No matter how well a person lives, sooner or later he needs the assistance of a lawyer, either in connection with something good, i.e., a new project, the creation of a new company, the purchase of property, the protection of a creative product of intellectual work, etc., or in connection with a problematic life situation. Whatever the case, efficient communication and trust between you as a client and the lawyer you choose are key to getting the best service possible. The simple steps below can help you establish such relations, avoid potential surprises, and eventually enable your lawyer to be as helpful to you as possible.
1. Be aware of what the problem is that you need a lawyer for and what assistance you expect from the lawyer. Knowing what the subject matter of the problem for which you seek legal assistance is and whether it is a matter of single legal advice, cooperation on a long-term project, legal protection in court, another legal service (i.e., trademark or company registration, contract preparation, etc.), or a combination of the above, is equally important to you and your lawyer. This helps you choose the proper lawyer for the subject matter of your case to turn to and, on the other hand, helps the lawyer decide if he or she can handle your case, evaluate the workload and complexity of the task, and give you a price quotation for the service.
2.Do not wait until the last minute. This is crucial in case you need legal protection in court because the deadlines in court proceedings are fixed and undisputable. The same applies for each legal matter that should be solved within a strict deadline. Don’t expect miracles from your lawyer - he needs definite time to be able to provide you with the service you need. Even when only a consultation is sought, in most cases it will require additional information gathering and case investigation after the first client meeting in order for your attorney to assess the situation and provide an opinion on possible courses of action.
3.Be honest and complete about the facts of your case and your concerns about it. Remember that your lawyer might be the best professional in his area, still his advice will be entirely based on the information you provided. You are the only one who has all the information about your case, and if you have omitted part of it, your lawyer cannot take into account the facts you have failed to share with him or her. Do not also spare facts or connections between them that you think obvious - something important to the case may be considered implied or common practice in your specific area, but may not necessarily be known to or implied for the lawyer - his expertise is in the law, while you are the expert in your area. It is also important to determine your specific needs in relation to the problem, since different approaches are often possible to achieve the same goal - the best for you depends on the specifics of the situation and your particular needs and goals. The more complete the picture the lawyer has, the more appropriate solutions he will be able to offer you.
4. Ask anything that you consider relevant to your case and be ready to answer all questions your lawyer might have. This exchange of information is important for you and your lawyer since it can lead him/ her to useful details you may have forgotten to mention. Some of your questions may require additional information and research to get answered - your lawyer will tell you if this is the case and what exactly you need to provide him or her to answer your question.
5. Be prepared for answers you may not like. Remember, the reason you turn to a lawyer is not to hear that you are right, but to get his/ her professional opinion on the matter at hand that will help you make an informed decision on your future actions. Once you have clarified the details of your case, it is the lawyer's job to give you an honest assessment based on the information you have provided, pointing out your strengths and weaknesses, the options for action, and the risks involved. "Sugarcoating" the situation is not of benefit to anyone, least of all you.
6. Be ready to cooperate with your lawyer. Be ready to cooperate with your lawyer. In resolving your case, you and your lawyer are a team with a common goal: reaching the best possible solution for you. It is in your best interest to cooperate to help your lawyer help you in the most efficient way. This cooperation implies providing him/her with all relevant information, documents, and other evidence (as the case may be), maintaining efficient communication, as well as your full availability upon the lawyer’s request, on-time information on any key decisions relevant to the case, any change in the situation or client’s goals, and the on- time adoption by the client of decisions on key issues arising during the process. Determine in advance how the lawyer will communicate with you and be prepared to provide him/her with necessary assistance upon request, as well as to promptly notify him/her of any change in your situation or goals and of any newly arising circumstances that may be relevant to the case.
It is particularly important for complex corporate structures that a person/team of people be designated with whom the lawyer can interact in relation to the case in order to obtain the necessary assistance.
7. Respect the time and work of the lawyer. Be aware that even just researching the case to give you his/her opinion on it and suggest alternative action scenarios is a workload that has taken the lawyer hours or days and is billable whether or not you decide to follow up on the recommendations and whether or not you hire the same lawyer for those actions. In case you decide not to hire him/ her to complete the recommended actions, notify him/ her of this decision as soon as possible to save both yours and the layer’s time. It is your decision whether you will assign the specific case to the specific lawyer, but even if you have decided to continue without him/ her, you should respect his or her work and time. You never know when you may need exactly this person with his/her specific legal expertise.
