A Fool for a Client

I often get asked, by lawyers, whether they really need representation when responding to a grievance or other complaint. And even though it’s in my pecuniary interest to reflexively answer, yes of course you need counsel, the truth is more nuanced. I tend to ask a few questions before answering—do you have the time to handle the response? Does your malpractice carrier provide coverage for grievance defense? Did getting the call or email from the Office of Lawyer Regulation make you angry or scared or defensive? Perhaps most importantly, do you feel competent to respond? Responses to those questions can inform a decision as to whether to retain counsel or go it alone.

Rudy Giuliani never asked me.

Recently, Giuliani dropped his lawyer, apparently because it is “silly to have a lawyer when I don’t need one.” That may be a true statement, by itself. Most people don’t have a lawyer when they don’t need one. 

But Rudy? When you dropped your lawyer, you were under subpoena and refusing to comply; you had a whole bunch of other problems.

This is not a go-it-alone situation. This is the opposite of a go-it-alone situation.

You need a lawyer. Given the way things have shaken out, your lawyer needs a lawyer, and your lawyer’s lawyer might as well.

I guess you finally figured that out. I hope whoever you hire has figured that out, too. It’s lawyers all the way down.

Good luck?