What to Tell Your Attorney

Is there such a thing as “oversharing” when it comes to working with your attorney?  The short answer is “No.”  It is important for your attorney to have as much information as possible when they go to represent you.

Sometimes, clients may unintentionally withhold information from their attorney, because they do not think it is important to the case.  However, it is important to remember that your attorney needs to have as clear a picture of the situation as possible before they dig in too deep.  If there is a question about whether the information could be related, it is best to share it with your attorney and let him/her decide if it is important to your case.

This holds true whether it is related to a personal injury case, breach of contract, or even when drafting an estate plan.  The more your attorney understands about the situation, the better the advice and help your attorney will be able to provide. 

Apart from unintentionally withholding information, there may be many different reasons why a client might (incorrectly) think they should intentionally withhold some information from his attorney.  The client might feel embarrassed or he might be worried that if he shares the information with his attorney then the opposing party might find out.  However, withholding such information from your attorney can have negative consequences to your case. 

It is important to remember that whatever the client tells his attorney in confidence will be protected by attorney-client privilege.  This protects the information from being disclosed to the opposing party, or to anyone else.  This means that a client can even share information which is potentially harmful to his case with his own attorney, and it will not be used against the client. 

In fact, sharing potentially harmful information about the case with your attorney early on could help to strengthen the case rather than weaken it.  Knowing the potential harmful information can allow your attorney to prepare for the arguments that might be brought up by the opposing party and can allow your attorney to have a battle plan in mind.  Nothing is worse than being caught unaware.

Sharing all the information (including the potentially harmful information) with your attorney early on can also help to reduce costs over the course of the litigation.  If, at the very onset, your attorney knows of the potentially bad facts, then your attorney can help you evaluate whether it is worth the time and money to pursue.  Or, it can help your attorney to provide you with a realistic settlement value and facilitate a quicker resolution to your case.  On the flip side, if your attorney is caught unaware, they may have to spend more time (and money) trying to back pedal or get around an argument that could have been planned for ahead of time.

If you are involved in a lawsuit, or need legal advice, call the experienced trial attorneys at Goosmann Law Firm, PLC, in our Omaha, Sioux City, and Sioux Falls offices.