“That Lawyer Guy”
Q&A Legal Expert
Doug Mudford

There’s much to like about Doug Mudford. He’s approachable, smart, easy-going, compassionate, ethical, a great listener, has a rich sense of humor and is a snappy dresser. He’s also proud to be a lawyer.

Doug was raised in Arcata and graduated from Humboldt State University. He worked in the forest products industry, mostly in human resources, until 1991. At night he attended Cal Northern School of Law. He began practicing law with Dugan Barr in 1991. Doug is now a partner in Barr & Mudford, with an emphasis on serious personal injury.

“You Never Call Me”

The first and only column I’ve done was more than 40 years ago at Humboldt State College – now University. Ronald Reagan spoke on campus at the start of his political career, disco was still in the future, Herb Caen was writing for the Chronicle, computers filled rooms instead of laptops and my beloved Red Sox were in the middle of a maddening curse brought on by trading “The Babe” to finance a Broadway play. My column was neither profound nor complex. That’s probably why it’s taken 40 years for someone to offer me another chance.

This space will be used to answer questions and concerns about the law. It’s not meant to be profound/complex, which, with my track record, is a good thing. It is meant to make you feel a little more comfortable with the law and maybe even lawyers. There are so many things to discuss, the temptation is to address everything in the first column. Doni told me I can’t do that so let me start with the No. 1 hit question all attorneys have to answer:

Q: Why don’t lawyers ever return my calls?

A: We all like to think we’re the exception, but not many of us are headed for the Returned-Call Hall of Fame. Here are some suggestions that may increase your chances of getting return calls. At least you’ll understand more about the process.

Before leaving a message, take a moment to think what you want to say. Your issue is important to you or you wouldn’t be calling. Try to be clear and brief. If you’re taking medications that affect your speech, call another time or have someone call on your behalf. Be polite to the person answering the phone.

It may lessen the client’s frustration to know the progression of a civil dispute. Personal contact is clearly important when you are trying to decide which attorney to retain. If you aren’t getting return calls at this stage, keep looking because things aren’t going to get better.

Once the attorney is hired and files a complaint on your behalf, the court generally requires your case be resolved within a year of the filing date. Toward that end, the court will schedule a series of Case Management Conferences to hear the progress of your case. When the necessary parties have been named, served and are before the court, a trial date will be set. An average time between filing a complaint and setting a trial date is four months in Shasta County. Client attendance is not required at the initial conferences with the court.

During these first months of a civil suit, contact with your attorney isn’t as important as your contact with the staff. These are specialists hired by the attorney to investigate, exchange information and obtain documents; all specific to your case. Ironically, a common complaint in law offices is the client not returning calls during this very important period.

A few months prior to the trial date, attempts will be made to resolve your case, either through private mediators or a court-ordered process. Your attorney will not only be returning calls but initiating them during the settlement negotiations. There should be a healthy dialogue of the pros and cons of settling versus proceeding to trial. A case cannot be settled without client OK.

As a case progresses toward the trial date, contact with your attorney and staff should increase even more, including a very high percentage of returned phone calls. Please keep in mind your case came into the office after others already closer to a trial date. The older cases will and should be given priority – just as yours will as it progresses.

If your case goes to trial (only about 5 percent do), you will yearn for the days of infrequent attorney contact. Trials require continuous and intense communication.

An added suggestion to increase personal contact with your lawyer is to use e-mail. Most attorneys spend a great deal of time on the computer. While blue phone slips stack up and the red voicemail continues to blink, “You’ve Got Mail” is simply irresistible.”