The Price of Lawyering-Up

David Tarrell, over at the "In the Moment" blog, did the right thing this week when he advised a potential new client (PNC) to stop talking to the police and not take a polygraph. Unfortunately, David related how the PNC promptly got arrested after "lawyering-up." The PNC's mother called to berate poor David for giving such fitting counsel. David articulated the following:

His mother, purely out of love for him and frustration for where he's at and calling me to inquire about retaining me, said something to me about giving him advice that landed him in jail, something along the lines of "well, look where he ended up after he talked to you." I told her I couldn't control what they did, but that I wouldn't change a thing, even considering where he ended up. I even described it as million dollar legal advice, pointing out that I'd given it for free.

David surmised the PNC was arrested as punishment for hiring a lawyer and failing to cooperate further with the police. That's probably exactly what happened. You see, after the PNC stopped cooperating the police had no further use for him and pulled the plug, as they so often do. David felt fairly crummy after the judge failed to reduce bond enough to free the PNC (now a NC). He concluded his post with the following apropos observation:

I'm hoping that even though my advice landed him in jail for the short term, it'll keep him out in the long. They can put him in jail, laughing at the time that he "should have done what they asked" (and not called a lawyer) but I hope to have the last laugh.

I hope David's new client understands the price of lawyering-up is worth it. Especially if it results in a better deal, a victory at trial, or dismissal in light of insufficient evidence to obtain a conviction.