Do lawyers check their emails and respond to their clients on weekends?

Question

Ronald A. Steinberg · Answer

Some of us do.

Michael J. Breczinski · Answer

That is up to the lawyer.

Mark Hubert · Answer

That is an attorney by attorney question and it also depends on each client.  Do you return all work related calls on the weekends?

Robert White · Answer

An attorney in most states, including North Carolina, is required to  consult reasonably with his or her client.  This duty requires the  attorney to keep the client informed about the status of a matter,  respond to client's requests for information, and provide updates with  respect to decisions that have been made with respect to a client's  informed consent.  In general, communication with clients on the weekend  is within the discretion of the attorney.  Depending on the urgency,  communication with a client on the weekend may be reasonable.  However,  in most instances, this is not the case.

Susan Marie Basko · Answer

Some lawyers may check their emails and respond on weekends, and some may not.  It depends on what the matter is, if the person writing the email is an ongoing client, the practices of the lawyer, and whether the lawyer thinks the matter requires immediate attention.  Lawyers are required by ethics to communicate as needed with their clients, but not with other people.  This can mean many things. If the person emailing is not a client of the lawyer, the lawyer need not respond at all.  If you have a lawyer who charges by their time spent, they will charge you to read and respond to your emails, so you better be sure what you are writing is crucial. Lawyers who are technically adept will often reply sooner to emails, and they may be responding while traveling, while in a meeting, or in a court hallway.  If you pester your lawyer with emails about details because you are anxious, the lawyer might suggest that you go to counseling to help you deal with the emotional aspects of your legal issue. This is often the case with divorce.  The personal preferences and practices of the lawyer, or of their company or firm if they work for one, play a big role in how the lawyer communicates.  If a lawyer works for a government agency or corporation, they often communicate only during official business hours.  Lawyers who work on their own might respond to emails any day at any time of the day or night, if they feel like the email warrants a response.  If you send your lawyer inappropriate emails of any sort, the lawyer might delay in responding, or might not respond at all, if no response is needed for the actual legal work.  Inappropriate emails might include anything with sexual content, trying to engage the lawyer in a dating type relationship, threats, abuse, disrespect, niggling about details, emails that show you have not carefully read a previous reply, and such.

Paul Ross · Answer

I cannot speak for others, but I try not to.  I have to have a personal life at some point.

J. Michael End · Answer

Some do, some don't.

Edwin K. Niles · Answer

Not if their wives have anything to say about it.

Francis Cowhig · Answer

Some do and some don't.  It's up to the individual attorney.

Norman Green · Answer

Some do.  Some don't.  I often do on Sundays; but rarely on Saturdays.

James Edward Smith · Answer

Most do.  Some don't

James Chandler · Answer

Some do and some do not. I myself do.

William Sanders · Answer

This lawyer does.  But, I can not answer for any other lawyer. There is no legal requirement that a lawyer do this.

Jeff Yeh · Answer

Good lawyers do.

Mark Sternlicht · Answer

Some do, and some don't.

Pius Joseph · Answer

Depends on your lawyer.

Helene Ellenbogen · Answer

Not usually.

Christine James · Answer

Some do, some don't.  You might want to ask that question directly to the lawyer you are interested in knowing the answer from.

James Weiner · Answer

It depends upon the lawyer.. they are under no obligation to do so.

Jack Longert · Answer

At least this one does. As with most people, we would like to stay at somewhere near "normal" work hours but if an emergency arises or if I work it out with my client in advance, I am willing to communicate on the weekends. That really varies by the situation.

Dorothy Bunce · Answer

It depends on the nature of the attorney's practice as well as the level of service that the clients are willing to pay for.

Paul Whitfield · Answer

Most probably don't. most professional people don't keep office hours on weekends. I do but I am likely the exception.

Mark T. Peters · Answer

Some do, some don't.

Patrick Currin · Answer

It depends on the attorney. I have met several that DO NOT communicate at all via email for a variety of reasons. I feel it is very useful to use email myself, but I don't typically work weekends and probably would not answer business email on the weekend.

Daniel Winter · Answer

Some do and some don't.   You'll need to ask each lawyer when you first meet with them.

Hudson Bair · Answer

It depends on your lawyer and the agreement between you.  Many lawyers work on weekends.

Mark Leonardo · Answer

I do.

Brian Haggerty · Answer

Some never do; some do sometimes; some don't.

Tres Porter · Answer

That varies greatly from lawyer to lawyer and the lawyer's practice.  Most do not.  I do from time to time, but it is not very common.

James Eugene Hasser · Answer

It depends on the lawyer and the way they operate. Check with the particular lawyer.

