Sometimes this happens a lot where clients are not faithful or tell the whole truth to their divorce lawyer. This constitutes a clear example of the cases in which the client makes the grave mistake of not telling his lawyer the entire truth about the facts of his case. So, Should I tell my divorce lawyer everything- is a common question you may wonder.
Why Should I tell my divorce lawyer everything?
And we say this is wrong. Because to propose an adequate defense strategy, the client must expose to the lawyer the truth of every one of the facts related to the conflict in which he finds himself whether they are serious, immoral, unfair, or, ultimately, illicit.
It does not matter how they can be qualified, since the lawyer needs all the possible information to be able to decide, according to the chosen line of defense, the impact that each of these events will have on the strategy outlined.
Unfortunately, many clients do not think the same. When they appear before the lawyer, they consciously decide to hide certain information that, afterward, is usually essential for the defense of the matter. The causes of this behavior are often the following:
- A particular fear that the lawyer will judge him.
- The belief that the lawyer will make a better defense if the facts are omitted (especially those denoting his guilt or responsibility).
- They think that by telling the lawyer the whole truth, he will be unable to defend him.
Read More How Do You Handle A Personal Injury Case?
Read More What are the Types of Criminal Lawyers?
Some misconceptions about it
In the first case, the client feels ashamed of some elements of his conduct and omits them, fearing that the divorce lawyer will judge him. However, he is unaware that the lawyer is there to help him through his defense and not to judge him, a task that corresponds to the judge—for example, being in an extra-marital affair.
In the second, there is a belief that if you do not tell the divorce lawyer the whole truth, the lawyer, convinced of the innocence of his client, will strive, if possible, to fight for it. A gross mistake, because the truth will come out, and with a quadrupled impact, through the intervention of the opposite party, i.e., spouse.
Finally, some clients (and these are the least) think that if they tell the lawyer the whole truth, the lawyer will inevitably have to bring it to justice, which obviously will prevent him from defending him adequately.
How to make the client tell the whole truth to the divorce lawyer?
If we observe all the assumptions, we will conclude that the best way to avoid them is to carry out a genuinely pedagogical work at the beginning of the professional relationship.
Therefore, it is essential to explain to the client at the beginning of the relationship, and in the most common way possible, the following points:
- The lawyer has to keep secrets regarding all the facts or news that he knows.
- That the lawyer, in the development of his activity, will be fully legitimized to hide that information (facts, data, etc.) that could harm the rights of his client, so not all the information that he provides must necessarily be exposed to carry out his defense.
- Finally, transmit to him the importance of his lawyer knowing all the information that the lawyer of the opposing party can reach, because otherwise, the impact of that truth discovered by the adverse party can be devastating.
Bottom Line
Despite all these precautions, the truth is that many clients, for one reason or another, persist in their attitude. But for their good, it is necessary to open to the divorce lawyers. So, in short, Should I tell my divorce lawyer everything? YES.