In this episode of UNLAWYERLY. moments Ramin discusses the way that lawyers are trained to think.
In this episode of UNLAWYERLY. moments Ramin discusses the way that lawyers are trained to think.
00:00
Chances are If you've ever gone to a lawyer and you asked a question that lawyer has not given you a straightforward answer more than likely. They've started firing a whole bunch of questions, back at you which has caused you to stop kind of scratch your head. As far as why you went to a lawyer in the first place.
00:19
But see, the thing is lawyers are taught to think a certain way. That's why lawyers do get paid a lot of money. It's because of the way that they do think in terms of the problems that are brought forth between clients are potential clients. I remember when I first went into law school and on the very first day, one of the professors came in and said we're here to not necessarily teach you the law.
00:47
We are here to teach you how to think the way that a lawyer will think. So what does that mean? They're not here to teach you the law but to think like a lawyer. Now here's the case. When someone comes to a lawyer you know you might have a problem.
01:04
Let's say it's something related to a business transaction that went wrong. Perhaps it's some issue within a marital relationship. Maybe somebody through trash at you, and you want to find a way to sue them, You'll go to a lawyer And when you go to a lawyer, you'll present a problem.
01:22
Hey, I want to sue this person because I don't like the way that they look can't necessarily sue. Someone for that reason. But anyway, The lawyer is not going to just focus on the problem that you present In fact, what's going to happen is the lawyer is going to think about all the other problems that you're not thinking of.
01:45
Now this is not meant for them to charge you more money. It's actually meant more in a way to protect you from other liabilities that perhaps you're not thinking about because often people have tunnel vision when there are problems. And so what a lawyer is going to do is they're going to start asking for more information.
02:06
They're gonna start asking more questions And the reason for this is a trained lawyer, who knows the law will already know the certain factors or certain elements of the law that make up a certain problem. And they'll need to get information to see what fits into each of the buckets.
02:24
When people withhold information, especially when they are going to a lawyer and there is attorney client confidentiality and attorney client privilege. The best thing to do is to give as much information as possible because that way the lawyer is going to be able to see the whole picture and also be able to present you with things that you are not thinking of, Hey, you want to sue this person.
02:50
Well, let's talk about the facts and circumstances, as far as the lawsuit, could there be a counter suit, could they counter sue you for something. And so lawyers what we're taught and trained to do is when a client comes to us wearing the information gathering face. We want to know anything and everything related to that particular event Often though our clients will give us certain facts but not all that because they don't want it to be.
03:19
They don't want to be putting a bad light And so we're going to tease those questions out by questions that we ask the clients and often clients may think. Well, Let me not give that information because maybe it's not going to make my case stronger. Look at the end of the day.
03:35
And of course, there are certain things that we look at from ethics standpoint, which is not, which is beyond the scope of this discussion. The lawyer is there to represent you to try to be the advocate for you and that does not necessarily mean that they always have to agree with a client in terms of what he or she has done.
03:55
But we understand when somebody comes to us as lawyers we are there to help represent and help them navigate through the law. And so we are going to ask questions where it's going to ask for sensitive information. It's going to ask for information that may not necessarily put the client in the most positive light.
04:12
But the reason for that is we are there to think of the problems that the clients are not thinking of and then be able to find solutions for the problems that they have. And so for lawyers, we are taught how to read cases. We are taught how to interpret cases But more importantly we are there to help formulate a legal question that needs an answer And those legal questions are the things that help us be able to navigate, what particular cases, do?
04:47
We need to look at What aspects of the law? Do we really need to get a good understanding of? We don't have it. And/or to be able to see what changes they are and how to represent a client before the judge before a court before another potential adversary or and some type of business relationship, whatever the case may be.
05:11
Now, one of the things that has happened to me in the past is when somebody finds out that I'm a lawyer, they'll say, hey, for me, I got a question for you. And I just smile politely and wait for them to continue. And the question often is related to about an area of the law that I have not ever practiced in, maybe.
05:30
Yes, I've learned about it and my first semester or second semester of law school but it's not within my specialty And so just like for example when you go to a doctor and let's say you have a problem with your back, you're not necessarily going to go to a heart doctor and try to get answers for that.
05:48
The same thing applies from the perspective of the legal environment. If you have a criminal matter, you're gonna go to a lawyer that specializes in criminal law. You're not necessarily going to go to a corporate lawyer that handles transactional work and perhaps has never been before a judge. And so it's important to understand that when you have a legal problem you need to scope out which lawyer do you need to speak with and if you're not sure, then yeah.
06:19
Certainly find a lawyer and talk and they'll hopefully be able to refer you to the area of the law that you need a lawyer in. But unless if it's an emergency and you have no other options and you just go to the first lawyer that perhaps, you know, or a lawyer that you've, you've searched online.
06:38
It's okay to do it at that point, but it's prudent for you to be able to find the particular lawyer that you need for your area of the law, your area where there is a problem. So when it comes to thinking like a lawyer we are taught to formulate questions based upon additional information, which is why we never give a straight answer.
07:03
We will say it depends or it depends on the facts and circumstances and it's not necessarily meant to be facetious, but it's more meant to be the reality. Certain things are going to be based upon the jurisdiction, where you live even related to the judges that are on the bench, that does make a difference.
07:22
Who the prosecutor is, who the other lawyer is, which law firm, you're dealing with A lot of these things are in the gray and there are a lot of other factors that goes into it. Now, of course, in the ideal world that would be a black and white answer for most things.
07:39
But fact of the matter is, we don't live in a black and white world. We live in a world that is very gray. It's ever changing. The laws are are moving from left to, right? Of course, depending on who's in power too, but it really has to do with finding a lawyer that's going to be able to help you navigate through your area of the law that you need help with.
08:00
And that will often mean that they will be asking, numerous questions fact gathering to be able to formulate, not necessarily the question that you had in mind. But also every other thing or just about every other thing that you perhaps are not thinking about. Because, let's be honest, when you have a legal problem, lawyers at the end of the day for the most part, they will help you but they also have to be able to know the area of the law and be able to navigate it.
08:28
But even if they don't necessarily know it because they have been taught how to think like lawyers, We will be able to, at least do the research and give you some type of answer Now. Nothing in this, of course, was meant to be any type of advice legal advice.
08:44
If you have a legal problem, a legal issue, the advice that the only thing that I can give you is speak with a lawyer that's specializes in that particular area of the law and hopefully they'll be able to navigate that area and be able to explain it to you.
08:59
And the only other thing that I would say is when you have a legal problem, my rule of thumb when people come and ask me about something is I tell them interview, three different lawyers in that particular area, the law that you need help with ask them about their expertise.
09:15
Ask them, of course about their fee structure, ask them if they have seen a problem similar to this and just realize that the end of the day you really are interviewing the lawyers to be able to see which one is a good fit for you. At the end of the, it's going to be a relationship that you're gonna have with someone that's going to help you navigate probably an important area of the law that you have a question about.
09:39
And so it's important to be able to work with a lawyer that you can trust that they have the expertise and that you feel at the end of the day that going to be able to do a good enough job. May not necessarily mean that you'll always win. But you want a lawyer to know that they are going to be the advocate for you.