Starting to talk to a lawyer? Let’s make this easier and begin with “hello.”
Calling an attorney for the first time can be intimidating, unsure, and irritating.
It doesn’t need to be, nor should it.
This brief article is written that will help you communicate with an attorney for the first time, in a way in order to gain you both. Lawyers are there to help you thru your felony hassle and some small adjustments to your method will make it loads simpler for them to attain your dreams as a purchaser.
Don’t be afraid.
Lawyers want to help and they won’t charge you just by calling them. Lawyers are as a business as elsewhere. Starting a conversation doesn’t cost you anything but it is very important to put you on the right track in your legal journey.
Start with a greeting. Tell the lawyer your name. “Hello, my name is Corine, can I speak to a lawyer?”
After reading the article below, your next conversation with a lawyer will be simple, effective, and helpful.
There is no such thing as a quick question
The law is very complex. If answers were quick or simple, lawyers and courts would not be needed. Put another way, there is no such thing as a “quick question” in legal matters. Getting close to a conversation with such a lawyer will upset both the client and the lawyer. Don’t think your question is quick or easy, it’s not.
Think about it in your life. If you child say “Mom, I have a quick question.” or your customer, patient, or student says “I have a quick question” – right? As we know, it is rare.
Collect your thoughts, find the time, and find the place to have the conversation.
For a successful conversation with a lawyer, there are a number of key points to consider.
To begin with, an attorney can’t listen to your problem and try to offer advice if they can’t actually hear you. Your case is important to them. They want to help. They need to understand the issues and consider what you say carefully. This will not be done if they do not hear it.
Often, clients will call from a cell phone while on the speaker, on the bus, with excessive background noise, under unreasonable time pressure, or other distractions that make it difficult for the attorney to listen carefully to the complex issues the client is trying to convey.
Find a quiet room, a line of ground, and set aside 15-20 minutes for a discussion without interruption so that the attorney can listen carefully and work to resolve the issue. Imagine visiting your doctor. We will pay close attention to you; we only ask for the same and the power to do so.
Second, gather your thoughts if you can.
Legal issues are complex. Fortunately, lawyers are very active in detection and resolution. Getting there is much easier if the client can first identify a brief summary of what has happened so far, and what effect you would like to see. If it helps, take a moment to answer these three simple questions on a piece of paper, in one sentence or less in each answer:
What’s going on?
Why do you call a lawyer?
What do you want to happen?
Let the lawyer lead the conversation and ask the questions
By calling a lawyer, you are already wise to see that you need professional help.
Let that lawyer help you, let them ask questions, and decide what information is most important right away. Chances are, what you think is important right now, isn’t – and what you think isn’t important, is very important.
At some point, everything is important to you. However, before a lawyer can reach your final destination, they need to look at a map of where you need to go. At the beginning of the conversation, let the attorney lead the questions and discussion.
Like a hospital, lawyers need to understand basic facts first. For me, as a criminal lawyer, I need to know things like:
When are you charged?
What are you being charged?
When is your next court date?
Do you know what disclosure is and do you have it right now?
Are you on bail or are you being released from the station?
Do you need to be different in those situations?
Is this an allegation of domestic violence?
Have you been charged before?
Are you under 18 years old?
Do you have a criminal record?
Do you intend to hire a lawyer through Legal Aid or in private?
There are many questions like these that a lawyer needs to understand before he or she can do anything.
Understandably, clients want to jump right in and focus on the things that matter most to them, such as “I want my case to be dismissed” or “I am innocent” or “I need to leave my spouse.” All of this is very important, but we need to understand the basics before we can face it. Let your attorney lead the conversation.
Don’t worry, the essentials won’t be lost but we need to start right away.
Criminal Defense Attorney Karren Kenney
With over 20 years of litigation and jury trial experience in local criminal cases involving misdemeanors, felonies and federal offenses, Southern California criminal attorney Karren Kenney knows the importance of developing a comprehensive and effective strategy in defending her clients. Each client we take is assigned an entire defense team to work on all aspects of their case. We know how stressful it is for anyone to have to go through the criminal court process and we are here to help, not to judge anyone for their past mistakes.
Main Office
Address: 2900 Bristol St., Suite C204 | Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Address: 600 West Broadway, Suite 700-209 | San Diego, CA 92101
Number: 855.505-5588
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