Attorney O’s Midnight Musings: Connecticut Law

Posted By Administrator on August 25, 2009

Social Law dictates that if a lawyer is in a social setting and someone happens to mention that he or she is a lawyer, at least one person in the crowd will inevitably pull that lawyer aside and ask for legal advice. Sometimes the legal problem they describe rivals the most complicated fact pattern ever presented on the Bar Exam:

“My aunt’s brother’s best friend’s dog chased an elderly woman’s car for three blocks and she was in such a panic that she lost control of the car and crashed into a mailbox, running down the mail carrier in the process. He flew over the top of her car and landed on the sidewalk across the street, shattering his right knee and breaking his nose. All the mail in his bag scattered in the wind. Some of the mail blew into the storm drain. Some sleazy guy standing on the curb witnessed the whole accident and saw the perfect opportunity to steal all the social security checks the mail carrier was supposed to deliver. He successfully forged everyone’s signature and cashed the checks over a three-day period. Now those poor retirees are out of a month’s income and the sleazy guy made off with tens of thousands of dollars. He’s probably laying on beach somewhere in the Caribbean with one of those tropical drinks. You know, the ones with the colorful little umbrellas? Okay, so if my aunt’s brother’s best friend’s dog wasn’t on a leash when he chased the elderly woman in the car, is my aunt’s brother’s best friend liable for all those stolen social security checks? Does he have to pay the mail carrier’s medical bills? Is he on the hook for the elderly woman’s car repairs? And who has to pay for those tropical drinks with the colorful little umbrellas?”

I am obviously exaggerating here, in an attempt to make you chuckle. I’m not a stand-up comic – but I do consider myself a stand-up lawyer. Okay, that was the punch line. You can chuckle now. I’ll wait.

Fundamentally – at least on a personal level — most lawyers don’t mind being asked legal questions in social settings. Giving legal opinions is, after all, what we do for a living.

I do feel obliged to say, however, that giving legal advice in a social setting is something we lawyers prefer not to do. Before anyone takes offense, let me explain. There are several valid reasons.

Confidentiality is first and foremost the hallmark of the attorney/client relationship. When a third (or fourth or tenth or hundredth) party is within earshot, the conversation is not private and therefore not considered privileged.

It is inappropriate for a lawyer to give advice to one person to pass on to someone else (as in the tongue-in-cheek example presented in the opening paragraph). The person with the legal problem should seek direct advice from legal counsel, not through a third party.

When a person requests legal advice, he or she must present a set of facts that requires considered analysis on the part of the lawyer. That analysis requires our complete attention and focus. Sometimes, it also requires legal research.

Standing on line in the supermarket with a cart full of groceries and a mental list of items we might have forgotten to buy does not constitute our complete attention or focus. Personally, I’m usually focused on trying to find that stupid card the supermarket gave me that allows me to buy the items in my cart at a reduced cost. (For the record, it’s usually at home, in my other wallet). One of my children is likely texting me incessantly, wanting to know if I’ll be home any time soon — or if he should send out a search party. (I’ve been gone so long, he probably should). The neighbor down the street is hailing me from across the aisle to say that she hasn’t seen me in months and is wondering if my mom will be at bingo this week. (I honestly have no idea). The bagger is inquiring whether I prefer paper or plastic. (I just want my groceries to fit in the trunk between my briefcase and the sports equipment my boys piled in there with the stinky socks). I’m trying to remember where I parked the car. (Or if I actually remembered to take the keys out of the ignition before I locked the car). Suffice it to say my attention is not focused on legal issues at that moment.

On more than one occasion, after listening to the facts being presented to me in such a setting, I offered the person my business card and suggested that we set up a time to speak confidentially at my office. Once, after making one such offer, I actually heard someone say to her companion, “She didn’t even bother to answer my question.” I was at a wedding at the time – serving as a bridesmaid in the wedding party!

When a lawyer hands you a business card and suggests that you meet for a private consultation, please don’t be insulted. We are simply maintaining our professionalism and honoring the integrity of our legal oath. (In my case, I was also trying to listen to the photographer tell me where to stand while he posed us for the wedding party photo).

Honestly, you wouldn’t approach a doctor at a cocktail party and ask her to diagnose that pain your father (who is home in bed) has been having in his left hip. You wouldn’t ask an accountant who is sitting in the front row during his only daughter’s high school graduation ceremony to calculate how much that home office deduction will increase your tax refund (even if you did have the square footage of that home office written on the back of his business card). And you wouldn’t ask a contractor who is attending his son’s championship football game how much the laminated construction beam will add to the cost of your new family room. (it’s not cheap, I know. I’ve been there).

Please … pretty please … don’t be offended when an attorney hands you a business card and suggests that you schedule a private consultation to discuss your legal issues. We’re not trying to dodge your questions. We’re simply trying to give you proper legal advice in an appropriate setting.

Categories: Musings
Tags: Legal advice