The good book tells us, “In all of your getting, get an understanding.”

In a court of law, acting cool will get you nowhere. Over the course of my career, I have witnessed countless individuals get so caught up in looking nonchalant or unimpressed in the courtroom, that they have let important information shared by a judge go right over their head. I have witnessed individuals clearly answer their attorney, “no,” when asked if they have any questions about the process, only for it to become apparent later that they were not on the same page at all.

Recently, I had a client who was told by a judge where he needed to report for his probation interview, and on what specific day. My client gave verbal confirmation that he understood, yet lo and behold, blew off the interview. This interview is an important part of the process, that when missed may result in a court order for the individual to be taken back into custody. When I followed up with this client and tried to figure out what happened, he stated that he didn’t understand or remember the instructions.

There have been other times when I have followed up with clients to discover that they did have questions but held back from fear of looking foolish or unintelligent. Court is the last place you want your pride to get in the way of clarity. If you do not understand something, please ask for an explanation. There are no silly questions and no questions that you should not ask or have answered.

I hope that this has been helpful to you. If you have any questions regarding this post or anything else, feel free to give me a call, or send me an email. I am always more than happy to help. Remember, if you have to be guilty of anything, be guilty of greatness.