What You Need To Know To Find And Work With A Lawyer
If you find yourself in a situation where it is necessary to take someone to court, finding the right lawyer to represent you is very important. Don't make the mistake of picking someone that will charge you ridiculous rates without helping much. Read this article for tips on how to pick the right lawyer.
Make sure that your lawyer puts everything out on the table in regards to your options available. When going into a lawsuit, you will want to know all of the options that you have and if there is a plea bargain available. This will not only help you get the best result, but will ease your peace of mind.
Ask your friends and family for referrals if you are looking for a great lawyer. Others that have had legal issues know how critical a good lawyer can be and will be best able to lead you in the right direction. Get a few recommendations and then do your own research from there.
You need to know what your legal budget is before you hire a lawyer. You have to include in this the time spent away from work, if you don't get paid for it, to ensure you have enough to pay your bills. Include travel costs, phone bills and other expenses which might come along.
If you have been in an accident, do not hire any lawyer that comes to you and tries to solicit your business. This is not only unethical, but it is against the law. You do not want to hire anyone to handle your legal case if you have to worry about their legal ethics.
If you need to hire a lawyer but don't know where to start, try looking in a lawyer directory such as Nolo. This directory offers a comprehensive profile of all attorneys. The profile provides important information such as his education, experience, fees and the lawyer's basic philosophy of law. This information can be invaluable in selecting a good lawyer.
Ask your lawyer for an estimate when you decide they're the one for you. If they say no, walk away immediately. Even if they just give you a range and explain what makes a case more or less expensive, that is good enough. Make sure to get your fee agreement in writing!
A good tip to remember when working with a lawyer is to try and get as much done in possible in one meeting. You're going to pay a lot more to schedule different meetings to discuss multiple things. Going over several topics in one meeting can save you a lot of website money.
A good tip to remember when hiring a lawyer is to keep track of all the bills pertaining to your lawyer. You don't want to be caught off guard when it comes time to paying for everything. You can also consult with your lawyer if there's something that doesn't add up.
Meet and interview a few lawyers before you hire one. Talking to each personally can give you a chance to see if you have good rapport. It is also a good opportunity to ask them key questions that will help you make an informed decision. Many attorneys are willing to have a thirty minute meeting with you at no charge.
Keep in mind that you will end up paying a lawyer for more than just the time they spend on your case. If applicable to your case, you may have to pay them for phone costs, traveling costs, and even costs to make copies. Take this into consideration when making a financial plan.
If you are going through a divorce, do not use the same lawyer that your estranged spouse is using. Many people use a familiar firm, but that is a big conflict of interest when it is the same one used by your ex. Look around and try to find someone comparable.
Just because a person is the best in their field doesn't mean they should be hired by you. Their skills are important, but so is their personality. You must get along with them on a personal level if you want things to work.
In many ways, hiring a lawyer is no different than hiring any other sort of professional. You just need to take the time to look around and find the person who best suits your requirements. Keep the advice from this article in mind the next time that you need a lawyer.
Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.
That's what CNN discovered in an 18-month investigation into minor-impact soft-tissue injury crashes around the country. Those are accidents in which there is little damage to the vehicle and the injuries to people are not easy to see by the naked eye or conventional medical tools like X-rays.
Since the mid-1990s, most of the major insurance companies -- led by the two largest, Allstate and State Farm -- have adopted a tough take-it-or-leave-it strategy when dealing with such cases.
The result has been billions in profits for insurance companies and little, if anything, for the public, according to University of Nevada insurance law professor Jeff Stempel.
"We can see that policyholders individually are getting hurt by being dragged through the court on fender-bender claims, and yet we don't see any collateral benefit in the form of reduced premiums even for the other policyholders," Stempel said.
"So I think now we can say to continue this kind of program is in my view institutionalized bad faith."
If you have never heard of the strategy, it's because insurance companies don't want you to know that they are paying out less and less for minor crashes even while their profits soar and your premiums continue to rise.
But after a review of more than 6,000 company documents and court records, interviews with a dozen people nationwide, including former company insiders, and conversations with accident victims, the picture is clear: If you challenge the offer by some insurance companies you will be left with no option but to go to court, where you will be dragged through the wringer.