How You Can Find A Good Lawyer
By; Richard Meeuwsen Meeuwsen
Every one has need for a good lawyer at some time. You should not hesitate to get legal representation because you do not know where to start. It can be quite easy to find a lawyer that will fulfill your needs.
Whether your issue concerns a workplace injury, divorce, DWI, bankruptcy, corporate structure, wills, auto accident, a criminal case or a multitude other topics, you can be sure that there is an attorney who will be happy to represent you. This is one area where you have complete control. You can hire anyone you want.
The first place you should start your search is by asking around with friends, family and business associates. There is no better source than a satisfied customer without ulterior motives who will share their honest opinion.
These personal first hand opinions are usually the best. However, you should be aware that these people may not have a lot of experience in dealing with different lawyers. After having participated in hundreds of hours of lawyer meetings as a client, you too could begin to notice the difference between merely adequate lawyers and outstanding attorneys.
You can also ask other professionals that you know for references. Bankers and accountants deal with lawyers very frequently and they can be a good source of reliable references. You should mention the general nature of the legal question so that they direct you to the correct type of lawyer.
If those sources do not produce any viable options then you will need to rely upon other means. Legal referral services can be helpful. Your local Chamber of Commerce or lawyers association may have such a free service.
The internet is also a good resource. Try the http://find-a-good-lawyer.us/ website for some added information. You can search their online lists covering most specialties in all 50 states and some foreign countries.
The online legal match program is also a free service that can assist you in your search. You can anonymously recap your legal situation and receive responses from legal firms that are willing to handle your needs. You can pick the one that seems to best fit your case.
Most firms will provide a free initial consultation. Be sure you determine this prior to your first conference. During the first consult, you can expect to get a general idea of the level of difficulty, expected costs, possible outcome and other particulars of your case.
Be prepared for your first discussion with documentation and a written list of your questions and concerns. Once you hire an attorney you will usually be paying them on an hourly basis. A qualified attorney and some dubious ones also, can charge hefty fees.
If you just want someone to talk to, there are much cheaper alternatives than a lawyer. Keep your conversations to the point.
If you really cannot afford a lawyer, there may be free legal aid resource in your area. Check your phone book or call the county courthouse for information.
See also:
The Truth about Lawyers
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Truth About Lawyers
The Truth About Lawyers
By: Peter Cross
During the matter of my divorce (that's lawyer talk - it's always the matter of this and the matter of that), I spent about $30,000 on three different attorneys in an extremely frustrating effort just to be able to see my own children. As each lawyer failed to obtain one single worthwhile benefit for me, I fired them and hired another one. I couldn't help but notice that I was never allowed to speak directly to the judge and I felt that these people were not saying what I wanted them to say as well as I could. So in the end I fired them all and decided to represent myself in court In Propria Persona (as my own attorney). It was then that I learned the most important lesson of all:
The Name of the Game in court is: DON'T PISS OFF THE JUDGE!
The hard truth of the matter is that attorneys have to work with the judges and with the other attorneys every day. A client is just a client and when the case is over, it's over and they need to get on with the next one. It's really all about careers and about relationships, and the attorneys' daily business relationships are with other attorneys. They have ethical guidelines which compel them to show respect even if they don't like each other. But when it comes to the judges it's not a matter of like or dislike. The judges are little gods and the reality is that they have huge case loads which just get larger no matter what they do, and the attorneys understand that the way to help the judges is to move the cases through court as quickly as possible. Help a judge do that and you're on their good side. Take too long with one particular client and you're not. DON'T PISS OFF THE JUDGE or the judge will find a way to take it out on you and you will not like it when that happens. One particular judge actually said to me "I don't get angry, I get even". Attorneys don't have to be told that, they know it. They understand that a career can be lost by alienating a judge and that relationships can be jeopardized by alienating their peers. The vast majority of attorneys will not risk their careers or jeopardize their professional relationships for any one particular client.
So does anybody really need an attorney? The law actually implies that we don't because we are given the right to represent ourselves in court if we choose to. Does anybody really want you to know this? Definitely not, because if everybody represented themselves, how would all the law school graduates make a living? But here's the big problem. When you think you need an attorney, it's almost always because you've gotten into some kind of serious trouble and you think that the stakes are too high if you lose. It's kind of like needing a new roof. Nobody even thinks about their roof until it's too late and the thing is leaking uncontrollably. And it's only then that they find out how incredibly expensive a new roof is, and how impossible it is to educate yourself properly on the subject in order to know how to spend all that money and not get ripped off. Similarly, until you're in serious trouble, you probably don't even think about having to choose an attorney. And now the stakes are much higher than when you need a new roof because with the roof, the great danger is spending a lot of money and not getting what you paid for. With your legal difficulty, it could be about having to go to JAIL, not to mention spending a lot of money on an attorney and then having to go to jail. So when you're in that situation, the conventional wisdom is unanimous - get the best attorney you can afford.
So you bust your budget and make your selection. You sit there in court and watch the attorney do his/her job. How are you supposed to be able to know whether the best possible job is being done for you? There's no way to know because you don't understand the game that's being played out. After all is said and done, the judge calls both attorneys into chambers and the goal of the meeting is to find a compromise solution that will move the case out of court. The attorneys do their thing and then they come back into court and tell you, "This is the best possible deal you're going to get. Trust me. If you don't take this deal, you're going to make the judge angry and you will never get this deal again." What can you do? Nothing. You just lost.
