“If it does not fit, you must acquit” was Johnnie Cochran’s famous theme that he used to convince jurors that the case laid out by prosecutors was inconsistent and full of holes. You can see how convincing Cochran’s theme was despite the odds O.J. Simpson faced.
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“Lawyers were notorious for finding cases in the most unlikely places, especially ones with huge potential damagers awards.” “Mathias shrugged. After all, a criminal lawyer is not concerned with facts. He is concerned with probabilities.
“ 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.
Quotes tagged as "lawyers" Showing 1-30 of 225 “It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, Mr. Richard, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.” ― Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop
Winning a case has much to do with the attorney’s skill in creating a theme that will stick in the minds of the judge and jury and win the case – the most extraordinary skill to lawyering and client advocacy.
Legal malpractice is a type of negligence in which a lawyer does harm to his or her client. Typically, this concerns lawyers acting in their own interests, lawyers breaching their contract with the client, and, one of the most common cases of legal malpractice, is when lawyers fail to act on time for clients.
It's almost always advisable to tell your lawyer the whole truth about your case, even if you've committed a crime. Giving your lawyer all the facts helps them craft the best defense by raising reasonable doubt. Even when a client admits guilt, there are usually many mitigating circumstances that can come into play.
Ultimately, it isn't uncommon for attorneys in the community to have a friendly relationship. Don't be afraid if you even see the attorneys partake in some light banter back and forth.
If you have called your attorney, left messages, sent emails, and you still haven't heard a response, the best course of action is to send a certified letter to his or her office questioning the failure to communicate and informing them that you are prepared to find a new lawyer if the situation does not improve.
In California, the Rules of Professional Conduct govern a lawyer's ethical duties. The law prohibits lawyers from engaging in dishonesty.
If a lawyer knows their client is guilty, it really shouldn't change anything. They will act in the interest of society as well (to a certain extent): Ensure the client has adequate legal representation in court, and is subject to a fair trial.
Perhaps the most common kinds of complaints against lawyers involve delay or neglect. This doesn't mean that occasionally you've had to wait for a phone call to be returned. It means there has been a pattern of the lawyer's failing to respond or to take action over a period of months.
8 Tips for Dealing with Difficult Opposing CounselPoint out Common Ground. ... Don't be Afraid to Ask Why. ... Separate the Person from the Problem. ... Focus on your Interests. ... Don't Fall for your Assumptions. ... Take a Calculated Approach. ... Control the Conversation by Reframing. ... Pick up the Phone.
Many lawyers and judges are social friends and most are "friendly." However, this doesn't mean that they are conspiring against the people in Court.
Attorney misconduct may include: conflict of interest, overbilling, refusing to represent a client for political or professional motives, false or misleading statements, knowingly accepting worthless lawsuits, hiding evidence, abandoning a client, failing to disclose all relevant facts, arguing a position while ...
No matter what name the agency in your state goes by, they will have a process you can use to file a complaint against your attorney for lying or being incompetent. Examples of these types of behavior include: Misusing your money. Failing to show up at a court hearing.
If a lawyer lies to the Judge about something that is within his own knowledge -- such as something the lawyer did or didn't do during the lawsuit, then he can be suspended or disbarred. However, it's important to distinguish what you mean by a "lawyer lying" from examples when a lawyer is not really lying.
First, lawyers understand and believe the facts their clients relay to them. Second, after hearing the facts and identifying the legal issues a client is facing, a lawyer must find a previously decided opinion (called case law or precedent) with an outcome that favors their client’s position. Or, a lawyer may need to distinguish case law ...
The lawyer then uses the theme that they created (as opposed to using the facts of either case) to argue that because the theme exists in both the previously decided opinion and the client’s case, the case law outcome should be applied to the client’s case .
Winner! “If it does not fit, you must acquit” was Johnnie Cochran’s famous theme that he used to convince jurors that the case laid out by prosecutors was inconsistent and full of holes. You can see how convincing Cochran’s theme was despite the odds O.J. Simpson faced.
Lawyers are notoriously known for changing the facts to “win” their case. Yet, the most successful attorneys never change the facts to win. They simply do not need to do so. How, then, does a lawyer win a case? First, lawyers understand and believe the facts their clients relay to them.
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.
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.
Most people hired attorneys because they don't want to sit in court. 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.
Credibility is one of the most important things in this world - and most important in a courtroom. If you care enough only to wear sweats to the courthouse, then the judge will see that you don't care, and that will be reflected in their desire to help you, listen to you, and decide in your favor. Step it up.
If the judge can see your boobs, he's not listening to your story. If I can see your boobs, then I know you didn't care enough about yourself to talk to an attorney. Dress like you are going to church. Credibility is one of the most important things in this world - and most important in a courtroom.
If no one can confirm that the story is true, you will at least need something external, such as a hard copy document, to prove your case. Be prepared.
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.
A personal injury lawyer may speciali ze in toxic torts. A family lawyer may specialize in ad. It is impossible to know every state and federal statute or court opinion, local ordinance, and administrative rule or order. Lawyers do not know every law but they do know how to research the law.
Literally, by heart. You see, what happens is, when you go to law school, they open you up, take out your heart, and put a little computer in its place. We access that computer whenever we need to look up a law. This is why we become so unpleasant after law school.
