WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE BEING SUED

By Paul P. Cheng, Esq.

This brief memorandum is being sent out to new attorneys and their clients to help them when they are being sued. Please feel free to continue to send us your questions by email to: paulchenglaw@aol.com.

When one is sued understand that time is of the essence. It is imperative that one take a multi-prong approach to a lawsuit. Failing to do so may be irreversibly fatal. Take a moment to read the following practical steps.

1. Get Organized to Reduce Attorney Fees

It amazes me how our firm is asked to defend some high profiled companies and yet when we ask for their documents, they are disjoint or dysfunctional. It is imperative that every client be aware of all documents that are given to their attorney and what they mean. If an attorney has to figure out what every document means and the relevance of such document, it will increase the costs to litigate the case. To reduce attorney fees follow the easy solution below

Solution: Gather all your documents together. On an excel spreadsheet have five columns. On the first column write down numbers (i.e. 1-100). On column two write down the date of when the document was created. On column three write down the name of the document. On column four you will write down a summary of what it is about. Column five will have written what this document shows or how it is important to your case. An example of this is below. You will then include the index with all your documentation to your attorney. Will this take some time to put together? Maybe, but what it will do is allow your attorneys to do what you have paid them to do, practice law, not do your secretarial work.

Example:

Exhibit Date Name of Doc Summary This Doc Shows

1 3/4/06 Letter to Employee Letter that our office wrote to employee stating that he should not be using company time for internet surfing Shows that we gave him notice before termination

2. Lost Documents = Lost Cases

The average individual cannot fathom the amount of documentation necessary to properly defend a client. One case will usually require a minimum of 1000 various documents, references, citations, etc. Documents are frequently transported from one attorney to another, from the office to the court, from the court and back. Computer crashes are becoming more and more common. What that means for any client is that the possibility of misplaced or accidentally deleted documents substantially increases. The reality is that many times when documents are lost (either by the firm or courts) attorneys may be too scared to tell their clients for fear of client dissatisfaction or discord. This might be the fatal blow to a promising defense in your case.

Solution: Borrow, buy or go to a copy source to photocopy or scan all documents given to your attorney. I recommend scanning them and putting the documents onto a flash drive that one can wear around the neck. (A flash drive can be had for less than $25 in most stores) Let your attorney know that you have the documents available and that if he/she needs them they can get them from you. Always support them when they need documentation.

3. Stop Your Attorney From Lying to You

Attorneys, believe it or not, are human too. They lose focus, they get scared, and they lie when they are faced with a situation that deserves immediate answers. A typical scenario for many attorneys is this. An attorney receives a call from a perspective or current client. The person on the phone expects from a five minute phone call to know whether they have a good case and what they can get, or how a defense of the case will occur. An analogy I use is this. One would never go to a physician and ask whether he/she needed brain surgery when their head has been hurting for one week. However, it seems, for better or worse, society perceives the practice of law as simplistic. It is so easy in fact that one can get competent legal advice within a five minute phone call. This is faulty thinking and results in many clients retaining attorneys that are not qualified for their case although they may be good salesmen.

Solution: Take three pieces of paper. On the first piece of paper write down what happened. On the second page write down what you want. On the third page write down what the other side will say in response to what you believe to be the facts and what you want. A quick example would be this. In a family law case for change of child custody you would put on the first page what has happened in your relationship. Maybe the other spouse has not been active in your child’s relationship. On the second page you would write what you want (i.e. “I want 100% custody of my child and the other spouse to attend counseling”). The third page you would write what the other side would say. (i.e. “The other parent will say that he/she has been a part of the child’s life and I have prevented him/her from seeing my child”).

You are now ready to get competent legal advice. You can fax, email, or snail mail the document to your attorney. Your prospective attorney will do one of three things. They will not respond. That is wonderful; you did not want someone that fails to respond to you anyway. Two, they will refer you to someone else they believe is qualified for your case. That is great, the more professionals you have the better. Three, the attorney will research the case for you (if just to become competent) and respond to you. You have now received what you want, competent legal advice.

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By: Paul Cheng