---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ADV.ANILKUMAR KAPPILLIL legal@mfgglobal.org
Date: Tue, May 24, 2011 at 12:14 PM
Subject: HOW TO BRIEF & PROFESSIONALLY ENGAGE A LAWYER?
To: Gopal Nair <gopalnairahmedabad@gmail.com>
Dear Friends:
Growth through the application of knowledge and growth for the service of mankind are the guiding philosophies of MFG Global’s Legal Cell since its inception in January 2011. We are extremely happy that our sincere efforts have provided some solace to hundreds of Malayalee friends within a short span of time. It is our endeavour to constantly innovate and improve our services so that we can reach out to the maximum number of needy friends. Giving free legal advice to our friends who approach us is only one way of reaching out. Still, there is a wide knowledge gap exists and that too on fundamental aspects of our justice delivery system. Spreading legal awareness is a gigantic task. It is a big challenge even for the Governments with all the resources and manpower within its command. Our Legal Cell has no such resources other than our commitment, optimism, willingness to share our time, energy, experience, and knowledge for a good cause. Indeed, in this mission, we are profoundly grateful and sincerely indebted to Shri Gopal Nair and his MFG GLOBAL team for having ignited the emotional intelligence and social commitment in us and invited us to work for a pious mission.
I am giving below a write-up on How To Brief & Professionally Engage A Lawyer. If not more, it will certainly give my friends a reasonably good idea about how to meaningfully consult a lawyer and professionally engage him with their legal problems. As long as rule of law governs our personal and social lives, we cannot predict when we will need the help of a lawyer. Conventionally we always think of a lawyer’s help only when we are confronted with a court case. In the present socio-economic scenario, this perception is changing as consultation with a lawyer is imperative in pro-active decision-making process. In fact, pre-decisional legal consultation has many advantages. Let me tell you how you should brief/consult and professionally engage a lawyer to get the best out of it.
1. Know Your Grievance
You should know why you are aggrieved, how, and against whom you claims are made. It is better if you write them on a piece of paper before you consult a lawyer. You should collect all documents connected with your grievance. You should collect the correct postal addresses of the parties against whom you want to proceed. If the dispute relates to immovable property, you should collect all documents such as title deeds, prior title deeds, non-encumbrance certificate, tax receipts etc. If the dispute relates to an employment matter, you should collect the appointment letter, standing orders of the establishment, if any, and the order of suspension/termination as the case may be. If the dispute is relating to a criminal offence, you should know apart from what is the offence, by whom, when, how, and where the offence was committed and who were the witnesses to the incident. The territorial jurisdiction of the police station within which the alleged incident took place should also be ascertained. A write-up accompanied by the relevant documents connected with the case is very helpful in not only having self-awareness of your grievance but enlightening your lawyer in the first meeting.
2. Choose Your Counsel
It is not the fame or vanity of the lawyer or the number of high profile clients the lawyer may have to his credit that will decide the fate of your case. Check if the lawyer is a practicing advocate with a good standing and reputation for his integrity, honesty, and knowledge of his field of practice. Check if your lawyer is a good listener, keen observer, and is quick to grasp the points. Also, check if the lawyer could be an approachable one and available for consultation on a short-notice. First collect his business card and fix an appointment with your chosen lawyer at a mutually convenient date, time, and place for the first briefing.
3. First Briefing
In the first briefing, you are directly meeting the lawyer and presenting your case. You will have to hand over the Photostat copies of the documents along with a written brief of your problems. In fact, the lawyer will have to study your case and prepare his comments. You will be required to pay the lawyer’s professional charges for getting his opinion and scrutiny of documents. Depending upon the gravity of the issue, the lawyer will give you a date for pre-litigation conference.
4. Pre-Litigation Conference
The lawyer, having studied your case in depth, is required to make a presentation to you during this conference. The lawyer will present to you, the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the situation based on the current legal trends. This will enable you to explore the options with clarity. If your option is litigation, the lawyer will advice you on the litigation strategy. You can clarify your doubts in this conference. Make the best use of this opportunity to clarify your doubts. Of course, the time, energy, and the professional skills of the lawyer are not offered to you free of cost and you will have to pay for the conference fees. Therefore, please do not forget to consider asking the following questions to your lawyer:
a. Is there any alternate method for resolving your dispute than by way of litigation?
b. What will happen if you do not opt for litigation?
c. Whether your personal presence is required during litigation? Could it be dispensed with assignment of power-of-attorney? If not, how many times you will be required to be present in the court?
d. What additional documents are required to substantiate your case? How could you obtain them?
e. If you are consulting the lawyer for drafting a conveyance, ask him to explain the recital clauses and the effects.
f. Which forum you will be approaching for redressing the grievance?
g. The Professional fees and Court expenses you have to pay.
