Top 5 Things You Should Never Say To Your Employment Lawyer

It happened. Your employer took it to you. You know what they did to you is wrong. You think you have a case against your employer. You began to research and found out you may be right. So you buckle down and begin looking for employment lawyers in your area. You find a few you think would be perfect for your case and start to reach out. Nobody is interested. Yet, you are determined. You know you have a case.

If your case is strong, but you’re getting shot down left and right – it’s not the case that’s hurting your chances with employment lawyers, it’s you. Employment lawyers are busy people. They aren’t sitting around all day waiting for cases to fall into their laps. If an employment lawyer doesn’t have much to do, he or she would probably much rather be at home with the family. Being in the office without work isn’t exactly exciting.

So if you’re the problem, not your case, it could be because of what you’re saying to the perspective employment lawyers. Here’s what you should never say:

“I got quoted a cheaper price from other lawyers”

This is downright insulting. If you want a cheaper lawyer, go hire a cheaper one. If an employment lawyer has high fees, it’s often because he or she is experienced and successful. Lawyers are just like all other things you can buy in life – you get what you pay for.

“My case is easy money”

Again, this is just insulting to tell an employment lawyer. Truly, “easy money” doesn’t exist in law – much less employment law. Any lawyer will have to work very hard to win a case for you. If a company settles, it’s often due to your lawyer’s reputation – he or she convinced the company your case was good.

“I think we can settle. They don’t want bad publicity”

While this train of thought is very common with regards to employment law, it’s rarely true. The only way a company will settle is if your lawyer can convince the company’s legal team that your case is strong. Often, a case that receives more publicity will be more difficult to settle. Most companies do not want to openly admit wrongdoings, even if it costs them a little extra in the end.

“I’m not settling for under one million dollars”

Employment laws often have caps. Most cases do not bring in big bucks, much less bucks at all. By telling your lawyer this information, you basically just said, “I’m a difficult and often, unrealistic client.” Lawyers prefer to work with clients who will take their advice and accept a settlement, if recommended.

“Lawyers I’ve worked with in the past didn’t have my best interest at heart”

Highly, highly unlikely – most lawyers work on contingency or at least partial contingency, so the best deal you can get is in their best interest too. The likely scenario is that you had unrealistic expectations and your employment lawyer couldn’t help you come to terms with the merits of your case. If you’ve been working with a number of lawyers and had no success, the problem isn’t with the lawyers – it’s with you.