Hiring a Lawyer or Not: Points to Consider
Posted by admin on Nov 3, 2011 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
While fees are usually quite high, representing yourself in a legal matter is rarely sound advice or a sensible way to save money. Seeking legal advice for traffic violations, civil issues or misdemeanor or felony offense defense is a wise decision that can have influence and impact for the rest of your life.
Why Consult a Lawyer?
As the saying goes, “A person defending himself has a fool for a client.” Regardless of your layman knowledge of laws and legality, both legal precepts have layers, nuances, certainties and exceptions of which you will certainly not be aware. You may think you know, but you rarely actually know enough to properly present or counter a legal case.
What Kind of Lawyer Do I Need?
While all attorneys pass a practicing exam, the type of lawyer you might need would change according to circumstances. If you wanted to protect a copyright document or a patent, for example, you would want an attorney who specializes in Intellectual Property. If you wanted to create an ironclad Last Will and Testament or a Living Will or even a Living Trust, you would want an estate attorney. For defense against a criminal offense, you’d want that specialist as well.
Even within specialties, there are sub-specialties. For example, one criminal attorney may specialize in and handle no other cases but Driving Under the Influence or DUI. One family law attorney might handle divorces, while another might specialize in adoption.
I Moved Across the Country. Why Can’t I Use My Old Attorney?
Remember that exam mentioned above? That exam licenses attorneys to practice law within the particular state; it’s called a star bar exam. The state bar exam for one state focuses on legal issues according to federal laws and state laws. Because laws differ from state to state, only people who have passed the jurisdictional exam—the state in which you need representation—can practice law in that state.
If your attorney from California, for example, has not passed the Florida bar exam, she cannot represent you in a Miami courtroom. All attorneys, however, can be licensed in many states simultaneously unless banned by the bar association for that state.
What Differentiates a Good Attorney from a Bad Attorney?
Rarely does competency influence the outcome of a legal proceeding, so whether you win or lose your case should not be the final determine how good an attorney is. The win-loss record in your type of case can be an indicator of expertise, but circumstances differ with each case, and one minor difference can tilt the outcome in an opposite direction.
What makes one attorney better than another might be influenced by experience, but keen knowledge plays an important part. A newer who actively follows new legal precedence might win a case over a more experienced attorney.
Cost often follows demand for the attorney’s services. The fewer attorneys practicing a particular specialty of law usually means a higher per-hour rate, but low cost representation can be excellent.
What determines the best attorney for you depends on circumstances, geography and sometimes expense, but only you can answer that question for yourself.
This post’s author is Holly Miller, a writer for CouponCroc.co.uk, where you can find savings on everything including insurance policies and more.