Tip #1: Stay Organized
Throughout your case you will not only receive many pleadings and discovery documents, you will also be required to gather documents for your case. A huge time waster and cost to our clients is searching through disorganized documents for information or exhibits needed for court. A good way to stay organized throughout your case is to reach out to your attorney’s office and ask. Every attorney’s office functions differently and will always be able to provide you with tips to save time and minimize organizational costs so they can be better allocated elsewhere in your case.
Tip #2: Communicate
Communication is huge in all relationships, including the relationship with your attorney. If your attorney is not kept up to date on your case, they cannot provide you with the best legal advice, nor can they strategically plan. Legal battels often last months or even years, and a lot of things can transpire during that time, which is why it is important that you communicate these changes to your attorney’s office. It is also important that you communicate your questions and concerns to your attorney when you have them. It is your role as the client to reach out to your counsel when you feel like you need additional communication; all of our clients are different and require different levels of communication, but we cannot help you if we don’t know you need help.
Tip #3: Manage Your Expectations
The goal of your case is to end up with the best possible outcome available to you. This does not mean you will always be 100% happy or get 100% of everything you want out of your case. It is important to manage your expectations and establish the things you are not willing to concede on and the things you are. It is also important to speak with your attorney to understand the probability of achieving a particular goal in your case. For example, you may fall under the category of being eligible for alimony; however, are the details of your case strong enough to secure alimony and, if you can secure alimony, what is the likelihood you will be awarded the amount you want? What is the likelihood of the Court awarding both attorney’s fees and alimony? Although you may be eligible for both individually, the Court may not be able to find that the opposing party has the ability to pay for both. It is essential that you have an open line of communication with your attorney and you take your attorney’s advice to heart when managing your expectations.
Tip #4: Don’t Self-Sabotage
Sometimes you can be your own biggest enemy. Your attorney is tasked with being your advocate and their job is to fight your legal battle for you. If your attorney has to utilize time and resources to defend your actions against legal advice or to fight for your cooperation, you will weaken the chance of a favorable outcome. You may not always like the advice your attorney gives you and you certainly don’t have to follow it; however, when you don’t, you are creating more hurtles for your attorney. Clients often get in their own way by not following Court Orders or by fighting with their attorney’s office to provide documents and information needed for their case. It may not always make sense why your attorney is asking for certain information or documents and it may seem overwhelming at times; however, these tasks are essential to the big picture of your case.
Golden Rule: Trust your Lawyer
Another important factor in all relationships is trust. It is important that you and your attorney have mutual trust in order for your case to move forward smoothly. Trust the advice your attorney is giving you because there is most likely a very good reason for it. You may not always like what your attorney has to say but that is not the reason you hired them. Your attorney is there to guide you through the good, bad, and the ugly aspects of your case. If you don’t understand why you are receiving certain legal advice or if you don’t believe its favorable to your situation, ask more questions and communicate with your attorney.
Ready to get started? Call our legal team at (850) 404-7263 or reach out to us online.
