Full Answer
Freelance copywriter and growth strategist with over $100MM in sales for health and fitness brands. â Founder of Freelance Like A Pro. Itâs been a while since our last Q&A. So I want to make it up to you today with a two-for-one deal. đ
Both of these questions are about how to protect your business â and your wallet â with bulletproof freelance contracts. Now if youâve been reading my work for a while, youâll know Iâve shared a bunch of different contract templates in the past. And Iâll make sure to drop those links again below. But first, I have to remind you â Iâm not a lawyer .
Top Ten Reasons to Hire a Lawyer
Lawyers are in a unique position to help individuals, groups, and organizations with their legal problems and to further the public good. Public interest lawyers champion legal causes for the greater good of society and help those in need of legal assistance who might not otherwise be able to afford attorneys.
I knew then that I loved being a lawyer. I loved protecting people in a court of law. I loved the feeling of accomplishment I get from helping others fightâwin or lose. I get to think through problems every day for people I really like.
Great Communication Skills On a fundamental level, attorneys are communicators. They communicate with their clients, they communicate with other parties to the case, and they communicate with the court. Beyond that, lawyers communicate in a wide range of different ways.
Lawyers advise individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes, and represent them in court and legal transactions. Also called attorneys, lawyers inform their clients about their legal rights and obligations, and help steer them through the complexities of the law.
Trustworthiness, listening skills, emotional awareness, diplomacy, and other human relations capabilities are the coin of the realm for successful corporate lawyers. (Again, excellent judgment and management skills are taken as a given for these positions.)
Lawyers solve people's problems for them. For example, a client may say that they want to buy a particular business but are unsure what steps they need to take. We help them achieve that goal by working out the best way to buy that business and then help them do it.
Working in the law means that you will deal with people. It is a client-facing industry and you will have to liaise with clients on the telephone, in meetings, via email and at events. This may not appeal to everyone but a good firm will make sure that you are comfortable.
Below are the top ten reasons to hire an attorney. 1. The Law is Complicated. If you're not a lawyer you probably have no business acting like one in certain instances. Even experienced lawyers typically do not represent themselves in court. Also, attorneys tend to specialize in one or more legal practice areas, such as criminal defense or tax law.
Attorneys depend on an extended network of professionals to help their clients ' cases. Most non-attorneys don't personally know the types of professionals who can help with discovery or challenge evidence or testimony by the opposing party.
What's at stake? A criminal case may determine whether or not you spend time behind bars, while a civil case could hurt you financially. Besides, there are many civil attorneys who don't actually collect a dime from you unless they win your case. Also, you may be able to claim legal fees as a plaintiff in a civil case, so hiring a lawyer can actually save or make you money.
If you're not an attorney, you may struggle with the deadlines and protocol for properly filling out and filing certain legal documents. One late or incorrect filing could derail your case, delay a given legal procedure or worse - have the case thrown out altogether (and not in your favor).
Not every legal matter requires the use of an attorney. Fighting a speeding ticket and going to small claims courts are two examples. However, in many other situations involving a legal dispute, challenge, or deal, you may not wish to chance the risks of going it alone without the advice of an experienced lawyer who can help you out. In fact, while good legal representation may not be cheap, it can help get you out of a number of sticky situations, such as a bad divorce, lost job, or DUI violation.
Since many attorneys will meet with you for free during a face-to-face consultation, there is really no harm in talking with one. Not only will a free consultation give you an idea of the type of case you have and its likely outcome, it will help you decide whether you actually need to hire a lawyer.
Pleading guilty or admitting fault isn't the only choice, even if there's evidence pointing directly at you. When you hire a lawyer, they can explain all of your options and can help you avoid potentially severe penalties even before a trial begins. 7. It's Always Better to Avoid Problems Rather Than Fix Them Later.
You can answer this question by following the steps below to highlight your strengths and make a great impression on the interviewer: 1. Focus on your strengths and skills. Give examples of your strongest skills that make you successful as a lawyer. For instance, your ability to communicate ...
The interviewer will likely want to see that your core values and philosophy about practicing law connects with the job responsibilities and their firm's mission and values. Describe the character traits you feel you have developed as a lawyer and how these traits helped shape the values you have today. Then, relate these values to what you know about the company and the clients it serves.
For instance, your ability to communicate persuasively, your attention to detail and your compassion towards your clients are strengths that you can have as a lawyer that make you successful at doing your job. Your pride in your skills and expertise can show the interviewer how motivated you are to succeed in the career.
Interviewing for a position as a lawyer means you'll likely encounter several different types of questions that will help the interviewer get to know you, assess your skills and compare your qualifications with what they're looking for.
Lawyers are in a position to help protect individuals, groups, companies, and the voiceless â such as children, animals, and the planet. Lawyers have a chance to further the public good and have an impact on the way the world runs. Many people in the legal profession perform pro-bono work during their career.
Flexibility. One of the best perks of being a lawyer is the flexibility it affords, in many different areas. For a start, many people in the legal profession have the ability to set their own fees, choose their hours, and select the clients they want to work with.
A legal career can be a wonderful calling and offer a huge amount of opportunities and job satisfaction. Whether youâre trying to work out a path of employment after you leave school, or have been working for years and need a career change, choosing to join the legal industry might be just what youâre looking for.
