Prioritzation

CUTTING EDGE

"In my opinion, the best criminal defence lawyers are innovative, knowledgeable and rationally cynical legal advocates who understand the frailties of our criminal justice system".  

David Chow is committed to providing a unique and cutting edge legal service; one where the client is properly informed about all aspects of the case, including the costs.  Whether you are charged with impaired driving, a drug offence, domestic violence or murder, defending the case is a partnership, where both the Accused and counsel must collaborate about strategies, defences and the law. Ultimately it is the Accused who carries the risk; it is the defence lawyer's job to help manage that risk.

The criminal law is constantly evolving.  To successfully defend a case and to help manage risk, criminal defence lawyers must always be on the "cutting edge". This means making every effort to stay up-to-date on developments in the law. Every decision, made by every trial judge, has the potential to impact other cases following thereafter. 

the best clients

"The best clients are not merely those who pay; they are reasonable participants in their own defence".

Reasonable participation means that the client is engaged in case, realistic, rationally prepared to follow reasonable legal advice and duly diligent in taking all reasonable steps to successfully defend the case. The best clients are also respectful -- meaning they understand that each case (including their own) is prioritized at the right time. The right time doesn't mean "all of the time", for that's practically impossible.

Acting with all due diligence means that if you are accused, you don't blindly or hastily hire your defence lawyer; rather, you take the time to enhance the probability that you hire the right criminal lawyer for you.

Understanding yourself is critical to determining the best lawyer for your needs. To be sure, some folks need more hands-on than others -- some less.  By acting with all due diligence before hiring your lawyer you might be able to determine not only whether the lawyer is capable of defending the case, but whether the lawyer is able to manage you, in your unique circumstances. Everybody is different.

traits and skills

"Every criminal defence lawyers comes packaged with their own uniqueness. It's not up to me to catalog traits; rather, it's up to you to make every effort to identify traits before you hire".

By way of example, some lawyers are very skilled in court but less skilled in managing their clients. Some lawyers are better business operators than advocates. Some lawyers are kind, some brash; some patient, some not -- all are a mixture of various personality types, with skills and traits distributed across a broad spectrum. 

Fair warning, David Chow can be very direct.  Defending a client is not about telling them what the want to hear, it's about advising them what they need to hear. 

prioritizing the client

"Most Alberta defence lawyers represent a broad spectrum of clients.  The limitations of time means that the best criminal defence lawyers are those who prioritize for the circumstances of each individual client".

To help evaluate whether you wish to retain me, please understand that as a lawyer I represent many clients and as such, I often need to prioritize cases depending upon what stage cases are at in Court. With that in mind, there may be rare occasions where I am unable to communicate back with you immediately or even within 24-48 hours.  

I always make best efforts to return communications either personally or through my assistant, but there will be times when this is simply not possible. Occasionally, something might even slip my mind. Should that occur, I ask that you be patient as the same courtesy will be given to you when your case is a priority. Also, please do not hesitate to contact my office and speak with my Legal Assistant at any time or text message me directly.  Finally, should I fail to get back to you, please do not take it personally; for I am likely involved in other cases.  If this occurs, please just drop me a note or call back.  With respect to communications,  ask that they be respectful; which includes communicating with me for non-urgent matters during regular business hours. 

By way of final comment, it is important to understand that though I must prioritize cases that require immediate attention, there will be a time when you will be grateful for that prioritization because you will be the priority.

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