number yours alone, or shared with anyone?
- Is it okay if a text preview shows on your lock screen?
- Is there anyone we should never discuss the case with?
Record the answers in your case management system, not in someone’s notes. That way every staff member who touches the file sees the same preference.
One caution: keep case texts separate from marketing texts. Review requests, newsletters, and promotional messages can carry their own consent rules under federal and state law. Check those rules with counsel before your firm sends anything promotional by text. A client who agreed to case updates hasn’t necessarily agreed to marketing.
For the broader picture of setting expectations early, see our guide to client communication best practices.
A simple texting policy for your firm
The ABA’s Formal Opinion 477R also says firms should set policies and train staff on secure electronic communication with clients. A written policy doesn’t need to be long. It needs to be clear enough that a new hire can follow it on day one. Here’s a starting point to adapt:
- Text from a firm number, never a personal one. Every client conversation should run through a number the firm controls.
- Keep sensitive details out of texts. No medical details, settlement figures, Social Security numbers, or case strategy. When in doubt, send “please log in to see an update” instead.
- Get it into the case file. Any text that changes the case, such as a new appointment or a client’s decision, gets logged in the CMS.
- Set after-hours expectations. Tell clients when they can expect replies. Don’t let staff feel obligated to answer at 10 p.m.
- Name who replies. Assign each case a primary contact and a backup, so no client text goes unanswered during a vacation.
- Move bad news to a call. Denials, lost motions, and settlement offers start with a conversation, not a text.
- Review the policy once a year. Train new staff on it, and update it when your tools or your state’s guidance changes.
Automated reminders fit neatly inside this policy. They’re short, predictable, and low in sensitivity. Our guide to automated appointment reminders covers timing and wording.
For messages that need a real back-and-forth with detail, a secure messaging tool is a better fit than SMS. See what secure messaging is and how it differs from a text thread.
Where CasePulse fits
We built CasePulse around the same model this policy describes: the text prompts the client, and the detail stays secure. CasePulse is a client portal that layers on top of the case management system your firm already uses. Your clients choose whether to get notifications by email, text, or both. When a key action happens in the case, your CMS triggers the alert automatically, so staff aren’t typing routine updates by hand.
Messages with clients stay inside your case management system, not on someone’s phone. The detail sits in your firm’s branded portal and your firm’s own app in the App Store. We don’t replace your team’s judgment in a hard conversation, and a denied claim or a settlement offer still deserves a phone call. What we take off your plate is the routine update traffic, so your people have time for the calls that matter.
We integrate with Neos, Needles, LawBase, Litify, and Salesforce. Updates come from the case data your team already keeps. See our full feature list for details.
Want client texts that point to the right place instead of carrying the whole case? Book a demo to see how CasePulse works with your case management system.