The Importance of Staying Connected with Your Attorney
Why is it important for you to stay in touch with your attorney? Hi, my name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa misdemeanor attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family and criminal law for almost eight years now, and I want to help you make law easy by talking a little bit about why it’s necessary to keep in contact with your lawyer.
So this does seem like a no-brainer, and I understand that there are times when it can be kind of frustrating or difficult to get in contact with your attorney just because your schedule’s crazy, their schedule’s crazy, it doesn’t always line up. But it’s very, very important, it’s almost crucial that you stay in contact with your attorney at all times because anything can change at any given moment.
Effective Communication Strategies
Even if it’s not like a phone call, because let’s be honest, your lawyer’s probably going to be in court or in and out of court a lot during the day, and sometimes a phone call just isn’t going to work out. Your lunch breaks don’t line up, or maybe you’ve got a break, but they’re still on the docket. It’s a mess.
At the very least, you’ve got to make sure that you’re emailing your attorney if you have any questions any concerns, and be checking your email for updates from your lawyer. Here’s what happens if you don’t stay in touch with your attorney.
Potential Consequences of Losing Contact
This happened to me this week, and luckily, spoiler alert, everything’s fine, no one got a warrant issue for their arrest or anything like that. But I had a situation come up where I had a client who’s been great about keeping in touch with us, just for whatever reason, he fell off the face of the earth. He didn’t call, he didn’t write, he didn’t give us any kind of updates, and he didn’t show up for court that day.
So, guys, if you’re in this situation and you’re not really keeping in great contact with your attorney and then you just don’t call and show up for court, that kind of puts your attorney in a bind because your lawyer’s going to be standing there in front of a judge saying, I don’t know. I don’t know why they’re not here. I don’t know what happened.
Maintaining a Proactive Approach
Luckily, in this case, I was able to say, Your Honor, he’s kept in great contact with me in the past. This is a very anomalous occasion. He’s made every court date beforehand, et cetera, et cetera. So in this case, thankfully, we were able to get just a warrant taken under advisement. We got the thing reset for next week. No one’s in trouble yet, necessarily.
But if I had been in front of that judge and just saying, Judge, I haven’t spoken to my client in over a month, I have no idea where they are in the world, I don’t know what they’re doing with their life, it’s more likely than not that judge was going to issue a warrant for my client’s arrest if he had not been keeping in touch with us.
Stay Engaged and Keep Updated
Make sure that you’re staying in contact with your attorney. Make sure that y’all are at least exchanging a phone call or an email twice a week. It doesn’t need to be much, and it doesn’t need to be just, Hey, is there an update? All it needs to be is, Hey, checking in, I had some questions. Or, Hey, checking in, just want to make sure we’re good for next week. Is there anything else that you need from us? Is there anything that you think might be helpful? Things like that.
Take charge of your defense, and make sure that you are cooperating and participating in your case with your attorney to make sure that you have the best chance possible at coming out on top.
Call for a Complimentary Strategy Session
If you have questions about this, give me a call. My name is Carl Birkhead, I’m a Tulsa felony attorney with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help you make law easy. Reach out for a low-cost initial strategy session and let’s discuss how we can best serve your legal needs. Call 918-879-1681 today.
