Your case relies on good and clear evidence, so if you know there's something your attorney could use, you'd want to give it to them, right? Well, instead, you should speak to the attorney first. Many times the attorney and their staff will want to obtain the evidence on their own due to legal issues and the need to keep the evidence safe.
You Could Invalidate It
What's most important on the list of reasons why you should let the attorney and their staff go after evidence is that you could do something to make it inadmissible or unusable. You could obtain the evidence in a way that's technically illegal, and that could ruin your case because of a technicality. You could end up contaminating evidence unwittingly, or you could accidentally damage it or even destroy it, depending on what it is and how it needs to be handled. Unless the attorney has specifically tasked you with getting a piece of evidence, let the attorney and their staff do it.
They Know What They Need to Find
You likely have an idea of what evidence the attorney still needs to find. But you may also believe that some details are relevant to the case when they're really not. You do want to tell the attorney about issues you think are important, but don't overload them with random details. Plus, if they need to get the evidence in a certain way (e.g., going through proper channels to get security video from a store), they can simply just go and do that, instead of calling you and having you do it. That's an extra step that just takes up more time.
It Cuts out the Middleman
When the attorney is putting your case together, they may ask for evidence you have. If there's additional evidence they need to get, like pictures or security video, however, let them retrieve it if possible. Obviously, if they ask you to get it, find out how to obtain it legally and then get it for them. But if you know they need something and haven't asked you specifically to get it, chances are they're trying to obtain it themselves. That allows them to cut out the middleman, in a way. Instead of having you go get security footage from someone and then bring it to them, they can obtain it themselves and keep it in their possession.
Gathering evidence for your case has to be done properly, and the evidence has to be protected against damage. It's better to let the attorney's office get that evidence if they haven't specifically told you to go get it and give it to them. If you think they don't know about some potential evidence, do tell them. But let them be the judges of whether to include that information in the case.
For more information, contact a company such as Jason Weiner and Associates PC.
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