Proper lawyer, client etiquette??

[JS19]

To any lawyers out there or people who have dealt with them. Currentley, I have a lawyer taking my case from an accident I was invlved in. Going after some kind of no fault, bodily injury insurance clause or something like that. The lawyer is part of the family, something like my grandmothers cousin. Very successful from what I hear through the family gossip. I have yet to speak a word to him, my mom has been taking care of it all. My question is, is it proper etiquette for me to call him and ask him how everything is going? What he thinks will happen with this and that? Or is this the type of relationship where I don't do a thing, let him do his work, and get back to me??

[digamma]

Attorneys have an ethical duty to keep clients informed of ongoing matters. It is perfectly acceptable for you to inquire about case status and development.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Attorneys have an ethical duty to keep clients informed of ongoing matters. It is perfectly acceptable for you to inquire about case status and development.

Agreed. Sometimes it feels like 50% of what I do is aimed at keeping clients informed of ongoing matters through various memos, charts, powerpoint presentations, etc.

[albionmoonlight]

To any lawyers out there or people who have dealt with them. Currentley, I have a lawyer taking my case from an accident I was invlved in. Going after some kind of no fault, bodily injury insurance clause or something like that. The lawyer is part of the family, something like my grandmothers cousin. Very successful from what I hear through the family gossip. I have yet to speak a word to him, my mom has been taking care of it all. My question is, is it proper etiquette for me to call him and ask him how everything is going? What he thinks will happen with this and that? Or is this the type of relationship where I don't do a thing, let him do his work, and get back to me??You should call him. Nothing wrong with just getting a sense of where things are. Now, of course, one can take it too far and bug the lawyer to death. But no good lawyer should mind one phone call from his client to see how things are going.

[Swaggs]

Keep in mind that, if you are still seeking medical treatment (ie: racking up med bills), things are probably not moving along too quickly. Until your injury is well identified and treated, you will not see a lot of movement beyond the lawyer finding out terms and limits of the policy and collecting medical bills.

[law90026]

It's our responsiblity to speak to our clients and keep them updated. A lawyer that relies on an intermediary's instructions (in this case your mother) is just waiting to be sued for negligence or professional misconduct (at least where I practice).

So call, he should be more than happy to speak to you. In fact, you should find out what exactly he plans to do for you rather than just blindly trusting him.

[JS19]

Sounds good, thanks for all the advice. I will give him a call and see where we stand and what the process is.