We disagree with one another on a daily basis, and most of the times we can navigate these disagreements with ease. Things get a little harder when we disagree with professionals, especially if we’re paying them for their services. How can you come to a satisfactory resolution when you and your lawyer disagree? In today’s blog, we share some tips for navigating disagreements with your lawyer.
Not Seeing Eye To Eye With Lawyer
Things can get a little awkward with your lawyer if you’re not seeing eye to eye, so sometimes it’s appropriate to take a step back and reassess the situation. For example, yes, you are the one who is paying the lawyer. At the end of the day, the lawyer is supposed to do what you want. However, just because you are paying them, it doesn’t mean that you have free reign to dictate exactly how the proceedings should take place.
After all, you wouldn’t hire a contractor and then stand behind them and nitpick every single thing they do. You need to trust that the professional has your best interests at heart and that their skill and experience will lead you down the correct path.
The biggest piece of advice that we can give to anyone who disagrees with their lawyer is to talk about the problem face to face or over the phone. We’re all adults, and we can have a rational conversation where both sides say their peace and state their case before reaching a resolution. For example, you may not like that your lawyer is pushing for you to take a plea deal. We’re more than happy to explain why we think this is the best option and really lay out what you’re up against, as this is what is guiding us in our decision making. If you don’t want to take a plea deal, we’ll do everything we can to win your case outright, but know that we don’t make recommendations just because we want your case to be over. It’s about analyzing the evidence and reviewing the known versus the unknown at trial. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.
In our many years of service, it’s been extremely rare that we haven’t been able to reach an agreement with a client when we don’t see eye to eye. We’re operating with your best interests at heart, so we’d love it if you trusted our opinion, but at the end of the day we’ll do what you believe is right. We just don’t want there to be any surprises later in trial if things don’t play out like you had hoped.
So please, if you disagree with your lawyer, don’t just stew about it and then complain to the judge after the trial that you had an incompetent legal team. Let’s have a conversation, lay it all out there, and develop a plan to move forward with everyone on the same page. And if you truly feel like you can no longer move forward with your lawyer, you can always find a new one. You need to trust your lawyer, and if you don’t trust your first one, move on to someone who really understands your side.
For more information, or to see if Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm would be a good fit for your case, reach out to our team today at (952) 224-2277.
