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Maintaining Attorney-Client Relationship In Criminal Case

Posted by Russell Babcock | Mar 19, 2018 | 0 Comments

Maintaining Attorney-Client Relationship In Criminal Case

Lawyers and clients both must work hard at maintaining their professional relationship.
In criminal cases, clients usually feel the same mental and emotional strain as a patient who is seriously ill. Especially in federal cases, where the stakes are so high, or serious state cases such as murder, sexual offenses, or cyber crime, clients may become fearful and angry and lash out at their criminal defense lawyers.

The keystone to preventing attorney-client conflict is communication. The client should discuss all concerns in a calm manner with the attorney. The client should request a meeting with the attorney when necessary or send him an email or letter regarding any problems.

The client must also be realistic. Some clients believe that attorney is no good unless he can get a case dismissed. Cases are rarely dismissed, once filed. Dishonest defense attorneys, in order to secure a retainer, will often make misrepresentations and encourage a client to believe that the case will be dismissed or that the attorney will receive a very favorable and unrealistic outcome. There is very little, if any, recourse against an attorney who promises “pie in the sky” and only delivers mud.

Occasionally, clients, without informing their attorneys, go hire new counsel, falsely believing that a better outcome can be achieved. First, the client should talk to the present attorney about the case before wasting thousands of dollars and even making an offer on a case worse. The golden rule here is:  hire the best criminal defense lawyer you can and continue to work this this lawyer unless you realize that you have made a mistake and hired incompetent counsel. ( See tips on hiring a competent criminal lawyer.)

There are more complaints about lawyers regarding their failure to communicate with clients. A good attorney should include the client in all aspects of the decision making process and keep the client well-informed. On the other hand, clients should realize that most of the serious work the defense attorney does is not over the telephone with the client, but for example, in federal cases, attending meetings with the prosecutor and reviewing voluminous police reports and videos, and in state court participating in readiness conferences with the prosecutor and judge in the chambers of the court. The client should understand, that just like a doctor, the attorney may not be available every minute of the day to answer the phone and that a good attorney will always review the file and status of the case before talking with the client.

At the Law Offices of Russell S. Babcock, as San Diego criminal lawyers, we understand both the economic hardship of hiring an attorney and the emotional hardship of you or your loved one being subjected to the court process. We do our best to always return telephone calls from the client. We also visit our clients in jail more often than most other law firms.  It is not uncommon to have as many as eight to ten meetings with us in a large case before it proceeds to trial in contrast to many lawyer who sadly only visit their client a couple of times.

We also realize that individuals may be criminally charged on weekends and holidays. We maintain an anwswering service to respond to all emergencies.

We hope to be your choice when hiring a San Diego criminal lawyer. We understand the economic commitment you are making and the trust you place in us. Hiring the best criminal defense lawyer you can afford is one of the best investments you can make since liberty is priceless.

We welcome all communication and genuinely enjoy serving our clients. Almost every attorney-client relationship will experience strain and ups and downs. We view this as part of the process in achieving the best results in a criminal case.

About the Author

Russell Babcock

Conozca a russell Russell S. Babcock (Founder + Owner) Spanish Speaking Criminal Defense Attorney  (Federal and State Court) The law firm of Russell S. Babcock was formed to provide the highest quality of federal and state criminal defense services at reasonable prices. We are a full service c...

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