3 Tips To Help You Maintain Contact With Your Attorney Throughout Your Personal Injury Case
ShareFrom the time you bring your personal injury case to your lawyer, to when it is actually settled or finalized, can take a long time. Maintaining communication with your attorney is key. Here are three tips to help you maintain solid communication with your attorney:
Make A Phone Appointment
Throughout the day, your lawyer is working on multiple cases, conferencing with clients, collecting evidence, and spending time in court. If you really want to talk to your lawyer, instead of playing phone tag, setup a phone appointment with his paralegal.
When you call your attorney's office, have their paralegal check their calendar and find a fifteen minute time slot that will work. Make sure the paralegal writes it into your attorney's calendar, and make sure you are clear on if you are to call your attorney at that time, or if you are to wait for a call from your attorney at that time.
Set Up A Physical Appointment
If you don't enjoy talking on the phone, or if a phone call does not seem to work, schedule a physical meeting with your attorney at their offices. Request at least a fifteen minute time slot when you call to setup the appointment.
If you have not heard back from your attorney's office by the end of the day, call back and see if they have found an opening.
If your attorney's office seems evasive about setting up an appointment, remind them that your attorney has an ethical obligation to keep you up-to-date about what is happening with your case, and that you would only like fifteen minutes of your attorney's time in order to discuss a few matters in-person and clarify the progress of your case.
Don't Overdo It
Finally, your attorney's office is going to be more willing to schedule a phone or in-person appointment if you are not calling their office every day. Your attorney's time is extremely valuable, and the time they spend returning phone calls is time they cannot spending working on your case.
Depositions and the discovery process can get dragged on for months. Personal injury suits can take a long time, and you shouldn't expect to hear from your attorney on a daily or even weekly basis. You should only expect to hear from your attorney every two weeks if your case is extremely active, and once a month if your case is being dragged out in discovery and deposition process.