Stephen Freeborn · Answer

Sometimes.  Depends upon the lawyer and it depends upon the circumstances. It I have retained a client and the facts of the case necessitate that we communicate during the weekend, ,then I make myself available.  At the time of representation, I have defined the parameters of that representation at the beginning.   However, if a client suddenly wants to talk to me, and sends me an e-mail, I may or may not see it. As a attorney, I still need time for myself and my family.

Max Rosenberg · Answer

I most certainly do.

Barbara Peyton · Answer

Sometimes.  It depends on what else is going on.  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I don't.  Everyone needs a break but sometimes things require immediate response.  Most lawyers I know work at least some time each weekend.

James Frederick · Answer

I cannot speak for all lawyers, but most do. Whether you can depend on someone to do this, is completely different. Like everyone else, lawyers have lives and other obligations. Even during the week, this sometimes takes precedence over responding to clients.

Stephen Lombardi · Answer

Some do and some don't. At the Lombardi Law Firm we do although we are not   per se "on-call".

Victor Waid · Answer

Who knows what lawyers do on weekends.

Joseph Harper · Answer

Not generally, but it depends. Some will, but most do not.

Daniel Flamm · Answer

It depends.

Dara J. Goldsmith · Answer

Some may, some may not.

Daniel Garner · Answer

I do.

Neal Michael Rimer · Answer

Some do.

Jeffrey Heineman · Answer

Not always.

Tajara Dommershausen · Answer

Sometimes.

Robert McCall · Answer

Depends on the Lawyer/Law Firm. I check mine 1 time /day on the weekend.

Aimee Carol Robbins · Answer

Yes we are constantly "plugged in".

Matthew Bretz · Answer

Not all lawyers, but I do.

Randall Romei · Answer

That would be up to the individual lawyer.

Andrew Velonis · Answer

Some do, the rest have lives.

Deborah F. Bowinski · Answer

Some do and some don't. So employees for their work for their employers in their days off? Most don't. Lawyers are people too.

Andrea Rogers · Answer

I respond to all emails immediately (or at least within an hour or two). However, many attorneys do not respond to phone calls or emails on weekends, and some may take a day or two to respond even during the week.

Richard Keyes · Answer

Most attorneys do not want to do this because they then forget to invoice the client for their time.  Also, attorneys do not want to be "on the clock" seven days of week.  The client should also ask if the matter cannot wait until Monday.

Deborah Stencel · Answer

Sometimes. It depends on the lawyer and his or her personal situation and preference. It may also depend on the area of law the lawyer practices.

Michele Ungvarsky · Answer

It would depend on the individual attorney.  It has been my practice to use weekends for uninterrupted work, no phone calls or e-mails; that is when I work weekends.

Daniel Edelman · Answer

Depends on the lawyer.

Richard Rice · Answer

I assume it depends on the individual attorney.

Jared Austin · Answer

Some do, some don't. It depends on the lawyer and the nature of what types of cases they handle.

Ernest Linek · Answer

Many do and some do not.  Litigators tend to look most often at their e-mails.  Likewise - the age of the lawyer often impacts the activity level on weekends.  BTW - I do.

David Leon · Answer

Some do, some don't. Depends on the lawyer, whether the lawyer's office is open on weekends, and whether or not the lawyer is working on that weekend.

Annette Sandoval · Answer

It depends on the lawyer and the nature of the email.  In many cases, lawyers will make themselves available to address emergencies.  Again, it depends on the lawyer.

Alan Ramos · Answer

I generally do.  I have no idea what other lawyers do.

Diane Berger · Answer

Some do and some don't.  There is no particular rule.

James Maguire · Answer

I do. It keeps things from being so hectic on Monday morning.

Jason Webb · Answer

Sometimes and some lawyers. It depends on what kind of law they practice and what expectations their clients have for them. There are a ton of different kinds of lawyers and some of them have to keep tabs on things all the time. Others don't have the same pressures and can relax on the weekends.

Kathryn Tokarska · Answer

Some do sometimes, some may do it all the time. We all need some time off.

Evelyn Costello · Answer

Some of us do, depending upon the nature of the case. Standard practice is, however, to respond during regular work times.

Jayne Sebby · Answer

Some do, some don't. If we can't ignore the phone, e-mail, etc. once in a while, we would never get any work done.

Thomas Vogele · Answer

Generally speaking they do, however, there is no rule or requirement about that. A lawyer is required to communicate with his or her client and if they don't they are at risk of state bar complaints. However, many lawyers turn their email and cell phones off on the weekend to have at least some time for their families and friends. If your lawyer told you he or she would respond on the weekends, talk to them about it. If not, try to communicate on a weekday during business hours.

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