Accommodating Spanish Speaking Clients
Accommodating Spanish speaking is a great way to help more people in your community seek and use legal services! Read this post to find out more about taking on Spanish speaking clients and how to optimize your workflows to help.
  • legal tech
  • MyChapter Spanish speaking clients
Meredith Boe
Published on Nov 17, 2020

 

 

Millions of Americans speak Spanish. In fact, 43 million people in the U.S. speak Spanish as a first language. What does this mean for your practice? By offering accommodations to Spanish-speaking clients, your law firm will widen its reach and increase access to justice.

 

Here are some additional points to know about accommodating Spanish speakers.

 

 

Why offer services in Spanish?

Taking on Spanish-speaking clients helps you serve more clients in need of legal help. Many law firms are unable to take on Spanish-speaking clients, but if you can make arrangements at your practice, your client base will expand. There are a few more key reasons to open up your practice to Spanish speakers, which include law firm growth and competitive advantage.

 

Because there are so many Spanish speakers in the U.S., it makes sense to accommodate this large pool of clients. Some Spanish speakers may not feel as comfortable seeking legal services because of the language gap, so show them that you’re here for them.

 

 

How to help Spanish-speaking clients

Reaching Spanish-speaking clients will take new marketing efforts, patience, and research. Here are a few tips to get started:

  • Learn where Spanish-speakers in your area find their information about legal services
  • Start using Spanish in communications
  • Hire staff members who speak Spanish
  • Market your firm as Spanish-speaking on social media and with local media outlets, like newspapers and the radio
  • Start using a software that offers Spanish tools

 

 

MyChapter in Spanish update

NextChapter now offers Spanish features in MyChapter, our bankruptcy client portal. Key tools include:

  • Send an online bankruptcy questionnaire for Spanish speakers
  • Create a custom welcome message for your firm in Spanish that will be sent with the portal.
  • Your clients can enter their information in Spanish, and then their data can be translated by your or a staff member later for court filing purposes

 

 

 

 

If you don’t speak Spanish, and you don’t have a staff member who does either, there’s still translation help available. NextChapter has virtual paralegals available through Paralegal as a Service, and some of our virtual paralegals speak fluent Spanish.

 

Start taking on Spanish-speaking clients to assist a larger population of individuals needing legal help.