When you do not listen to your lawyer's advice, but call them to fix it anyway!

10 February 2021,  Puleng Valentine Tladi 804
I was consulting with a client and as usual I explained the procedure to be followed in order to institute a claim on her behalf. 

The following day, I received a phone call from the same client, who informed me that on way her way home, she spoke to someone who informed her that the procedure I was talking about would take years before a claim would be instituted against a third party and that there must be another way. She continued to advise me on what to do and in accordance with the advice she was given by this person. 

You see I do not have a problem with a client getting a second opinion , however what I have a problem with is clients taking the advice of the so called "street lawyer", which is a term used to refer to someone who gives legal advice with no legal background whatsoever. 

This has become part of our inside joke and whenever she comes to see me,  I usually make fun of how seriously she took the word of the street attorney over that of her own  legal attorney and we laugh about it. 

On a serious note though, a legal advice coming from someone with no legal background, causes more harm than good.  

I had a client who took the advice from the "street lawyer" over my advice and as a result of that advice he decided to conduct his own case and  was found guilty, his driver's license was taken away and a heavier sentence was imposed, mainly because he decided to follow the advise of the so called street lawyer, who advised him to to conduct his own case and not use the  services of an attorney.

The same client came back and instructed me to appeal the conviction and sentence imposed. This wouldn't have been the case had he followed my advice in the first place. 

I urge you all to rather seek advice from a legal professional or at least someone with a legal background when it comes to legal matters. 
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