Q: What should I expect when I hire an attorney for my business?
A: There are four main things you should expect from your attorney.
Expect your attorney to:
- Be your advocate. This means they will identify legal issues, give you options for addressing those issues, then advocate on your behalf to further the option you choose. This could be anything from negotiating a favorable settlement to establishing the necessary facts for a defense in court.
- Be candid about your legal issues and the likelihood of success. An attorney’s job is to tell their clients as it is, not what the client wants to hear. You have hired an attorney for legal advice; you should heed that advice.
- Keep you informed on what is going on with your case and answer your questions. This particularly includes any case deadlines, costs, and settlement offers that are made.
- Keep any information you give him/her confidential. If there is an obligation (or compelling reason) to produce certain information you have shared confidentially with your attorney, this should be discussed with you before it’s shared further.
