The relationship between an attorney and
his client may often come under a lot of pressure during the course of a
lawsuit. Your litigation experience can significantly be affected by how well
you manage your relationship with your lawyer. A relaxed working relationship will
usually add up towards a positive outcome of the trial, and may reduce the
anxiety down to a bearable level. My working relationship with Jerome Karam was
very good, because I followed a set of simple principles.
Keep your lawyer up to date with information
From the very moment I hired Jerome Karam, I
was sure that he and his staff were informed of all facts that could have
pertained to my dispute. I handed them over all documents and items I deemed
relevant – police records, medical bills, communication with the former
employer and all that. If you aren’t sure whether a certain fact or document is
of importance, let your attorney decide that. It’s better to be safe than
sorry.
Your lawyer should be trained to skim
through huge piles of information and determine what’s relevant and what is
not. And – this is a key fact – your lawyer may be able to use a document or a
fact that you thought was irrelevant as the basis to create a legal argument.
Also, if the information you are going to
supply is going to harm your case, your lawyer will then have plenty of time to
prepare for defensive maneuvers. I didn’t have such information to hand over to
Jerome Karam, which made my case somewhat simpler.
Prepare materials carefully
At the beginning of a lawsuit, your lawyer is
going to ask you to write down the important facts or summaries of events that
lead up to the lawsuit. My Jerome Karam and his colleagues requested this
information in various forms – sometimes they asked me for a timeline, other
times for a detailed summary, and other times simply for a few notes. Regardless
of what your attorney asks for, always ensure that what you put down in writing
is accurate. Your lawyer is going to base your claims and ground your whole
case on this information.
Search thoroughly for documents and requested data
During the course of the lawsuit, your attorney
is going to ask you to provide a certain document or explain certain facts
related to an important matter. Remember, it’s your information and your
documents we are talking about – your attorney doesn’t probably have any access
to this kind of information. Do your best to answer these requests accurately.
Respond to your lawyer's requests as soon as possible
During my lawsuit, Jerome Karam often had
to work under some tight deadlines. The more time you allow your attorney to analyze
the information you provide, the better the job he or she can do with using
that information to prepare relevant legal papers. If you can’t provide a
timely response, at least let your attorney know about the delays as soon as
possible, so that he or she can think of alternatives. Your lawyer might be
able to ask for an extension, or somehow bring other matters into focus in
order to accommodate the delay.
Keep your lawyer up to date with your schedule
There are certain meetings and hearings during
the course of a lawsuit in which you are required to participate. Most of the
time, such events are scheduled weeks or even months in advance. Some of them
can be postponed or move up to accommodate your schedule, but your attorney
needs to know well in advance when you are and when you are not available. However,
you should be prepared to change plans if you must – judges sometimes insist on
holding important hearings on a particular date, whether you can join them or
not.
Since I didn’t have a job at that moment,
Jerome Karam’s job was a bit easier with me, because I was always available.