Effective Communication With Your Lawyer
Lawyers are not Therapists
Half the struggle of being a lawyer is figuring out how to compassionately and delicately let clients know … we are lawyers, not therapists. Effective communication with your lawyer requires all of us to focus on the facts of the case, and how the law can help.
The law has very little room for emotion, and case analysis starts with the perspective of the judge – not you, not the other side, not even the lawyers involved.
Our job as your lawyers is to apply the law to your set of facts (not emotions) and help you make the best legal, financial, business decision possible with the information we have available in that moment.
Time is Money
Most attorneys charge for time involved in a case, so it is ideal for clients to be aware of the expense of long phone conversations (or long emails) discussing emotions and frustrations repetitively. That bill can add up quickly.
At Lion Legal we don’t charge by the hour (or minute!), but our agreements with clients for our fee services are based on “reasonable” communication with our lawyers and staff.
If a client insists on excessive communication even after discussions regarding legal advice vs. emotional advice, then the law firm charges an additional excessive communication fee.
Clients’ Job to Provide Facts
Your lawyer needs to know your facts – you’ve lived it so it’s easy for you to remember. It is most effective use of time, however, for your lawyer to have a written recitation of the facts related to the legal issue your lawyer is handling for you.
Your lawyer will not remember as well as you do (for obvious reasons) and to prevent multiple calls or misunderstanding notes from verbal conversations, a written summary of events is perfect!
Journaling is Key
As cases progress, particularly family issues, the litigants should keep a journal of the facts on a daily or weekly basis or just as issues happen.
Contested issues (family and civil related matters alike) routinely take months to resolve on a permanent basis and the number one reason for these cases to cost thousands of dollars is excessive communication with your lawyer during that time.
At Lion Legal we communicate via email and address what will happen next, what you should be doing in the interim, and when the next time you’ll hear from your lawyer is.
No case can go before a judge for resolution of every hiccup in the case. There is no time for that… and judges won’t allow it! This makes journaling the most time and cost-effective way to track details which are critical at the final trial in the case but abut which nothing can be done immediately.
The exception to this is an emergency issue – your definition of emergency does not matter. What matters is if the facts are an emergency under the law – defined as something that affects the health, safety and welfare of a child and will result in irreparable harm to the child or to the litigant if not stopped and that the litigant filing has a reasonable chance of success on the merits after an evidentiary hearing is held. See Emergency Custody Blogs for more information.
We Can Help
If you are looking for effective legal representation in Arkansas that won’t break the bank, look for us at lionlegal.com. We will help you figure out your options and what the likely realistic result is in your circumstances. Say the word and we’ll come Roaring to the Rescue!
Call For A Free Case Evaluation
Case evaluations are completely free. Call Lion Legal Services today at (501) 227-ROAR (that’s 227-7627) or Email Us to set up a free consultation.