Factual differences [content of case entrustment]

In the course of practicing law, lawyers often encounter situations where the facts stated by the client are inconsistent with the objective situation, which may lead to changes in the facts identified in the case. FasterLawyer has the following suggestions in this regard.

First of all, in conventional criminal cases, the client who signed the entrustment agreement and the party concerned are generally not the same person. It is easy for the client to narrate the facts of the case that are inconsistent with the objective facts or legal facts. In order to avoid related risks, the lawyer will not accept the case. At this stage, a record of the case should be prepared to record the client's description of the case in detail to avoid subsequent disputes.

Secondly, lawyers cannot evaluate the client's statement and directly determine the facts of the case, because the client is generally not a witness to the case and it is difficult to accurately describe the facts of the case. Moreover, parties involved in criminal cases often tend to downplay the facts of the case in order to avoid liability, leading to deviations when the client reports the case facts to the lawyer. The lawyer handling the case should grasp the entire case situation based on the interview situation and case files. If it is discovered that there is a discrepancy between the case facts relayed by the client and the actual situation, timely communication should be made and written records should be prepared to indicate relevant legal risks.

Finally, in order to avoid subsequent commission disputes between the client and the lawyer due to the inconsistency between the client’s statement of case facts and the actual situation, FasterLawyer has the following suggestions:

• It is recommended that lawyers use the statements of the parties involved as the basis for judging the facts of the case and the basis for the client to communicate on the facts of the case.
• Lawyers should use the legal and valid evidence recorded in the files as the basis for communication with the parties. If there are deviations from the facts stated by the client, they should communicate the details of the case in a timely manner.
• For major differences between the case evidence and the facts stated by the parties, lawyers should understand as soon as possible the reasons for the differences and the degree of impact the differences have on the outcome of the case trial, and consider the communication strategy with the client and parties based on the above circumstances.