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Clients expect to have routine and informative conversations with their attorneys about the status of their cases, when documents are ready to sign, problems and issues that need to be addressed, and more. Reasonable attorney communication is a cornerstone of the Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct, the ethical regulations that govern the practice of law in our state. Poor or improper communication can do irreparable harm to a client’s legal matter, which may open the door to a malpractice claim.
If your lawyer did not communicate regularly with you (or at all) and you ended up with a poor outcome to your case as a result of the attorneys failures, talk to the professional malpractice attorneys of Stanfield Bechtel Law.
What Communication Norms Are Required of Lawyers?
Clients want and need to have regular communications with their attorneys about their legal matters. Under the Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct, attorneys have to respond to reasonable client requests in a prompt manner. However, attorneys and clients sometimes disagree about what “reasonable” and “prompt” mean.
On one end of the spectrum, it would not be reasonable for an attorney to respond to a client email that is sent while the lawyer is in trial. Nor would “prompt” necessarily mean a same-day response if the lawyer is in a trial lasting several days. On the other end, however, attorneys sometimes take days or weeks to return phone calls or answer simple emails that require little effort on their part. Questions such as whether the client request is “reasonable” and the lawyer’s response is “prompt” are fact-specific and vary from one case to another.
Clients should understand that the legal process will almost always take more time than the client wants. For example, the opposing party may delay their response, or the judge might take a while to rule on motions. In addition, trials, hearings, emergencies, bad weather, clerical mistakes, and overloaded court dockets can cause delays.
The Effects of Poor Communication
By the same token, lawyers must realize the critical role that timely responses play. Promptly responding to a client call or email can dramatically affect the case. A client may call to accept a settlement proposal that has a deadline but could end the case to the benefit of all parties. Or a client may have a question about something, the answer to which might shape the course of the litigation. In a worst case scenario, lawyer delays cause missed deadlines, unpreparedness for trial or negotiations, poor settlements, and even the expiration of the statute of limitations (which permanently deprives the client of judicial relief).
Reasons That Lawyers Have Poor Communication
These are some reasons why your lawyer is not timely responding to your calls and emails:
- They do not have any updates
- They are busy representing or working for other clients
- They have personal issues to deal with
- They are out of the office or on vacation
- They have stopped representing you, pursuant to your agreement or court approval
- You are not the client (commonly seen where a third party like the client’s parents pay the legal bills)
- You are ignoring their advice
- You have changed your contact information (e.g. a new phone number)
- They have bad news and don’t want to deliver it
- They are negligent, forgetful, or disorganized
Some of these reasons may justify a short delay in responding to you. However, going days or weeks with no response is not acceptable
When Is Poor Communication Legal Malpractice?
It is inconsiderate and unprofessional for your lawyer to ignore you. But when does this rise to the level of malpractice? The answer depends on how irresponsible their actions were and the impact they had on you. Proving malpractice requires showing that:
- Your lawyer did not reasonably fulfill their obligations to you; and
- Your legal claim was negatively affected as a result
An obvious example is missing filing deadlines or having court motions denied because your lawyer did not communicate. Another example might be that your attorney did not timely inform you that you lost your case, and you therefore missed the narrow window of time to appeal.
Questions About Your Lawyer’s Poor Communication? We Can Answer Them
If your lawyer did not communicate well with you or at all and your legal matter suffered, it’s time to explore a malpractice lawsuit. We can review the circumstances of your case and advise you of your legal options. If malpractice is one of them, we can seek the compensation you deserve. Call Stanfield Bechtel Law today to begin.