Key points when engaging a lawyer
“LAWYERS are liars!” This statement sounds familiar right? This has become the common way of describing lawyers. I do not think that lawyers are liars, I think the people who give lawyers instructions are liars. Lawyers simply relay what they would have been advised by their clients.
If you have ever dealt with lawyers before you may appreciate the importance of the things that I am going to write about today. If you and your company are thinking of engaging a firm of attorneys, I want to share some few thoughts of some things that you may need to consider before your start work with them. I want to focus on the initial meeting with your attorney of choice. I will do an article on some considerations to pay attention when choosing a firm.
Who is going to handle your case?
There are clients who have experienced a raw deal in dealing with law firms. They go to a firm expecting a particular lawyer to handle their case, only to realise that they now have Lawyer X on their case. Lawyering is really personal, it’s not very different from medicine where you are particular about who is going to attend to you. You need to be clear from the onset as to who in particular is going to handle your case. This is also important for purposes of costs. Lawyers charge on the basis of experience and also other considerations laid out by the Law Society. Ask the person who is taking instructions to communicate this position to you for your records. Ask about your rights
A good lawyer keeps you away from the courts unless if going to court becomes inevitable. Ask to know about your rights in a particular case in light of the dynamic nature of the law. People ask me if I am always in the courts, my answer is no. I do not actually like going to court, I want to help clients settle their cases in a faster, effective, and cost-effective manner. How do I do that? I provide honest legal opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the case.
You should also request such before you rush to say, “let’s go to court”. What do you want to achieve by going to court? Can it not be achieved through different means? Request all the available legal options in the initial consultation. This may attract some fees as the lawyer has to go through the paperwork and advise on the law but this is a sure way of securing clarity as to the way forward in the case. Further pertinent points to note In addition, request to be advised of the following in so far as it pertains to your rights;
i)the procedure to enforce your rights and its dilatory nature – Law is not magic. Ask to know the procedure to be adopted, not necessarily in academic detail. You need to know the pros and cons so that you can be able to plan.
ii)the likely time to be taken to achieve finalisation – This is important for planning purposes.
iii)the legal fees involved, the current charge rate of the attorney of your choice and rate of escalation of the same in terms of the Law Society Tariff. Remember the conversation earlier about who will be handling your case, this is connected to legal fees.
Many corporates have been shocked when they received serious fee notes from the law firms with their mandates. A legal fees bill should not shock you because you should be aware of how you are going to be billed.
You can also indicate the limit you are working in terms of fees, and how that will take you. The law society tariff prescribes the tariffs to be admin- istered but should you agree with your attorney on a different charging model you need to agree in writing to avoid problems.
iv)the evidence required and the prospects of success - Ask about this as well so that you know what evidence to gather for the case. You remain the owner of your case, so you need to be proactive about bringing the material information that will sustain your case.
Remain focused as well on the prospects of success. Be ready to hear what you don’t want to hear. The duty of the lawyer is to advise you legally. Be careful of people who promise you results at all costs.
v)the firm’s standards of practice relating to correspondence received and documents filed i.e. right to receive all copies of these as a rule of practice. You need to have copies of all correspondence and pleadings prepared and filed. This allows you to have a backup file in the event that anything happens to the record in your attorneys’ hands.
vi)your right to enquire on progress at any time with the secretary and to see the Legal Practitioner by appointment. There is a tendency to abuse lawyers.
If a matter is not urgent in the sense of urgent, you also need to learn to respect your lawyer’s time. There are times someone calls you at 9pm, on a matter they could have called you during day time. Agree on the best times for calls, and also on the frequency of updates.
vii)appointment and attendance policy i.e. right to freeze action on unpaid work. Do not just pitch up at your lawyer’s place. Learn to use appointments before you can come through on an existing matter. It is not every time that you need to place an appointment because you will be billed on the basis of time spent. Learn to pay your lawyers. No lawyer wants to be abused. Lawyers can freeze work that is unpaid. They are paid on time used, so ensure that your file is properly funded. Ask as well on the firm’s accounts policy on overdue bills i.e. its right to request for a written payment proposal and acknowledgement of debt and in the event of unexplained default after certain number of days, to sue for recovery. You can further agree on frequency of billing. It’s best at times to get a bill as soon as work has been done rather than to get a one huge bill of costs.
viii)availability of your attorneys 24 hours on a day in case of emergency including during weekends and public holidays. There are some attorneys who are particular about their weekends. You need to know in advance so that you have contingency arrangements should an emergency strike.
ix) Most importantly, request to know your right to complain on any issue relating the conduct of your matter to the Partner and if dissatisfied to the Law Society of Zimbabwe. The issues raised above should be addressed to you in writing in order to give a guide to your relationship. More organised firms, will also furnish you with terms of business that you need to sign before they begin to handle your portfolio.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
The material contained in this post is set out in good faith for general guidance in the spirit of raising legal awareness on topical interests that affect most people on a daily basis. They are not meant to create an attorney-client relationship or constitute solicitation. No liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the post. Laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements.
◆ Arthur Marara is a corporate law attorney practicing law in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is also a notary public and conveyancer. He has interests in Labour Law, Commercial Law, Family Law and promoting legal awareness and access to justice in the business community. He writes in his personal capacity. You can follow him on social media (Facebook Attorney Arthur