Lecomser works with people. When we started our business, we knew that a crucial part of our work would focus on people management.
It may seem trivial, but much more important than procedures themselves are the people who manage procedures. It is like life in general, two individuals with the same problems will never see them in a similar way and the results of both may vary depending on how they face the circumstances that life places them in.
A criminal procedure is the same. When the process begins it is part of our life and as such we have to integrate it. Unfortunately, we lawyers are not trained in psychology, philosophy, or people management. We complement our training with other optional subjects depending on our preferences.
However, the right to freedom is something that lawyers study at university. Its implications, and its loss as a result of sanctions and penalties. In practice, this right in practice is the first concern of clients as it is something that they feel really threatened by due to the consequence of such a loss, even more so than a sense of guilt or a feeling success. The first reaction to this concern is: Help. The second reaction is the sum of two facets that clients expect from their lawyer: Empathy and expertise. And the result of these aspects will reflect a lawyer’s professionalism.
In fact, the best way to summarise the understanding of clients is to understand how they experience a criminal procedure. There are people who are absolutely overcome by it and lawyers totally incapable of handling the situation. And this inability results in a breakdown of trust in the lawyer-client relationship that is doomed to failure, including the consequences of this rupture and a search for other means of defence. In the end, the priority of clients is your ability to listen, to understand, to empathise with their case. And then, your capacity to solve it. The technical and human points of view go hand in hand.
When anyone asks me what to do if the relationship of trust with a lawyer is broken, I always explain that a lawyer is like a doctor. A doctor might be outstandingly good at his subject, a university lecturer, have an honorary degree, but not understand patients’ concerns, lacking the human dimension. If this happens, technical knowledge can never make up for personal shortcomings. And the relationship will never work. The doctor may cure you, and the lawyer may win your trial, but during the process they will not be able to guide you.
You may think... "I want to win my case, it doesn’t matter if I am not understood by my lawyer". And of course it can happen, as the chances of success will depend on different factors, sometimes subjective and separate from the ability of your lawyer. However, a good defence or prosecution is based on fundamentals. The excellence of a lawyer lies not only in a brilliant judicial performance, but in their impeccable ethical and human quality.
As Montaigne said, "When we judge a particular action we must consider many circumstances and the whole man who performed it." When translated into practice in a criminal proceeding this means that in the process you must consider the action, the analysis, the legal vision, the expertise, and the person who is going to visit you as a whole (the client).
Therefore, one of the strengths of our team at Lecomser is our people management: "We help you manage your time, expectations and professional life during the various stages of criminal procedures." The reason is simple: the lawyer is the voice of the client. This representation is based on facilitating or, where appropriate, enabling the legal action of a person. The more we know about the interests of our clients, the more fruitful the relationship will be and the better we can incorporate them into procedures. The basis of a criminal procedure is communication: verbal and written. And that communication begins with clients. If you are not able to understand their story the following steps will only be a version of the “Chinese whisper effect.”
Another reason is frustration. The frustration of clients can bring great disadvantages in a criminal procedure. To begin with, there will come a time when a lawyer will only be able to receive a coded message from the client. And knowing the meaning of words is not enough to understand what is being said.
Another reason and I would say the most important, is client satisfaction. A client buys your knowledge but also your service as a whole. At Lecomser we care about our clients from the beginning of the procedure to the end, and we want them to be satisfied with the management of our work, and experience the procedure as something integrated into their lives, not the opposite, their lives as a part of the procedure. Lecomser has established various working options in this regard:
- Regular meetings to share concerns and expectations concerning the procedure, to help as much as possible in the overall management.
- External advice: basic questions about the procedure, the criminal regulation or any other technical aspect that you need to know to integrate the procedure into your life.
If you are going through a criminal procedure, and do not know how to deal with it or have doubts that you would like to resolve, Lecomser is here to help you on your journey and to achieve YOUR success to your satisfaction.