Your Rights as a Client:
The right to competent, thorough and professional representations
The right to be treated with dignity and courtesy
The right to keep your communications with me confidential
The right to independent representation, free from conflicts of interest
The right to control of your legal matter
The right to have your questions answered and your calls returned
The right to be informed of alternative courses of action, and the advantages and risks of each course of action
The right to be informed about all available fee arrangements, and to be given a reasonable estimate of the fees and costs that your matter will require
If you are dissatisfied about the services I provide, the right to complain about my conduct
Colorado’s judges and attorneys have spent years developing rules that govern the conduct of attorneys. The complete Rules of Professional Conduct are lengthy, often difficult to read, and cover many topics other than your rights as a client. And things don’t stop there: each rule is followed by comments that try to shed more light on what the rule means, and the Colorado Bar Association from time to time develops Formal Ethics Opinions to address more specific situations.
Colorado’s rules are enforced by the Colorado Supreme Court’s Attorney Regulation Counsel Complaints about my conduct, or that of any Colorado attorney, can be directed there. Other states’ bar associations, such as Wisconsin’s, have web sites with more detailed statements of client rights like those I have listed. I’m also a fan and member of HALT the nation’s oldest and largest legal reform organization, which has a number of legal self-help materials at the Legal Information Clearinghouse on its web site. Keep in mind, though, that it is Colorado’s rules that Colorado attorneys must live by.
