Photo By David McNew/Getty Images
Most people read about Lindsay Lohan’s recent troubles with the law and think about a young woman out of control. I read the same reports and can’t help concluding that her recent sentence of 90 days incarceration for repeated probation violations was at least partially the fault of her high-priced lawyer.
Admittedly, I have no idea what her lawyer has done in her effort to assure Lohan complied with the terms of her probation arising from a series of DWI arrests in 2007. I realize that some people are simply incorrigible and in fact, from everything I have read, Lohan would certainly seem to fall into this category. Finally, there is also such a thing as taking personal responsibility for your actions.
At the same time, I can’t help believing that the fault for Lohan’s repeated probation violations – failing to attend weekly alcohol education classes, for example – lies at least partially with her lawyer.  Given the hefty fees I presume the lawyer is charging Lohan, it seems to me the lawyer could have hired someone to personally pick her up and accompany her to the classes. (Think Judd Apatow’s Get Him To the Greek.)
It is always a poor reflection on the lawyer when a client fails to fulfill the terms of probation. It suggests that the client has not been properly counseled. The client needs to be fully informed that, yes, the conditions are sometimes onerous. But the flipside, as Lohan has learned the hard way, is far worse.
It is perhaps no surprise as, Carolyn Elefant and Raising the Bar have both reported, that Lohan may be seeking to hire new counsel. Or perhaps I am completely mistaken. Maybe the lawyer was doing everything she possibly could and, has also been reported, simply decided to resign. In this case, who could blame her?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m glad that you weighed in on the issue of a criminal defense lawyer’s responsibilities here. It’s an interesting perspective that I’ve never seen discussed, but it does make a lot of sense – particularly, where the resources are available to ensure compliance.
I’d not thought about it that way, but here’s my own perspective: you defense lawyers have enough to do, enough to worry about. You are not baby-sitter, body guards, or chauffeurs. Sure, her lawyer could have taken LL’s money to hire someone to shuttle her to and from her appointments. But so could LL herself.
Every day I see, and sometimes get sick of, defendants trying to blame others for their predicaments. And all too often I see the defense lawyer getting the brunt of their client’s ire, as if it’s all their fault. LL is a grown woman who needs to take responsibility for herself.
Look at it this way: if her lawyer had hired all those people to shepherd her through her responsibilities, has the personal-growth/rehab side of probation worked? If everyone else has to take responsibility for guiding her through what every other defendant has to do him- or herself, how much good has been done?
I think a kick in the pants might be what she needs.
But then maybe I would.
Mr. Confidential:
I do think that a criminal defense lawyer needs to do all he/she can to help the client succeed. At the same time, the more I read about the Lindsay Lohan affair, the more I agree with you in this case. It sounds as though Lohan has blamed everyone but herself for this. It also sounds like her former attorney did the right thing by bowing out quietly.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I am so hoping you are wrong, that my client’s probation or parole violations are no reflection on me whatsoever. These are grown people making their own decisions. They didn’t consult me before they committed the act that got them on probation in the first place, why on earth would they consult me before they choose to violate?
I don’t think having resources assures compliance. Addicts won’t comply. Lots of crimes have high recidivism rates no matter what we try to do to get people to change their ways. And really, now we not only get blamed for the initial conviction but for the stuff that they do after? I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
Mirriam:
This is a serious topic, and I shouldn’t have been so glib.
I was being semi-facetious in suggesting a Get Him To the Greek scenario for Lindsay Lohan, and I shouldn’t have impugned Lohan’s lawyer without knowing more about the situation. That was grossly unfair.
But other than that, I stand by what I said. Specifically, I do believe it reflects poorly on the lawyer when a client fails to fulfill the terms of probation or some other court-supervised arrangement.
I was trained at the Defender Association of Philadelphia which takes a full-service approach to representing clients. There was, in fact, a whole staff led by one of the most committed criminal defense lawyer there is in Philadelphia. This small group of lawyers, paralegals and administrative personnel focused almost exclusively on working with clients to make sure that they: (1) didn’t violate the terms of their probation, and (2) got out of custody as soon as possible when these efforts failed.
You spend so much time trying to keep clients out of jail on the front end. Why not devote a little time to making sure these efforts are not completely undone on the back end? Clients are often angry or upset after being sentenced and may not focus on what someone is telling them. They may lose or be confused by the paperwork that is handed to them that fully explains the conditions. Let’s face it, some of the probation officers themselves don’t fully understand some of the stuff that is included in the paperwork.
It won’t always work (although I would argue that addicts and mentally challenged people require more attention, not less) but it will substantially decrease the number of clients who violate.
In Philly, we were always disgusted by the privately retained lawyers who were out of the courtroom after sentencing even before their clients were. Hey, no longer my problem was the attitude. They cashed their checks and moved on to the next court listing and the next client.
It needn’t be much. If you maintain a tickler system, a simple call to the client and/or probation officer can prevent a lot of later problems for the client. Probation officers appreciate it, and they may even call you when there is a problem so that you can fix things long before the court gets back involved.
No reflection on you whatsoever? Knowing you as I do, I can’t help feeling as if I am missing something here.
Firs, not every private attorney runs out to cash a check and doesn’t give a shit about what happens to their client afterward. That view is similar to me being disgusted at the public defender “meet-you-in-lockup to discuss your case you’d-better-take-a-plea because I have a million other cases” perspective. There are things you can do to help your client through the system, but I absolutely don’t believe that if my client violates, it means I was a bad lawyer. I’ve been in the situation a hundred times, and I don’t ever think that somehow I failed somewhere because it happens. In fact, I think that statement borders on the absurd.
I feel badly that it happens. I wring my hands and shake my head. Normally I say ‘WTF? I got you this freaking phenomenal deal and you blow it?’ Sometimes I say to the client “they will look for any reason to violate you, part your hair on the side, let your momma slick it down with her spit and take the bus everywhere you go.” Sometimes I get them drug court and follow up and they end up pissing dirty every time.
Pray tell, how do you force a drug addict to stop using? I’m seriously curious about your methods since I have failed most times. How do you force a mentally ill client to take his medicine and stay home? How do you force a narcotics dealer to stop his trade when it’s the only way he knows how to make a buck? How would you make your DUI client go to the drinker-driver program when he tells you to screw off? You call the client and say “hey, you need to go to your program” and the client says “whatever” or “did you go” and he says “whatever” What are you going to do? Call the probation officer and tell him?
I also don’t know a lot of private lawyers who say ‘f you’ to their clients once they are done. Seriously. The folks who do that aren’t getting referrals from those clients. Perhaps the private lawyer left to go to another courtroom? I’m sure you’ve been in that situation before where you’ve had to run right after a dispo to get somewhere else.
The sentencing marks the end of the criminal matter at hand. It doesn’t necessarily end your role as counselor. But, if the client violates, it’s a new case. Do you not charge folks a new fee on the VOP, especially since it was a reflection on how you counseled afterward. Wouldn’t you feel terrible taking more money when you are the one who failed him?
You can lead a client to the courthouse, but you cannot make her think.