The answer, of course, is “no”. The real answer is that lawyers (at least the “good” ones) are equipped to research every law, and then have a firm understanding of it, if asked by a potential client to take on representation. 69 views. ·.
Obviously, nobody can know all of these laws by heart. Lawyers who specialize in a particular area of the law can have a surprisingly broad and deep knowledge of the statutes affecting their specialty, but even those lawyers are unable to carry the complete body of law in their head.
No way. There isn’t a single person who knows all the laws. Most people (even lawyers) don’t even have a vague idea about most laws. The law is huge and complex, with many different disciplines.
Some laws, for example, have the word shall while others have the word may. And those two words make all the difference. Commas can be in different locations, and that can impact how the law is interpreted. In the old days, we kept a lot of books that contained both the statutes and court opinions.
The answer is no. While, over time, we certainly begin to memorize some laws or aspects of those laws due to having to use them over and over again, it is literally impossible to memorize every law. Also, laws change. Whenever I need to know a law, I look it up to be certain I have every word righ. Continue Reading.
“If you want to improve your chances of securing the best lawyer to take your case, you need to prepare before you meet them,” advises attorney Stephen Babcock. “Get your story, facts, and proof together well before your first meeting.” This not only ensures that you understand your own needs, but it helps a good lawyer to ascertain whether he or she can actually help you. “We want the best clients too. Proving you’re organized and reliable helps us.”
“ 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.
On reading a demand letter, the other person will often say, “this isn’t worth the trouble” and they quickly settle. But here’s a secret from Knight: You don’t need a lawyer to write a demand letter. You can do it yourself. Just make it look as formal as possible, and you may find your dispute goes away—no charge to you.
In fact, a lawyer should try to stay out of court. “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.
You don’t have to be a lawyer to recognize the admonition of Oliver Wendell Holmes quoted by Scotty Mattraw in Printing Buyers’ News: “If you’re weak on the facts and strong on the law, pound the law. If you’re weak on the law and strong on the facts, pound the facts. If you’re weak on both, pound the table.”.
If you’re weak on both, pound the table.”. In 1936 Carl Sandburg included an instance in his book length poem “The People, Yes” which contained a large number of quotations and sayings that were circulating in the U.S.: 6.
If the facts are on your side, Dershowitz says, pound the facts into the table. If the law is on your side, pound the law into the table. If neither the facts nor the law are on your side, pound the table. But I thought that this saying was originally from a Columbia professor named Jerome Michael and not from a Harvard professor.
If you have the law on your side, hammer the law. If you have neither the facts nor the law, hammer the table.”. In 1975 the aphorism is presented as the wisdom of trial lawyers by syndicated political columnist Patrick Buchanan: 4. There is an old trial lawyers’ saying “When the facts are on your side, pound the facts.
If you have neither the law nor the facts, hammer the table”. In 1985 the aphorism appears in Parade, the mass circulation Sunday newspaper magazine, in an article by Morton L. Janklow, an attorney and prominent literary agent. Janklow says he heard the saying while in Law school, and he credits his teacher Jerome Michael: 3.
Byron K. Elliott and William F. Elliott wrote a version in 1911 but attributed the punch line to an unidentified “modern commentator”. Carl Sandburg helped to popularize the expression with his 1936 poem. Jerome Michael graduated from Columbia Law School in 1912, so he probably did not craft the aphorism. 11.
Janklow says he heard the saying while in Law school, and he credits his teacher Jerome Michael: 3. I call it “The Last Resort Rule.”. It was taught to me by a great teacher at Columbia Law School named Jerome Michael, who taught a course in appellate advocacy.
If a lawyer fails to promptly pay all funds to his client, the lawyer may be required to pay interest. A lawyer is liable for fraud—except when the client caused the attorney to commit fraud—and is generally liable for any damages resulting to the client by his negligence.
A lawyer has the duty, in all dealings and relations with a client, to act with honesty, Good Faith, fairness, integrity, and fidelity. A lawyer must possess the legal skill and knowledge that is ordinarily possessed by members of the profession.
A legal malpractice action, however, is not likely to succeed if the lawyer committed an error because an issue of law was unsettled or debatable. Many legal malpractice claims are filed because of negligence in the professional relationship. The improper and unprofessional handling of the attorney-client relationship leads to negligence claims ...
The four general areas of Legal Malpractice are negligent errors,negligence in the professional relationship, fee disputes, and claims filed by an adversary or non client against a lawyer. As in the medical field, lawyers must conform to standards of conduct recognized by the profession.
Another area of legal malpractice involves fee disputes. When attorneys sue clients for attorneys' fees, many clients assert malpractice as a defense. As a defense, it can reduce or totally eliminate the lawyer's recovery of fees.
In addition, a lawyer is responsible for the acts of his associates, clerks, legal assistants, and partners and may be liable for their acts if they result in losses to the client. Negligent errors are most commonly associated with legal malpractice.
Lawyers who give improper advice, improperly prepare documents, fail to file documents, or make a faulty analysis in examining the title to real estate may be charged with malpractice by their clients. A legal malpractice action, however, is not likely to succeed if the lawyer committed an error because an issue of law was unsettled or debatable. ...