Jul 10, 2013 · According to the AP, the attorneys charged $27 million for three months of shoddy work. In other words, an unprecedented 34% of the recovered sum would be paid to legal fees. The situation was ...
Apr 09, 2015 · Professional responsibility rules prohibit simultaneous representation of clients with directly conflicting interests. 6. Regular updates and prompt attention. You are entitled to regular updates on the status of the legal matter. The attorney should promptly respond to your questions and phone calls.
Apr 09, 2015 · Lawyers depend on their legal fees to earn a living, so most attorneys are motivated to do a good job and make their clients happy. Explain why you're dissatisfied, and tell the attorney what will make you a happy customer. If you're still dissatisfied after having that conversation, then consider changing attorneys.
This guide tells you about: 1 Lawyers and what their role is, including what they can and cannot do. 2 When and how to report a concern about a lawyer to their regulator. 3 The skills you need to represent yourself so that you can keep calm, focus on the practicalities and come out the other end.
Other solicitors, working in different areas of law, do go to court and represent their client at court hearings. Solicitors who do go to court tend to do the shorter hearings at the start of a case and then use a barrister to do any longer hearings. Legal executives.
Legal aid is money from the government to help you pay a lawyer to give you advice or represent you. Not all types of case are covered by legal aid, and it is usually only available to people on a low income, but it is worth checking if you can get it.
Solicitors. Solicitors are qualified to work in any area of law but now, more often than not, they choose one area to focus on. Solicitors represent a person by running their case for them, and if needed, will prepare the case for going to court. Some solicitors never do court work.
Their job is to represent their client’s position as best as they can, whether it is a good case or a weak case. A lawyer’s discussions with their client are confidential and a lawyer can only tell the court what their client tells them to say. However, a lawyer must not mislead the court.
If you can’t resolve things by agreement, then the judge will make a final decision that you will have to accept.
Support at court - McKenzie friends. A McKenzie friend is the name given to a person who can come to court to give you support and practical help. They might be a friend or family member. Some McKenzie friends charge you to come and help you at court and others are willing to help you free of charge.
“In my experience, a good lawyer always finds every opportunity to keep a case from being decided by a judge, and only relents on trying a case before the bench when all alternatives have been exhausted,” attorney, Jason Cruz says. “If a lawyer suggests they want to try the case in front of a judge, you should definitely speak with another lawyer before proceeding,”
“ Winning cases can be lost because of a client who lies or exaggerates just as easily as because of a lawyer who tells the client what the client wants to hear instead of what is true.” So when dealing with attorneys, don’t just look for honesty—be honest.
When hiring an attorney, a potential money pit is “expenses” outside of the lawyer’s billable hours. Expenses include everything—copying and faxing costs, hiring expert witnesses, and even traveling via private jet, points out attorney Justin C. Roberts. Some lawyers don’t just pass the charges along; instead, they charge an additional percentage fee. Whatever their method, you need to know it up front so there won’t be any surprises when the bill arrives.
Lauren Cahn is a New York-based writer whose work has appeared regularly on Reader's Digest, The Huffington Post, and a variety of other publications since 2008. She covers life and style, popular culture, law, religion, health, fitness, yoga, entertaining and entertainment.
Interest of Person Paying for a Lawyer's Service. [13] A lawyer may be paid from a source other than the client, including a co-client, if the client is informed of that fact and consents and the arrangement does not compromise the lawyer's duty of loyalty or independent judgment to the client. See Rule 1.8 (f).
Thus, a lawyer related to another lawyer, e.g., as parent, child, sibling or spouse, ordinarily may not represent a client in a matter where that lawyer is representing another party, unless each client gives informed consent.
Concurrent conflicts of interest can arise from the lawyer's responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person or from the lawyer's own interests. For specific Rules regarding certain concurrent conflicts of interest, see Rule 1.8. For former client conflicts of interest, see Rule 1.9. For conflicts of interest involving prospective clients, see Rule 1.18. For definitions of "informed consent" and "confirmed in writing," see Rule 1.0 (e) and (b).
[8] Even where there is no direct adverseness, a conflict of interest exists if there is a significant risk that a lawyer's ability to consider, recommend or carry out an appropriate course of action for the client will be materially limited as a result of the lawyer's other responsibilities or interests. For example, a lawyer asked to represent several individuals seeking to form a joint venture is likely to be materially limited in the lawyer's ability to recommend or advocate all possible positions that each might take because of the lawyer's duty of loyalty to the others. The conflict in effect forecloses alternatives that would otherwise be available to the client. The mere possibility of subsequent harm does not itself require disclosure and consent. The critical questions are the likelihood that a difference in interests will eventuate and, if it does, whether it will materially interfere with the lawyer's independent professional judgment in considering alternatives or foreclose courses of action that reasonably should be pursued on behalf of the client.
