COMMUNICATION, HONESTY, & TOTAL TRANSPARENCY
Communication, honesty, and total transparency are NON-NEGOTIABLES when working with an attorney. If either your attorney or you fail to operate from this perspective you are setting yourselves up for serious issues, frustration, and unnecessary complications.
It is fairly safe to say attorneys expect certain things from her/his clients in order to handle each case in the most effective way. Such as:
- Just as you have a right to expect honesty, so does your attorney. You should provide your attorney with accurate, full and complete information about your matter especially information that may be bad for your case. Remember that your attorney must keep this information confidential, except in certain very limited cases. If you hold back or lie about the facts your attorney cannot represent you adequately no matter how fantastic of an attorney he/she is.
- Total Transparency. In relation to honesty is total transparency, in many ways they overlap. This means that you disclose with full openness any and everything that may be relevant to your case, even if your attorney does not ask about it. If you think it might be relevant, bring it up.
- Communicate effectively, thoroughly, and regularly as appropriate. Do not ignore your attorney ever, always reply to messages/calls/emails in a timely fashion. You are always better to communicate with your attorney directly not make them chase you or you may find yourself needing to find a new attorney.
- An Attorney-Client relationship is one requiring teamwork. You cannot simply turn your problems or issues over to your attorney and expect your attorney to call you when it is resolved. You need to gather the documents your attorney asks for, fill out the forms your attorney asks for, reply to communications from emails, follow as you indicate you will with your attorney, prepare items requested by your attorney, and try to follow your attorney’s advice. Clients who cooperate with their attorneys will generally get better results than clients who do not. If you do not cooperate, your attorney may withdraw from the case and you will have to find another attorney.
- Payment of Fees. If you have agreed to pay fees or costs, your attorney expects you to comply with your agreement. Failure to pay as agreed may also likely leave you looking for a new attorney.
It can be very challenging for some to be fully transparent and honest. The reality is that failing to do this will more likely than not be detrimental to your case. An attorney cannot protect you or account for things when they don’t know about them until it is too late.
