Rule number one: if it looks like you are going to wind up in a lawsuit, do not provide your future opponents with information they can use against you. You’ve probably heard on television: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” They are Miranda warnings, those police officers must provide in criminal investigations before suspects’ interrogations. The words apply with equal force in non-criminal cases, in which no such warnings need be given.
If it looks like a lawsuit is on the horizon, do not give your adversaries information they can use against you. Don’t justify what you did, to them or anyone. Don’t even talk about what you did with anyone but your lawyer, let alone why. Doing so will only limit your options. In the lawsuit, you will be tied to the reason you gave, and forced to explain it. Other good reasons you may have won’t be the ones you claimed explained your actions.
Also, don’t help your opponents obtain witnesses by spreading information about what occurred to other people. Anyone you speak to other than your lawyer may be called as a witness against you. The only person you should discuss your case with is your attorney.
Rule number two: if you can follow Rule number one, then gather information. While anything you say can be used against you, the reverse is also true; anything your opponents say you can use against them, so if you can refrain from offering information about what you did, try to find out from them what they did and why. If you are in email contact with your adversaries, email them questions. Don’t load your questions with anger; you’re far less likely to get a response. Keep your questions to the point. An example might be, “Why did you stop making payments?” Your opponents’ written explanations may be your best weapons against them in the lawsuit.
If you can’t gather information in writing, you can try over the telephone, though verbal explanations are easier to dispute. People can claim that wasn’t what they said. Do not try to record conversations to get around the problem. In Pennsylvania, taping verbal communications without the other side’s consent is illegal.
Last, and this is critical, don’t tell anyone what you and your lawyer say to each other. The law deems those communications privileged. That means neither you nor your lawyer may be forced to reveal what you say to each other unless: (1) you share those communications with others, or (2) you sue your lawyer. The last thing you want is to be forced to take the stand to testify about your conversations with your lawyer, or to have your lawyer be forced to testify about them, so don’t share them with anyone.
In short, don’t talk about your case to anyone but your lawyer, don’t share your conversations with your lawyer with anyone and if you can refrain from providing information, gather it.