For example, a lawyer asked to represent several individuals seeking to form a joint venture is likely to be materially limited in the lawyer's ability to recommend or advocate all possible positions that each might take because of the lawyer's duty of loyalty to the others.
[21] A client who has given consent to a conflict may revoke the consent and, like any other client, may terminate the lawyer's representation at any time. Whether revoking consent to the client's own representation precludes the lawyer from continuing to represent other clients depends on the circumstances, including the nature of the conflict, whether the client revoked consent because of a material change in circumstances, the reasonable expectations of the other client and whether material detriment to the other clients or the lawyer would result.
[34] A lawyer who represents a corporation or other organization does not, by virtue of that representation, necessarily represent any constituent or affiliated organization, such as a parent or subsidiary. See Rule 1.13 (a). Thus, the lawyer for an organization is not barred from accepting representation adverse to an affiliate in an unrelated matter, unless the circumstances are such that the affiliate should also be considered a client of the lawyer, there is an understanding between the lawyer and the organizational client that the lawyer will avoid representation adverse to the client's affiliates, or the lawyer's obligations to either the organizational client or the new client are likely to limit materially the lawyer's representation of the other client.
Well, truth be told, neither do I. The difference between lawyer and client is that the lawyer expects it to take a long time and understands. The client typically thinks it's unjustified. So, your hard truth is that each case takes time. Be patient.
Tell the Truth. If your lawyer doubts you in the consultation, or doesn't think you have a case, while that may change over time, getting over an initial disbelief is very hard. You have to prove your case. Your attorney is not your witness. They are your advocate - but you are responsible for coming up with proof.
If you don't pay your lawyer on the day of trial, or however you have agreed to, then while he or she may be obligated by other ethical duties to do his/her best, they won't be motivated by sympathy for you, and it will show in court.
While lawyers can certainly take your money and your time and we can file a case that will be very hard to win, if you don't care enough about your life to get a contract, the judge is not very likely to be on your side. At least, not automatically. Oral contracts are extremely hard to prove. What are the terms.
While juries usually get it right, sometimes, it's not about whether a particular matter is emotional or simple, complicated or straightforward. Sometimes people make decisions on who has the nicer suit, or who is more pleasant to deal with. So even if your case is good or even if it's not so strong.
Clients put a great deal of faith in their lawyers. As with doctors, clients come to attorneys for serious problems—problems that they cannot solve on their own, thus putting them in a potentially vulnerable position.
For example, if you want to sue your neighbor, but an attorney also represents your neighbor’s business, the attorney cannot simultaneously represent you in your lawsuit.
The attorney-client privilege means that generally the attorney (and all personnel in the attorney's office) can't reveal confidential information the client conveys to the attorney in the course of representation or when seeking ...
Competence. You are entitled to competent representation by the attorney. Competency requires both intelligence and experience on the part of the attorney. There are ethical rules that prohibit an attorney from taking a case that is frivolous (lacks merit) or is intended to harass another person.
You are entitled to competent representation by the attorney. Competency requires both intelligence and experience on the part of the attorney. There are ethical rules that prohibit an attorney from taking a case that is frivolous (lacks merit) or is intended to harass another person.
Some charge what are called "contingent fees," which means the attorney will get a percentage of any recovery the client receives (and nothing if the client's case is lost, except for expenses such as court filing fees, costs of deposing (interviewing) witnesses, and so on).
In most cases, clients have the ability to fire their attorneys at will. But you should not fire your attorney before giving careful thought to the timing and your reasons for doing so. Consider other possible solutions and the possible ramifications. Before taking any action, ask yourself these questions:
Once you've definitely decided to change attorneys, there are still a few things you should do before notifying him or her of the change.
The duty to keep clients informed rests on attorneys, not clients. But on the theory that if the attorney screws up it's the client who usually suffers, here are a couple of steps that defendants can take to try to secure effective communication with their lawyers: 1 Raise the issue early on. Establish, in advance, a clear understanding about case updates. If an attorney's practice is to initiate contact only when a development occurs, the attorney should communicate that to the client at the outset of the representation. If a client wants (and can pay for) regular updates regardless of whether developments have taken place, that too can be spelled out in advance—even included in a written retainer agreement. 2 Be reasonable. A defendant who phones his or her attorney with a request for information can indicate a willingness to speak with the lawyer's associate, secretary, or paralegal. The lawyer may be too tied up on other cases to return the call personally, but may have time to pass along information through an assistant. And because some lawyers have poor communication skills, the defendant may be better off getting information from an assistant than from the lawyer.
As defined by ethical rules, a lawyer's duty to keep clients informed has two primary components: to advise the defendant of case developments (such as a prosecutor's offered plea bargain or locating an important defense witness), and. to respond reasonably promptly to a defendant's request for information.