What Private Lawyers HATE from their clients

 TOP 10 THINGS PRIVATE LAWYERS HATE WHEN IT COMES TO CLIENTS

By Travis Rice

#1. Bugging an attorney with non sense. Many Private Lawyers don't have time to deal with non-sense. By non-sense I mean calling or texting in the middle of the night to know when your court date was, when we were in Court about 4 hours ago and the Judge told you when it was. Private Lawyers hate this because they already feel like babysitters in some respects, and they are often going from courtroom to courtroom from courthouse to courthouse, and they cannot keep your schedule for you too. If you need to find out your court date, here in Idaho we have a system called ICourt and you can look up your court dates.  Link to ICourt Portal 

#2. Calling for updates unnecessarily. There is nothing I hate more than people asking for updates daily. If there are changes in the case, I will let you know, and as always see the above #1 things lawyers hate. 

#3. Showing up late or not at all. Lawyers frequently come late to court, because most court hearings run together. Often when I am going to be late I let the Court know ahead of time. There is nothing more infuriating than being in front of a Judge and the judge asking "where is Mr. or Mrs. so and so today?" If you miss a criminal hearing you could be sent to jail on a warrant. So show up on time, and be early if you have to. That goes for appointments at my office as well. If someone wanders in 30 minutes late to an appointment, its difficult to get the things done that I need to with them. Sit patiently and be respectful. It goes along way! 

#4. Being impatient. Most of the time a criminal case gets better as the case goes on. Therefore, the more patient you are in the process the better it will be for you. It takes time to negotiate with a prosecutor and for him to get to know you through me. So..be cool please! 

#5. Not taking the case seriously. I really despise when someone sits in my office and they are not taking the case as serious as I am. I think that someone should appreciate the consequences at least a little bit, because the "not give a damn" attitude is not something that inspires me to help you! 

#6. Excuses. All Lawyers I know are by nature are very organized and meticulous people who take great care in trying to perform at the highest levels. Like athletes, Private Lawyers spend their world in competition with others who are trying to out do them. Lawyers have to be on their game all the time. When a person makes excuses for not doing something, Lawyers have personally a hard time with that. So when asked to perform a task by your Private Lawyer make sure that you try to do your best to accomplish the task and not make excuses for not getting it done. I am reminded of a situation in lawschool that happened to me. We were working on an Appellate Brief (major deal) and my computer program deleted my file on the reboot. I spent until 5:00am in the morning rewriting the Appellate Brief because at 5:01am no briefs were allowed to be turned in. When I got there, about 25 of my classmates were in a line sliding the briefs under the door one by one. The professor even said "if the printer fails at 4:49am I dont give a shit, you will fail, we do not make excuses at this level." So...just get it done! This applies to judges. They also hate excuses for the same reason.  

#7. Unrealistic expectations. Many people have a view that the case should be dismissed because they didn't do it. Okay....but there are facts or witnesses saying you did. Sometimes, its difficult to see the forest through the trees, but some people have major expectations from the very beginning and they need to manage them appropriately. My philosophy is, set expectations low and be pleasantly surprised by the results that follow. 

#8. My client arguing with the Judge or Prosecutor. There is no quicker way to sink the case. Making an enemy out of the prosecutor is a surefire way to get a harsh sentence. Also, arguing with the Judge, and being combative in a non respectful way can case major issues for you. This is especially true if you ever get in trouble again and go in front of the judge. Better believe he will remember you! 

#9. Client who abuses or demeans the staff. Anyone who is abusive or demeaning to my staff, I instantly have to have a conversation with. While you are not talking with the Lawyer, you are talking with someone who is closely working with the lawyer. I will defend my staff vigorously. 

#10. Not paying when you said you were going to pay. There is no quicker way to burn your bridge of trust with me. If you make a commitment to pay, it needs to be paid. I cannot continue to work for free at the expense of my time for my other clients. Therefore, payments must be made.  

If you are looking for a Private Lawyer who won't charge you an arm and a leg, and its is criminal case in Canyon County, give us a call at 208-230-9983 or visit our website to set up a free consult by clicking here.