But if you ever make the decision to represent yourself in court, you'd better understand how to behave properly or you will really piss off the judge. Here are the basics of good courtroom behavior:
1. Don't digress. Make your points quickly, logically, and in logical order.
2. Always look the judge directly in the eyes when talking.
3. Forget your ego and just grovel. Say "your Honor", "with all due respect", "forgive my ignorance" and things like that.
4. Dress well. Notice that the attorneys all wear suits. Now why do you think they do that? Because they all own stock in Brooks Brothers?
5. When you do get your chance to go back into chambers, follow rules 1 through 4 again.
If you can master these basics, you will find that an amazing thing happens. The judge will be entertained by you simply because what you're doing is very rare and it's not what they have to sit through every day. If you're good and stick to the basics, the judge will bend over backwards to assist you. Of course, there is the matter of knowing the law and proper court procedure. It's possible to lose a case just by missing a trick and being beat to the punch by your opposing attorney on a simple point of order. So . . . do you need an attorney? Probably you do, but maybe you don't. I didn't.
As Sally Struthers said in All in The Family: "Case Closed !"
By: Peter Cross
During the matter of my divorce (that's lawyer talk - it's always the matter of this and the matter of that), I spent about $30,000 on three different attorneys in an extremely frustrating effort just to be able to see my own children. As each lawyer failed to obtain one single worthwhile benefit for me, I fired them and hired another one. I couldn't help but notice that I was never allowed to speak directly to the judge and I felt that these people were not saying what I wanted them to say as well as I could. So in the end I fired them all and decided to represent myself in court In Propria Persona (as my own attorney). It was then that I learned the most important lesson of all:
The Name of the Game in court is: DON'T PISS OFF THE JUDGE!
The hard truth of the matter is that attorneys have to work with the judges and with the other attorneys every day. A client is just a client and when the case is over, it's over and they need to get on with the next one. It's really all about careers and about relationships, and the attorneys' daily business relationships are with other attorneys. They have ethical guidelines which compel them to show respect even if they don't like each other. But when it comes to the judges it's not a matter of like or dislike. The judges are little gods and the reality is that they have huge case loads which just get larger no matter what they do, and the attorneys understand that the way to help the judges is to move the cases through court as quickly as possible. Help a judge do that and you're on their good side. Take too long with one particular client and you're not. DON'T PISS OFF THE JUDGE or the judge will find a way to take it out on you and you will not like it when that happens. One particular judge actually said to me "I don't get angry, I get even". Attorneys don't have to be told that, they know it. They understand that a career can be lost by alienating a judge and that relationships can be jeopardized by alienating their peers. The vast majority of attorneys will not risk their careers or jeopardize their professional relationships for any one particular client.
So does anybody really need an attorney? The law actually implies that we don't because we are given the right to represent ourselves in court if we choose to. Does anybody really want you to know this? Definitely not, because if everybody represented themselves, how would all the law school graduates make a living? But here's the big problem. When you think you need an attorney, it's almost always because you've gotten into some kind of serious trouble and you think that the stakes are too high if you lose. It's kind of like needing a new roof. Nobody even thinks about their roof until it's too late and the thing is leaking uncontrollably. And it's only then that they find out how incredibly expensive a new roof is, and how impossible it is to educate yourself properly on the subject in order to know how to spend all that money and not get ripped off. Similarly, until you're in serious trouble, you probably don't even think about having to choose an attorney. And now the stakes are much higher than when you need a new roof because with the roof, the great danger is spending a lot of money and not getting what you paid for. With your legal difficulty, it could be about having to go to JAIL, not to mention spending a lot of money on an attorney and then having to go to jail. So when you're in that situation, the conventional wisdom is unanimous - get the best attorney you can afford.
So you bust your budget and make your selection. You sit there in court and watch the attorney do his/her job. How are you supposed to be able to know whether the best possible job is being done for you? There's no way to know because you don't understand the game that's being played out. After all is said and done, the judge calls both attorneys into chambers and the goal of the meeting is to find a compromise solution that will move the case out of court. The attorneys do their thing and then they come back into court and tell you, "This is the best possible deal you're going to get. Trust me. If you don't take this deal, you're going to make the judge angry and you will never get this deal again." What can you do? Nothing. You just lost.
But if you ever make the decision to represent yourself in court, you'd better understand how to behave properly or you will really piss off the judge. Here are the basics of good courtroom behavior:
1. Don't digress. Make your points quickly, logically, and in logical order.
2. Always look the judge directly in the eyes when talking.
3. Forget your ego and just grovel. Say "your Honor", "with all due respect", "forgive my ignorance" and things like that.
4. Dress well. Notice that the attorneys all wear suits. Now why do you think they do that? Because they all own stock in Brooks Brothers?
5. When you do get your chance to go back into chambers, follow rules 1 through 4 again.
If you can master these basics, you will find that an amazing thing happens. The judge will be entertained by you simply because what you're doing is very rare and it's not what they have to sit through every day. If you're good and stick to the basics, the judge will bend over backwards to assist you. Of course, there is the matter of knowing the law and proper court procedure. It's possible to lose a case just by missing a trick and being beat to the punch by your opposing attorney on a simple point of order. So . . . do you need an attorney? Probably you do, but maybe you don't. I didn't.
As Sally Struthers said in All in The Family: "Case Closed !"
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