However, the lawyer should still take your wishes into consideration. You retain legal counsel because you need advice. Reason #4: You disagree with your lawyer’s advice. If that happens, it’s the lawyer’s responsibility to either do the research in order to handle the case competently, or they need to get the advice of another lawyer who’s more well-versed in that area of law. For example, what starts as a truck accident claim could become a product liability issue because of defective manufacturing of one part of the truck - and that might not be obvious when the lawyer takes on your case at the beginning. The other thing that could happen is that as a case progresses, it could begin to involve areas of law outside your lawyer’s expertise. It’s possible that person doesn’t have a strong grasp of the particular area of law that’s relevant. If your case is a smaller one, it might be delegated to a newer attorney in the firm. But that doesn’t mean every lawyer understands every nuance of the law. It takes a lot of time, effort, and studying to become a lawyer. Reason #3: Your lawyer is incapable of handling your case. They might not have their hands on each document immediately, but they need to know where and how to locate it, whether they store items digitally or physically. They should have copies of any checks you’ve written related to your case, evidence submitted or received as the result of an investigation, pleadings from the other parties (or their own), and any other material related to the proceeding. When you ask questions to your lawyer, they should have your file ready and organized. Possibly the worst-case scenario is if your lawyer shows up unprepared to court because that can affect the outcome of your case or proceeding. Your lawyer shouldn’t waste your time, be unprepared, or mishandle your funds or documents. If you have a meeting with your lawyer, there’s a good chance you took time off from work, secured childcare, or had other obligations that you changed or gave up in order to be at the meeting. Put bluntly, is your lawyer’s behavior unprofessional? Reason #2: Your lawyer is disorganized or unprepared. If you’re not sure when or where you need to appear, your lawyer should provide this information to you in a timely manner so nothing slips through the cracks. In addition, your lawyer should never be the reason why you fail to show up or are unprepared for a court date. Still, you should never feel like you’re being left in the lurch or that you can’t get a response from your lawyer. They should relay your question to your lawyer, and then relay the answer back to you if the lawyer doesn’t get back to you directly. You don’t need to take legal advice from an assistant or paralegal. But if they can delegate the calls to their assistants and someone is answering your questions and providing you with updates, that can suffice. Especially if they’re traveling or engaged in a trial, they might not have a lot of time to return calls. There’s no excuse for not returning phone calls or emails within a reasonable amount of time.īe aware that your calls might be returned by an assistant or paralegal - you might not always be able to get your lawyer on the phone. However, before a lawyer signs on to take your case, they need to know if the firm has the capacity to handle it. They have lots of clients - not just you. Lack of communication is a big problem for some law firm clients.
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