Office Policies The Gordon Law Firm, P.C. Stephen H. Gordon - Attorney at Law San Antonio, Texas 78201

Office Policies

OFFICE HOURS
Are generally from 9:30 to 5:30 p.m. The office is closed for lunch between 12:00 - 1:00. I am usually in court in the mornings, so I try to make my appointments in the afternoon. However, you should be able to drop off payments or paperwork during those hours.

PHONE CALLS

When you leave me a message, please make sure to always leave a phone number with your name, even if you think I already have the number. Sometimes I may not have it handy, or it may have changed. I make it a point to return calls as soon as possible, usually the same day, and hardly ever more than one day later. Sometimes I return calls to my client but they do not have an answering machine, or have not set up their voice mail on their cell-phone. They may not even realize I have called them back.

CHECK UP ON THE STATUS OF YOUR CASE ON A REGULAR BASIS
Do not assume that anything is done in your case unless I have personally told you that it is. It is up to you to check on the status of your case at least once a month. I may have tried to call you but not been able to get in touch with you because of a disconnected number. Your file may be misplaced, or just sitting there in the do nothing pile because I am waiting for you to get back in touch with me and provide me with information that I need.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBERS
It is absolutely crucial that you let me know if you have changed your phone number or addresses. There have been times in the past where I have had a great deal worked out for my clients in a case, but I was not able to get a hold of them and the deal expired. If I cannot get in touch with you at the last numbers and addresses you left me, I will stop working on your case and go to court to officially withdraw.

COPIES OF PAPERWORK AND EVIDENCE
I try to always make copies of all documents brought to my office and give the client back the original. Sometimes, I must have the original to file with the court. I must also sometimes ask you to turn over your own personal items if they are needed as evidence in your case (for example: shoes in a slip & fall case). I make a reasonable effort to return these times to you at the end of the case, but it is ultimately your responsibility to request to get them back from me before they go into permanent storage or are discarded with the trash.

COURT APPEARANCES
Please make sure you know where the courthouse is, and exactly how to get there, and where to park before the date of your court appearance. If you are not sure, just ask me and I will try to help you with directions. If you are not prepared, you may end up showing up late. This is not a good thing to do in front of the judge.

If you are involved in a criminal case, even being a few minutes late could end up with a warrant out, and having the judge arrest you and place you in the jury box when you do enter the courtroom. If you are involved in a civil case, the judge may simply dismiss your case, or rule against you automatically. Please do not take that risk.
There are times when I may be late because I have to be in 2 courts at the same time. I will always try to let you know in advance if I think it is going to happen on your court date. But sometimes I get a last minute call from another court and have no advance warning. Please make sure you go inside the courtroom to wait for me. Do not wait outside. You need to be inside and stand up when the judge calls your name out. If I am not there, just tell the judge that you think I must be tied up in another court.

Please dress appropriately for court. A man should wear a dress shirt, dress slacks, and a tie if possible. Women need to make sure you do not wear anything too revealing. A nice business suit or dress would be preferred. You must also make sure not to wear a hat inside the courtroom.

A WARNING ABOUT THE LEGAL SYSTEM
You need to be realistic about your expectations as to what will happen in your case. Remember, the legal system is not always 100% fair. You will not necessarily get everything you deserve out of it. Do not expect that you will be as good as new when the case is over with.

I will always be straight with my clients and tell them the truth for good or bad. I do not make promises that I know I cannot keep just to make the client temporarily happy. I cannot always predict for sure exactly what a judge or jury is going to do in your case. I will give you my best estimate which is usually on target from my experience, but there are exceptions to every rule.

I will fight as hard as I can to solve your legal problem, but there are some cases that are just plain bad where the chances of winning are slim to none. I want to prepare you for that just in case. I never want to be in the situation where a client is caught off guard by a loss of some kind. If there is a possibility of things going wrong I would rather you know it up front than find out later.

Usually, things turn out as well as, or better than expected for my clients, because I try to cover all the possibilities, and be fully prepared.