LEGAL RIGHTS OF CLIENTS! YES, FOLKS, WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE SOME!

CLIENT'S BASIC LEGAL RIGHTS

As the client or consumer of legal services from an attorney or other professional, you have certain basic rights that you can expect your attorney to abide by. Be aware that although you have these rights, getting them enforced can be problematic. A reasonable, tactful approach to enforcing these rights will often be your best bet, since attorneys are reluctant to sue other attorneys and bar associations are notoriously ineffective at policing their own members. Nonetheless, if your attorney (or opposing counsel) has committed a breach of ethics, you have every right to report them to their professional association and any other applicable governing bodies. Legal Rights Of Clients You have a right to discuss the proposed rates and retainer fee with your lawyer and you have the right to bargain about the fees before you sign the agreement, as in any other contract. You have the right to know how many other legal staff (including additional attorneys) will be working on your case at any given time, and what you will be charged for their services. You have the right to know in advance how you will be asked to pay legal fees and any other expenses at the end of the case. If you pay for a retainer, you may ask reasonable questions about how the money will be spent or has been spent and how much of it remains unspent. You are under no legal obligation to sign a Promissory Note or agree to a lien or mortgage on your home to cover legal fees. You are under no legal obligation to waive your rights to dispute a bill for legal services. You have a right to a reasonable estimate of expected future costs. If your lawyer agrees to lend or advance you money for preparing your case, you have the right to know periodically how much money your lawyer has spent on your behalf. You also have the right to decide after consulting with your lawyer, how much money is to be spent to prepare a case. If you pay the expenses, you have the right to decide how much to spend. You have the right to ask your lawyer at reasonable intervals how the case is progressing and to have these questions answered to the best of your lawyer's ability. You have the right to make the final decision regarding the settlement of your case. You have a right to original documents that are not part of your attorney's work product. For instance, if you gave your present attorney documents from another attorney, you have a right to those documents. You have a right to ask your attorney to forward documents to you in a timely manner as he/she receives them from the opposing party's attorney. You have a right to be present at ALL court conferences relating to your case that are held with judges and attorneys, and you also have the right to bring a family member or a friend to all court proceedings, unless a judge orders otherwise. You have the right to know the approximate cost of bringing a motion. The cost may vary depending on the lawyer's rates and circumstances of the case, but you have the right to a general estimate. If at any time, you, the client, believe that your lawyer has charged an excessive or illegal fee, you have the right to report the matter to a disciplinary or grievance committee that oversees lawyer misconduct. Please Note:  This list of Client Rights was taken from the S.P.A.R.C. website at:  www.deltabravo.net.  For more excellent information, check out this website.  It is extremely helpful to all litigants.