Giwa Ihesha
Member
I laugh out loud whenever I hear people say things like, “How many cases have you won?” or “Do you win cases?”
Many use these lines to ridicule lawyers, and I often see them in my comment section, especially from uniformed folks. They think it is a “k!ller line" but in reality, it often exposes how little they understand about litigation.
It is not the lawyer’s job to magically “win” your case. In many cases, a substantial part of the outcome depends on the client: the facts, the evidence, the instructions given, the client’s conduct, the witnesses and documents available, and what the law permits the court to do.
A lawyer who claims to win every case is either being dishonest, selectively accepting only cases he considers easy, or doing something ethically questionable. No competent lawyer can guarantee victory in litigation.
If a lawyer mishandles a good case through incompetence, negligence or lack of diligence, criticize him. But losing a case does not automatically mean the lawyer did a bad job.
The judgment itself usually reveals where the problem lies. The court will consider the evidence presented, what the parties did or failed to do, their testimony, their credibility and, where relevant, the submissions or omissions of counsel.
So, how exactly do you determine that a lawyer was responsible for losing a case simply because the case was lost?
There is another amusing way to test whether a lawyer “wins cases” go and find the lawyer’s troubles yourself, or better still, ask your relatives to do so. Then you will understand that litigation is not a football match where the lawyer scores the winning goal.
It is not your lawyer’s job to manufacture a victory out of a bad case.
What makes the argument even more ironic is that I often hear it from police officers; people who fails to conduct proper investigations even when the necessary facts and evidence are right in front of them.
Before asking a lawyer “How many cases have you won?” ask yourself a more fundamental question:
Did you give your lawyer a case that could actually be won?
Many use these lines to ridicule lawyers, and I often see them in my comment section, especially from uniformed folks. They think it is a “k!ller line" but in reality, it often exposes how little they understand about litigation.
It is not the lawyer’s job to magically “win” your case. In many cases, a substantial part of the outcome depends on the client: the facts, the evidence, the instructions given, the client’s conduct, the witnesses and documents available, and what the law permits the court to do.
A lawyer who claims to win every case is either being dishonest, selectively accepting only cases he considers easy, or doing something ethically questionable. No competent lawyer can guarantee victory in litigation.
If a lawyer mishandles a good case through incompetence, negligence or lack of diligence, criticize him. But losing a case does not automatically mean the lawyer did a bad job.
The judgment itself usually reveals where the problem lies. The court will consider the evidence presented, what the parties did or failed to do, their testimony, their credibility and, where relevant, the submissions or omissions of counsel.
So, how exactly do you determine that a lawyer was responsible for losing a case simply because the case was lost?
There is another amusing way to test whether a lawyer “wins cases” go and find the lawyer’s troubles yourself, or better still, ask your relatives to do so. Then you will understand that litigation is not a football match where the lawyer scores the winning goal.
It is not your lawyer’s job to manufacture a victory out of a bad case.
What makes the argument even more ironic is that I often hear it from police officers; people who fails to conduct proper investigations even when the necessary facts and evidence are right in front of them.
Before asking a lawyer “How many cases have you won?” ask yourself a more fundamental question:
Did you give your lawyer a case that could actually be won?