Being a lawyer, though, doesnât have to be about bad suits, bad choices, or bad manners. A legal career can be a wonderful calling and offer a huge amount of opportunities and job satisfaction.
In addition, the industry is one in which there are dozens of specialised areas to work in. Lawyers can pick and choose the type of subject matter they want to work on during their career, or even change their specialty multiple times if they feel like they want to learn about another field or simply need a new job.
What exactly is a lawyer? A lawyer (also called attorney, counsel, or counselor) is a licensed professional who advises and represents others in legal matters. Todayâs lawyer can be young or old, male or female.
In some countries, a lawyer is called a âbarristerâ or a âsolicitor.â.
Most lawyers normally spend more time in an office than in a courtroom. The practice of law most often involves researching legal developments, investigating facts, writing and preparing legal documents, giving advice, and settling disputes.
Before being allowed to practice law in most states, a person must: Have a bachelorâs degree or its equivalent. Complete three years at an ABA-accredited law school. Pass a state bar examination, which usually lasts for two or three days. The exam tests knowledge in selected areas of law.
Not necessarily â you may represent yourself. And, in some specialized situations, such as bringing a complaint before a government agency (for example, a dispute over Social Security or Medicare benefits), nonlawyers or paralegals may be qualified to represent you. (Paralegals are nonlawyers who have received training that enables them to assist lawyers in a number of tasks; they typically cannot represent clients in court.) If you are in this situation, ask the government agency involved what types of legal representatives are acceptable.#N#There are many matters you can deal with yourself, if you know how to go about it. For example, you can represent yourself in traffic or small-claims court, or engage in negotiations and enter into contracts on your own. But if you are not sure about the consequences of your actions or are uncertain about how to proceed, getting some quick legal advice from a lawyer could be very helpful in preventing problems down the road.
These words and phrases, many rooted in Latin, are often jokingly referred to as a foreign languageâlegalese. Although some legalese may be necessary in order to communicate certain ideas precisely, a document that is understood by very few of its readers is just plain poor communication.
A ânotary public,â an âaccountant,â or a âcertified public accountantâ is not necessarily a lawyer. Do not assume that titles such as notary public mean the same thing as similar terms in your own language. In some countries, a lawyer is called a âbarristerâ or a âsolicitor.â
A lawyer can usually tell you where to go and what to watch out for. Having someone who can direct you to the right people is always invaluable and thatâs something attorneys excel at. 5. You Never KnowâŚ.
One of the big reasons that people avoid talking with an attorney before it becomes absolutely necessary is cost. TV shows hype up lawyers with high rates and make your lawyers look more expensive than they actually are.
Most people think of attorneys as people who fix problems but, in truth, most of the work that they do is preventative in nature. Whether itâs reviewing contracts, writing up agreements, filing paperwork or making sure that their client is compliant with the law.
To many, itâs a sign that someone is either looking for trouble or doing something risky that might make them more likely to have legal problems. Generally, if you arenât super-wealthy or a villain on a crime show, itâs not widely expected youâd have any attorney you can call when needed without searching.
Jonathan Bailey founded and continues to write at Plagiarism Today, a site about content theft and copyright issues on the internet. He also manages CopyByte, a company that protects online content, and writes a regular column for BloggingPro .
No lawyer operates in a vacuum. Every attorney operates in a network with other legal professionals, including many different specialities, officials in various areas of government and other professionals of all types.
Finally, successful lawyers know how to persevere. The law is a tough field. There is no reason to sugar coat it; practicing law can be one of the most rewarding and meaningful careers out there, but itâs also a lot of work. As is true with any profession, success requires effort. There will be difficult days. You may be stuck dealing with a client who is making your life unnecessarily hard, an opposing counsel who is being rude for no reason, or a judge who rules the wrong way on a key procedural matter. You may simply be frustrated because you spilled hot coffee on your shirt that morning. It happens. What sets successful attorneys apart from ordinary attorneys is that they know how to persevere through the challenging times to get to the rewarding and meaningful moments that make it all worth it.
On a fundamental level, attorneys are communicators. They communicate with their clients, they communicate with other parties to the case, and they communicate with the court. Beyond that, lawyers communicate in a wide range of different ways.
Whether itâs by helping them through a difficult family law matter, protect ing them against false charges , or securing fair financial compensation after an accident, attorneys advocate for people during some of the most challenging times in their life. Lawyers matter.
Willingness to Listen. One of the most underrated traits shared by almost every successful attorney is a strong ability and willingness to listen. Although strong listening is a part of overall communication skills, itâs important to highlight listening as its own professional trait.
A great lawyer knows how to get important ideas across in formal legal writing, in informal emails, in phone conversations, through discussions in official legal settings, and in private conversations.
The legal knowledge needed to be an effective corporate litigator is far different than the legal knowledge needed to help a California couple pursue a private adoption. Great lawyers know their area of practice. Some of this knowledge comes from experience. Some of it comes from education.
When you truly open up your ears, you will probably recognize that people are giving you even more information that you thought. Listening to your clients, listening to witnesses, listening to your opposing counsel, and listening to the court can be the difference between winning and losing a case.