Live Chat with a Utah Attorney
Attorneys across the country and in Utah are increasingly
using "live chat" features on their websites to promote
themselves and their law firms, and to create the impression of
immediate access to legal help. Before you start a chat session on a
Utah criminal defense website, here are a few questions to consider. If
you are looking for real help with a criminal case in Utah,
contact us directly now to
see what the
right attorney
can do for you.
Before Starting a Live Chat for Legal Help
Who am I really
chatting with?
Many attorney websites now feature a live chat feature suggesting that
legal help and advice is immediately available. In reality, many of
these chat features are initiated, implemented, and operated by
marketing companies who promise attorneys that using their chat program
will bring them new clients. Often, when you start a live chat session
on an attorney website, you will actually be chatting with a marketing
professional who has been trained in how to bring in potential clients
and screen out individuals who do not fit a particular marketing
profile.
Can I get legal advice
from a live chat on an attorney's website?
If you are chatting with a marketer who is not a lawyer, that person
cannot give you legal advice. A marketer is not trained in analyzing
the specific facts of your situation and determining how the law should
be applied to those facts. State rules governing ethics and
professional responsibility expressly prohibit non-lawyers who
may be associated with a law firm (such as marketers) from giving any
legal advice. The Utah Criminal Code also establishes criminal
penalties for non-lawyers who practice law without a license.
These safeguards and restrictions have been put in place to
try to ensure that individuals do not rely on legal advice from those
who are not trained and qualified to give legal advice. If you were ill
and getting ready for an important medical procedure, you would not ask
the hospital's marketing department to perform the surgery. You would
want the best doctor you could have. Legal matters can have significant
and lasting effects on your life. You should want the best legal advice
you can get - not a quick chat with a marketer.
Can I provide
confidential information online?
Depending on how the chat system is designed, the
information you provide online may or may not be considered
confidential. As a general rule, you should not give any confidential
information or provide any information that has a potential to be
incriminating in any way until you are certain that your communications
are covered by the attorney-client privilege.
What if the chat session
is directly with an attorney?
Even if an online chat session is conducted directly with an attorney,
and even if it is covered under the attorney-client privilege, a chat
session is not the ideal way to get good legal advice. Chat sessions
tend to be less detailed and less specific in the information provided
as compared with a face-to-face legal consultation or even with a
telephonic attorney consultation. Taking the time to talk directly with
an attorney, to give the attorney an opportunity to review documents
related to your case, to let the attorney ask you questions and then
listen to your answers - this is what is most likely to get you the
best legal advice and the best outcome for your case.
Finding a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Utah

A
criminal conviction in Utah can have serious and lasting consequences.
Defending your case right the first time is critical. Whether you are
facing
felony
or
misdemeanor
charges, having the right
criminal lawyer on your side can make a real
difference.
Contact us today to see how
we can help you.