Tag: attorney-client relationship

Meeting a Lawyer: Four Things to Bring

Posted by Nicholas Mosser on

An initial client meeting with a lawyer is a time of evaluation. You, the potential client, evaluate the lawyer to see if his or her firm will fight for your rights, while the lawyer evaluates your case to see if it is something the firm can help you with.

Here are four things to bring to your initial meeting to help it go well.

1.  Your Story.

The lawyer needs to know what has happened in order to evaluate the potential of your case, but if it takes an hour for you to tell your story, you’re using too much detail. You should prepare a short version of your story, one that gives an overview of the major points in less than 15 minutes. Don’t leave out any important elements, of course, but keep your story to the point. If the lawyer wants you to elaborate about something, he or she will ask.

2.  A Time Line.

In order to help yourself communicate clearly and efficiently, write down a brief time line of what happened. This will become vital information for your lawyer when he or she drafts pleadings, or legal documents that assert your claims. Example:

  • May 24, 2004 – signed lease with tenants
  • August-December 2004 – rent consistently late
  • January 2005 – no rent paid
  • February 1, 2005 – sent letter warning of eviction
  • February 15, 2005 – lockout on property

3.  Documents.

Depending on your type of case, you will need to have certain documents to prove your claims. However, it is generally a good idea to keep records of the following: correspondence, phone logs and voicemail logs, legal documents related to previous cases, medical records, contracts and leases, invoices and checks, bank statements, tax documents, insurance documents, employee manuals, wills, and closing documents. These papers could very well become evidence in your lawsuit. Bring them with you.

4.  Questions.

Naturally, you have questions about the process of retaining a lawyer. Do you really need a lawyer? How much does it cost to hire a lawyer? How long can you expect a lawsuit to last? How can Mosser Law PLLC help you? First, check out our FAQs page, and then come talk to us. You should leave an initial client meeting with all your questions answered.

As always, our blog posts are not legal advice and do not constitute an attorney-client relationship! At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for having a lawyer of your own.

A Short Introduction to Discovery

Posted by Nicholas Mosser on

Discovery is why your civil lawsuit takes so long. It’s the cooperative process of exchanging information between parties in a lawsuit, which can take months or sometimes years. The purpose of discovery is so that a case can be judged fairly on the facts and not due to a “surprise” document that the opposing party withheld until the last minute.

Basically, discovery makes things fair.

Your attorney will request discovery from the opposing party. The opposing party will request discovery from your attorney. Legal rules called the Rules of Civil Procedure govern the timing and delivery of responses. As a client, you might be asked to help answer discovery questions from the other party or to give your attorney some documents to allow the other party to examine.

There are three main types of discovery requests that might require client input: requests for admission, requests for production, and interrogatories.

Requests for Admission. This type of discovery request comes in the form of statements that you must admit or deny. You can also say that you don’t know or don’t have enough information to answer the question. Here are examples:

  1. Admit or deny that you are the managing partner of Local Business.
  2. Admit or deny that Local Business signed a contract with Widget Corporation LLC on May 12, 2008.

Requests for Production. This type of discovery request is primarily for documents. You have probably given your attorney most of the documents related to your case, but the opposing party might ask for more.

  1. Produce all originals of and all copies of all contracts signed by you and Widget Corporation LLC since 2006.
  2. Produce all communication (including letters, emails, texts, and other electronic documents) between you and Widget Corporation LLC concerning contracts since 2006.

Interrogatories. This type of discovery request usually comes in the form of an open-ended request for information, requiring a response beyond a simple yes or no. You might initially be asked to answer these questions and then to approve the final answers your attorney has written.

  1. Describe the safety, storage, and maintenance methods and practices regarding Widgets that you maintained in your regular course of business.
  2. Identify all persons formerly or currently employed by you who have or might have knowledge of Widget safety procedures.

As you can see from these basic examples, discovery can become very involved. Your part is to be as forthright with your attorney as possible and to disclose all relevant information promptly to your attorney. He or she will very likely have additional instructions or requests for you to supplement discovery responses as your lawsuit progresses. If you ever have questions about your lawsuit, ask them!

Remember, folks, at the end of the day there’s no substitute for having a lawyer of your own.

As always, our blog posts are not legal advice and do not constitute an attorney-client relationship!

Helping Clients Help Themselves

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While attorneys will write almost all documents related to a client’s case, a client may be asked to take an active role in helping to draft an affidavit.

An affidavit is a written, factual statement signed by the person making it (the “affiant”) and sworn to be true before a notary. Affidavits have a number of purposes in litigation; they may be used to provide testimony when a live witness is not needed, they can demonstrate that a document is a true and correct copy of an original, and they can provide a lawyer with narrative about the facts of the case and the reason for the suit–the story of what happened. An affidavit can be attached to other documents filed with the court as evidence to strengthen your case, or it can become a helpful reference in your attorney’s files.

When utilizing an affidavit as the narrative for the case, the attorney might ask the client to use his or her own written words to describe who, what, when, where, how, and why–any information about the case. Remember that a specific, detailed piece of writing is typically more informative and persuasive than a vague one, so be sure to include dates, names, facts, and details.

Vague: And then the van rear-ended me and pushed me forward into the other car.

Specific: Even though I pulled my car as far onto the right-hand shoulder as possible, the dark blue minivan still clipped my back left wheel and bumper with enough force to propel my vehicle forward ten feet into the rear bumper of the red sedan in front of me.

Vague: He told me he didn’t get the check and I had to move out by the end of the month.

Specific: On May 3, 2012, Mr. Landlord told me in a telephone call that he had not received Check #1001 in the amount of $900.00 for my May rent and that therefore I had to move out of 202 North Street before May 31.

The attorney will then render the client’s testimony into the form and format of an affidavit, including an introductory paragraph declaring that the affiant is competent to testify, has personal knowledge of the facts, and swears that the facts are true. It is important never to invent or exaggerate information in an affidavit, yet it is equally important to include all the relevant information. The final document must be as factually accurate as possible.  Here is a sample affidavit, incorporating this advice.

After the client reviews the draft of the affidavit, perhaps contributing more knowledge, he or she will sign the document in person in front of a notary, who will notarize the document, making it a valid affidavit. It is critical that if the attorney has misquoted the client, or summarized something incorrectly, that the client speak up and correct the affidavit.

What does this mean for you?

If you are considering retaining an attorney, write down a narrative of what happened to you. This will not only help you remember and discuss your situation with precision, but it will also help your attorney know what questions to ask to elicit the best details for your affidavit.  When hiring a lawyer, make sure you find someone who is taking the time and effort to understand your story.  After a jury verdict is the wrong time to realize that your lawyer doesn’t understand your case!