One of the best benefits of being a U.S. LawShield member is the 24/7 attorney-answered emergency hotline. This number is located in red type on the back of your membership card. The number isn’t answered by a computer, a menu system, service or a call center. The first voice you hear will be an independent program attorney like myself. As one of the attorneys who regularly answers this hotline, I want to give you some tips and tricks to make this phone call as easy as possible.
One of the best benefits of being a U.S. LawShield member is the 24/7 attorney-answered emergency hotline. This number is located in red type on the back of your membership card. The number isn’t answered by a computer, a menu system, service or a call center. The first voice you hear will be an independent program attorney like myself. As one of the attorneys who regularly answers this hotline, I want to give you some tips and tricks to make this phone call as easy as possible.
- Tip #1: Treat the emergency hotline like 911. It is for emergency situations, generally ones in which law enforcement is already involved or will be involved shortly. Just like 911, we have to keep the emergency hotline clear for true emergencies and active, ongoing incidents. If you were involved in an incident last week, or just have a question about a situation, call the business line and ask to speak to your independent program attorney.
- Tip #2: Be patient. To ensure that the hotline is always answered by an attorney, even if there are many people calling at once with emergencies, the hotline is set up to roll to a list of available attorneys. Don’t get frustrated and hang up! The call WILL be answered by an attorney.
- Tip #3: Get to a private place and have your information ready. The purpose behind having an attorney answer the hotline directly is to establish attorney-client privilege right off the bat. Everything you say to the hotline attorney is confidential, so long as there isn’t a third party listening. If someone standing close by overhears you telling your story to the hotline attorney, that person can be called to testify about what you said. Try your best to get to a place where you can speak freely without being overheard. Then, be ready to give your name, location, LawShield member number, and callback number to the attorney on the other end of the line.
- Tip #4: Relax and let the independent program attorney steer the boat. The hotline attorney has been trained to take control of the situation. You have just had one of the worst days of your life, we don’t expect you to have a coherent statement ready for us. We will ask you the important questions to help make your first statement to law enforcement your best statement.
- Tip #5: Trust your attorney. Every case is different. Often, rushing an attorney to the scene is the right call to make. In other cases, an attorney on scene is going to provoke officers and make the situation worse, or possibly draw an extra level of scrutiny on your case. Sometimes, the best course of action is for you to hand the hotline over to officers so the attorney can speak to them directly upon their arrival. It all depends on your unique situation. The hotline attorney will use his or her knowledge of the law, your situation, and particular police agency to decide the best course of action. Trust them and heed the advice they have given.
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