Re: How much should I trust my attorney?

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On 11/15/08, Bianca wrote:
> My question is/are, what kind of communication should an
> attorney maintain with their clients in regards to the
> case? Should i expect my attorney to foward any
> communication sustain with the other part or do i need to
> request what i need to know? How do I know my attorney is
> doing what it's expected to be doing?

Your attorney should certainly keep you posted, but depending
on the size and type of firm it might be unfair to expect them
to forward everything to you as it happens.

The complete answer would depend more specifically on the type
of case. Is this a divorce proceeding? A criminal or
administrative appeal? Are you suing a company or individual?
Are you the plaintiff or defendant? All of these things make
a big difference in what is expected and reasonable.

Sometimes communications in legal matters can take a long
time, just due to backlogs. It's not uncommon for government
agencies to take several YEARS to respond to a letter; doctors
and hospitals often take months to respond, and even the law
office I work with can frequently go months between letters or
client contacts on a file. It's not that we don't care or
aren't working- there are just too many clients versus
employees, and if we handled everything within, say, a week,
we'd spend 6 months out of the year sitting around the office
doing nothing- so we take on more clients to fill the time,
and our worklog eventually catches up to the other side's
backlog.

That all being said, your attorney should notify you whenever
a hearing is scheduled, whenever a decision is rendered, and
usually, but not necessarily, when a settlement is proposed.
They should also inform you of significant changes to the
case, including major problems with evidence, if they feel you
should seek a different settlement, etc. Finally, they
absolutely should respond in a timely manner when you attempt
to contact them, and conversely, you are obligated to be
reachable by them.