We understand that facing a criminal charge, seeking asylum, and civil claims can be scary. They cause a lot of anxiety and stress for our clients... and we do understand that. Many of our clients come to us because they understand they need someone who truly understands the law and has experience addressing the kind of matter they are facing.

Adana has a very high success rate that has resulted in countless positive outcomes for her clients. Regardless of the type of matter, one of the foundational elements of this success is a client's trust in her skills and experience.

But this blog post wasn't written with those folks in mind.

Firstly, it's important to address what we do as a Criminal Defence firm. When speaking to people in public, we get the inevitable "You just help the criminals get off the charges" type of comment. That is NOT the role of a Defence Lawyer. Their job is to hold the Police and the Crown accountable for providing the evidence an offence did occur, while ensuring their clients' rights are respected.

A Defence Lawyer's job is NOT to try to use sneaky tactics and loopholes to get the charges against the accused dismissed. People watch a lot of movies, and see a very unrealistic depiction of the role of a defence attorney. Adana's job is to hold the Crown responsible for showing overwhelming proof that her client did commit the offence. Our experience is that it is very easy to point a finger, or make an accusation without evidence. It always seems unlikely until it happens to you.

However, people do make mistakes, and if it is shown that our client did in fact commit the offence, it is then Adana's job to make sure ALL facts are considered when determining the correct resolution. We say resolution, because for both the Crown and the Defence, the focus is always on protecting the victim and ensuring that the accused will not reoffend. In Ontario, the focus is not on punishment of the accused, but prevention and rehabilitation.

Secondly, it's critical to also state that retaining Adana does NOT mean she is your employee, to be directed and told what to do. She is not at your "beck and call" to respond whenever you call. She has other clients and other commitments to keep who all expect her full and undivided attention. This is critical, as we encounter this from time to time. When a meeting is scheduled with Adana, you have her at your disposal for a set timeframe to ask any of the questions or concerns that you have. This also gives her the opportunity to prepare and anticipate those very questions. This results in an impactful and truly beneficial meeting for all.

Lastly, we have a small percentage of our clients that watch a bit too much "Law and Order", spend too much time on Chat GPT, or searching on Google and believe they can better run their matter. We have people who call the office and say "I am really smart and I know the law". To say we are reluctant to accept these people as clients is an understatement. A few hours of searching legal content specific to your matter on the internet is not a replacement for nearly 2 decades of experience practising law in a courtroom. To be clear, we all work hard at Adana Law for our clients to provide them the best outcome possible that aligns with Ontario Law and Adana's commitment to the ethics she is held to by the Law Society of Ontario. As a result of this conviction to uphold standards, she has a proven record of delivering excellent results for our clients.

You do not tell your surgeon how to operate on you, nor would you tell your pilot how to fly the plane. If they were to permit that, the outcome would not be good for anyone, especially you! Ultimately they are still responsible for the negative consequences, even if they were following your direction. The same applies with your lawyer.

Some clients get overly focused on the character of the other party or secondary elements of the situation that do NOT have a real impact on their defence. The truth is the ONLY thing that matters are your actions and the charges you are allegedly accused of. It's critical you allow Adana to use her experience, relationship with the Crown, and her skill as a negotiator to get you the best possible outcome. For some, nothing less than a full withdrawal is the only outcome they will accept. This is not always possible, and if it is found by a judge/jury that an offence was committed, the outcome will always be better with Adana managing the case, vs going it alone.

Conclusion:

In either of the above scenarios, the key is to allow your lawyer to do what they are good at doing. Trust them to leverage their much deeper understanding of the law to help you. Micromanaging, directing, and attempting to determine how the matter is addressed will result in Adana dropping those individuals as clients and coming off record. She will not lie for a client, regardless of what a certain Jim Carey movie might imply. She will work to ensure her clients' rights are observed. And she will work to get a resolution that allows all parties to move forward.

She alone is responsible and accountable for the outcome of the matter, and allowing a client to dictate the approach to a matter can affect her reputation as well as her standing with the Law Society. If a client is taking her down a path that will not end well for them, she will let them know clearly. If they insist, she has no option but to come off record. She cannot allow a client to jeopardise their matter while she is on record for them.

Simply put....trust your lawyer to take care of you. We know it's scary and we know you're anxious. But like the surgeon or the pilot mentioned earlier, you have to trust their skill even when your life is in their hands.

Trust Adana to help you too.