For God’s sake, never ask a lawyer whether he/she could win your case by influencing the judge or by abusing the process of any court. Also, don’t ask a lawyer whether he could take up the case on condition that his fees & expenses would be paid out of the proceeds of the litigation. Considering the huge volume of cases pending in our courts, please don’t ask a lawyer to give you the exact date when your litigation will be over. Remember that, a honest lawyer with a high degree of professional integrity can only assure you reasonable time frame within which he could complete his assignment. An ethical, honest, and competent lawyer will never promise you that he will get your case won if only you paid him so much amount. A Good lawyer will never enter into a property deal or business deal with you when he is holding your brief.
You can, as a matter of your valuable right, request your lawyer to keep you regularly informed of the progress of the case. Kindly remember that it is the mutual trust, confidence, and respect between you and your lawyer that alone makes the relationship truly fiduciary. You may also keep for your records for easy reference all the written pleadings made before the court.
5. During Litigation
Keep yourself informed about the postings of the case. Keep your counsel also informed about any key development in the matter. In case, your counsel wants clarifications, please provide them honestly and accurately and in time. If there are pleadings/affidavits to be filed in the court, please do it in time in the manner so advised by your counsel. If there is change of your residence, or telephone/mobile numbers, or email id, please do inform your counsel. Regular communication and feedback are essential in smooth conduct of litigation.
6. Giving Evidence In a Court
If you know your case well, it will be easier for you to give a true account of it in evidence before a court of law. Refresh your memory with the key points of your case. Go through the documents thoroughly. Learn the dates and events. To gain confidence, you can discuss with your counsel. Study the opposite party’s version and think of what possible questions the Opposite lawyer will ask you in order to drive the opposite version more probable in a civil case. In a criminal case, the direct evidence is very decisive as the standard of proof should be of a higher degree and quality.
Mount on the witness box with a pleasant, confident posture. Listen carefully to the questions put to you by the opposite counsel. If it demands an YES or NO answer from you, think carefully about its implications. After saying YES or NO, if you think you need to explain the answer so given, you may request the court to permit you to explain the answer and you can explain it with the permission of the court. Do not try to lie to a court of law and remember that the judge is not a mute spectator watching a drama. Your body language also is being observed. If you do not understand a complex question put to you by an opposite counsel, you are within your rights to request to explain the question. But be polite and courteous to the opposite counsel even if he puts to you uncomfortable questions in cross examination. If the question is not to be asked to you or it is irrelevant as per law and facts of the case, your counsel will take care of it either by putting forward his objection or clarifying it in the re-examination.
It is always better that you be present when the witnesses in your case from either side are examined in the court. Some times, a bench-mark meeting with your counsel is necessary at this stage to decide upon any changes in the litigation strategy.
After taking evidence on both sides, the Court will post the case for hearing arguments. Both counsels will argue their cases with reference to their respective pleadings, oral as well as documentary evidences and in support of their contentions, they will rely on case laws. After the arguments, the judge will post the case for pronouncing the judgment. On the day of judgment, it is desirable that you be present with your counsel. In case of doubtful criminal cases where the offences are bailable, it is better for the accused person to have his bail application ready with sureties.
7. After Judgment
Whether you have won or lost the case in the trial, you may request your counsel to obtain a certified copy of the judgment. If you have won the case, you may have to get the decree executed for which you have to instruct your counsel to file execution proceedings. On the other hand if you have lost, you may have to request your counsel to file appeal. In both cases, you may require the certified copy of the judgment.
8. Disappointment with Counsel
Sometimes it so happens that you are not satisfied with the services of your counsel. In such case, you may first approach him and politely request him to relinquish the vakalath for you in your case, issue a no-objection certificate to engage any counsel, and return the case file. Please settle his dues if any remain unpaid. Thereafter you can engage any counsel of your choice by filing a fresh vakalath along with the NOC issued by the previous counsel. In cases where the counsel refuses to return the case files, you may send a request by registered post with acknowledgment due card for return of the files as you want to disengage him as counsel. In spite of this request, if the lawyer refuses to return the case file, you can straight away engage another counsel and through him/her file an application explaining the circumstances for dispensing with NOC from the previous counsel. Through the new counsel, you can seek time to re-construct the case file by obtaining certified copies of the records from the court registry. As per law, the lawyers do not have any right to retain the case files after relinquishment of vakalath. Once the lawyer relinquishes the vakalath and issues NOC, he returns the case file and you have to issue a receipt for having received the same.
I earnestly hope and trust that the above write-up will be of some help to understand the dynamics of client-lawyer relationship. I shall be very grateful if you could kindly send your feedback to the Legal Cell.
With love,
Adv.Kappillil Anilkumar
Coordinator, Legal Cell
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Adv. Kappillil Anilkumar
M/s. The Lawyers' Syndicate
III Floor, Choolakkal Building
Convent Junction, Market Road
Ernakulam, Kochi-682 011
Mob:9895177587
