Why do I find myself communicating with people who are not my attorney?

Assault Lawyer

Communications can be with others for a variety of reasons. The Paralegals and legal assistants assist attorneys in a variety of ways but one of the reasons that it could be prudent to speak to a paralegal or a legal assistant when able is money or to be more precise the hourly billing rate of the legal staff assisting you. Communications with a paralegal or legal assistant is going to cost less than speaking directly to the attorney as a paralegals billing rate is less than the attorneys and legal assistants have an ever lower hourly rate by that reasoning it saves clients’ money to speak with legal assistants and or paralegals when able. Another reason is time, your assault lawyer in Arlington, TX could be in court or otherwise unavailable, but someone else in the department is able to take the phone call and address whatever the reason for the call. This means the issues or questions that come up can be taken care of in much more of a timelier manner. If it is a larger department such as personal injury you could potentially speak with multiple people about your case as they all work on different areas within the case, you may also find that you do not speak to the attorney often until it is closer to the litigation period in this process. If the attorney is not the lead attorney for a department you may also within the life of the case speak to the lead attorney or the managing attorney over the entire firm or if the lead attorney if the attorney over your case you may also speak to the associate attorney who is also within the same department.

Other reasons could be that the reason for communications could potentially be with someone else are due to administrative things of which there are many. The administrative staff act as go between clients and the legal staff answering phones and assisting setting up appointments, they also help with retaining appointments. Administrative staff go over retainers in the retaining appointment to explain the contract, and assist with any questions that come up at that time. You might find yourself speaking to a billing specialist in regards to payments for the initial retainer as well as payment plans if applicable. You may also find yourself speaking to a billing specialist if retainer replenishment is needed for the case.

Thanks to Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC for their insight into criminal law and how law firms operate.