What Should I Expect From My Lawyer?

There are four things you should expect from your lawyer: honesty, advocacy, diligence, and communication. Your lawyer is your advocate, and you should expect him at all times to act in your best interest within the bounds of professionalism and the law. At the same time you should expect your lawyer to be honest. Your lawyer should never let you, or coach you to lie or conceal evidence.

And your lawyer should at all times be honest with you. While your lawyer is an advocate for your position, it is also your lawyer’s job to be honest with you about the strengths AND weaknesses of your case.

You should expect your lawyer to be diligent in pursuing your case. It will not be the only case the lawyer has, and sometimes there are things that the lawyer must wait for, like a hearing with the judge, or a trial date set by the judge, or a discovery schedule which is not solely in your lawyer’s control. But your lawyer should be pushing your case along to its conclusion expeditiously.

Finally, you should expect your lawyer to communicate with you. You are entitled to be regularly kept aware of the progress of the case and your lawyer should be available to answer your questions and seek your instructions from time to time. If your lawyer is trying another lawsuit or away on a deposition trip, you may not have your phone called returned immediately. However your lawyer should ALWAYS return your call when able to.