What Not to Expect from Your Attorney

Guarantee: No Attorney should Ever "Guarantee" a certain result from a court. Many times courts rule on issues in line with past rulings; however, a Guarantee of any certain result is prohibited by the rules of ethical conduct. The Attorney can never forsee every possible occurrance or testimony in a given case. With the facts at hand the attorney may recommend a course of action, but any "Guarantee" of what the court will do, is quite simply bad advice.

Promise: Like a Guarantee, for an attorney to "Promise" a certain result is not allowed. The attorney has no control over the other party, and no control over the court.

Advise that the Client Lie: Attorneys are forbidden to illicit testimony they know to be false. This means, if the attorney asks the client a question under oath, such as at trial or deposition, and the client answers in such a way as the attorney Knows the answer if False, the attorney must correct the situtation. There are ethical rules every attorney MUST follow to ensure the integrity of the court system. The most important is not to allow the client to lie to the court.

Willingness to Lie for the Client: Just as the attorney cannot encourage or permit the client to lie to the court, so the Attorney if Forbidden to Lie for the client. If your attorney is willing to lie for you, how can you trust that your attorney will not lie TO you?

Dishonesty: At the heart of the Attorney-Client privilege is the notion that the attorney cannot adequately represent the client without full knowledge and honesty from the client. The Client therefore Must be able to Trust the Attorney to Fully and Fairly answer questions posed. In order to protect the client to fully reveal information that may help or harm the case, the attorney-client privilege prevents the attorney revealing or using the information to the client's detriment.

Perfection: The PRACTICE of Law is truly an art, not a science. Statutes are continually amended by legislatures, interpreted by courts, and exposed by attorneys. Sometimes what has always occurred doesn't and many times the court has not had a question posed in this way. Attorneys may not have all the information necessary to completely anticipate every possible problem. But we try!

If you can accept attorneys are only human, you may be able to accept their assistance!