On a client’s changing expectations

by Jamison Koehler on August 19, 2022

Folks used to come in for their preliminary interview at the Philadelphia public defender’s office environment in a panic:  “I am so afraid of going to jail,” they would say in advance of we were being even seated.  “I will do something, everything at all, if you can just reduce me from serving any time.”

Such fears were being generally unnecessary. Maybe the particular person was a 1st-time offender.  Maybe he/she was billed with a insignificant misdemeanor.  In individuals situations you could re-guarantee the consumer that, even in the worst case circumstance in which the case went to trial and the customer was discovered guilty, it was nonetheless not likely he/she would be sentenced to anything a lot more than probation.  

Thus re-confident, the client also re-assessed.  But I have young children, the customer mentioned.  Or I have a career.  I can not be worrying about coming into the town to see a probation officer.  

In other phrases, above the class of a 30-moment interview, the client would have absent from “please no jail time, I will do anything” to “my life is as well chaotic to be bothered with probation.”  This is actually unfair.  Is that the most effective you can do for me?

That is how rapidly consumer expectations can change.

A major component of our work is to regulate these expectations.  Specifically, we need to make absolutely sure these expectations are both of those educated and realistic.

I usually start off communications with a consumer with a discussion of demo strategy:  How can we beat this scenario?  This puts the emphasis wherever it really should be:  fighting vs . surrendering.  It also indicators to the shopper that I am on his/her side.  

When I go out to the jail to see a shopper, I ordinarily bring together my laptop computer so we can collectively evaluation the overall body worn digicam (BWC) files, any surveillance recordings, and many others.

Although seeing the witness’s statements to police, for example, I will issue out probable inconsistencies and other weaknesses.  I may perhaps also stage out complications with the way the job interview was performed.  

But I have to be careful not to oversell the energy of our potential protection.  For instance, that police officers interviewed witnesses in the presence of other witnesses, thereby potentially contaminating their testimony, is a achievable region of cross-evaluation that may well or may perhaps not resonate with the jury.  

But that, in and of by itself, will not show fatal to the government’s case.  It is probable that, in spite of these complications, the jury will still think the testimony.  

It is a fragile stability.  On the one particular hand, we are unable to be much too optimistic.  We do not want to give the client unrealistic expectations about the chances of prevailing at trial. At the similar time, we do not want to existing way too grim a image both.  

I have issues any time a consumer asks me for my recommendation.  You are the law firm, they say.  What do you assume?  

In those circumstances, I uncover myself applying –reluctantly — that most lawyerly of phrases:  It depends.  

This is your existence, I respond.  I can only lay out the selections – the pros and negatives – for you to choose what is most effective for you.