Ask a Lawyer

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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby JamishT » Thu Jul 09, 2015 4:50 am

Hey thanks!

Follow up/kinda sorta related: I expect the best case scenario is having a lawyer on retainer, but I'm a twentysomething that doesn't really have that put together. I assume I should still be shopping for a lawyer/law office I'd call should something happen. I guess my question is how does shop for a lawyer (and I don't mean what to get them for Christmas :D )?
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Learned Nand » Thu Jul 09, 2015 5:33 am

I have a question.

My mom was talking to a lawyer recently, who preferred not to have my dad in on the discussion. Instead, he wanted my mom to relay the information she learnt to my dad herself, in order to ensure the information was privileged.

My question is: why? Obviously the information shared between the lawyer and my mom is subject to attorney-client privilege, and the information shared between my parents is subject to spousal privilege. Is the information shared between the attorney and my dad not privileged, even if my mom is in the room, because she is the one who hired him? If so, is it realistic (or legal) that my dad could be forced to testify with regards to information communicated between my mom and the lawyer while he was in the room?
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Beernpotatoes » Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:12 pm

Jamish - There's no real reason to have a lawyer on retainer. Many of my business clients have me on retainer, but that's only after several months where we can look at their billing records and see about how much they're spending on our services. Then we figure an average amount and they just pay that every month. Some months they barely ever call, and other months, we're elbows deep in legal matters for them. But the average person who may only ever need a lawyer to close on a home, draft a will or get them out of a speeding ticket shouldn't be paying monthly. That said, if you're overly cautious, you can get prepaid legal services, but check your homeowners' policy first to see if they'll cover basic legal costs.

Choosing a lawyer is difficult, but most state bar associations keep a list of lawyers who specialize in certain types of cases. If you call the state bar, they'll probably have a referral service that will point you to a lawyer with the right skill set. However, you should ALWAYS wait to make a hiring decision until after you've consulted with the attorney to make sure that you are a compatable fit. Some things to watch out for and avoid:

1. Attorneys who won't do a free consultation. No lawyer is going to give you free advice over the phone, but you shouldn't have to pay a fee up front just to find out if your case is one that he/she will handle.
2. Law offices that look disorganized... with stacks of loose papers, unlabeled cardboard boxes, etc.; or law offices that screw up your appointment time or that make you wait half an hour before the lawyer is ready to talk to you. A disorganized lawyer is going to screw up your case.
3. Lawyers who over-promise. If you have a case that will go to court, and the lawyers says that you are guaranteed to win, RUN. NO ONE is guaranteed to win. The lawyer should be up front about his fees, your chances of success and the time it's going to take to do your case.

AVIEL:
The attorney-client privilege is a two way street, but each way has different rules. Basically, everything that you tell a lawyer is privileged, meaning that the lawyer can prevent it from ever being disclosed to anyone. UNLESS... the cat is already out of the bag. If a lawyers is talking to his client and someone else is present or overhears the conversation, the privilege no longer holds. For that reason, the lawyer must (MUST) take steps to ensure that conversations with his/her clients are strictly confidential. The lawyer can be sued or even have their license jeopardized for violating that rule.

The client, on the other hand, is free to tell everyone he/she wants about everything they talked about with their lawyer. It destroys the attorney-client privilege and the information is no longer protected, but at least it's not the lawyer's fault.
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Askias » Thu Jul 09, 2015 5:52 pm

I should look this up myself, but I just thought of it because I saw this thread and I'm lazy.

Does becoming a (criminal?) lawyer come with an oath in the USA? I recall my own country (The Netherlands) having a short segment on 'never taking a case I do not think to be just' (I'm unsure how that's meant) one has to repeat. However, I may very well be completely wrong, maybe it was just a motto or something.
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Last edited by sunglasses on Thu Jul 09, 2015 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: changed threat to thread. I think that's what you meant. I hope that's what you meant.
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Beernpotatoes » Thu Jul 09, 2015 9:31 pm

Askias:
There's no special oath for the criminal bar. Unlike many European countries where they have different types of legal professionals (e.g. solicitors v. barristers, etc.), the US has only one classification for licensed attorney*. We all take the same bar exam (in our own state - each state has its own licensing) and once sworn in, we are licensed to practice all areas of the law.

*The one exception is the patent bar. You must sit for the U.S. Patent office's bar exam if you want to practice as a patent attorney. There used to be a separate bar for admiralty law, but they've done away with that.
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Learned Nand » Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:42 am

Beernpotatoes wrote:The attorney-client privilege is a two way street, but each way has different rules. Basically, everything that you tell a lawyer is privileged, meaning that the lawyer can prevent it from ever being disclosed to anyone. UNLESS... the cat is already out of the bag. If a lawyers is talking to his client and someone else is present or overhears the conversation, the privilege no longer holds.

Right but my dad is (and I know this is unusual nowadays in Obama's America) married to my mom; does spousal privilege not apply here? Even if they're married, the information is no longer privileged?
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby JamishT » Fri Jul 10, 2015 2:01 am

Hey so what's your favorite legal-type show on TV? *Please say Suits*
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Beernpotatoes » Fri Jul 10, 2015 4:35 am

Aviel: It totally depends on what they were discussing. Spousal privilege is not the same thing as attorney client privilege. With ACP, the attorney has the obligation to protect the information. SP is up to the spouses to voluntarily keep. Also, in most states it only applies to criminal matters. A husband can't be compelled to testify against his wife in a criminal case... but he sure can if he WANTS to - neither she nor her attorney can stop him.

JamishT: I'm not allowed to watch legal shows on TV because I spend the entire time screaming "BULLSH*T! OBJECT! YOU CAN'T DO THAT IN COURT" at the television.
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby FaceTheCitizen » Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:08 am

...
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Beernpotatoes » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:44 pm

Face: Not at all. Their workload depends on the jurisdiction, of course. A PD working in Brooklyn probably has a higher caseload that one working in, say, Yuma, Arizona. But, there are some definite advantages to having a lawyer who is unconcerned about your ability to pay an hourly fee. First, they try more cases than any other kind of lawyer, which means, not only do they have more experience in the courtroom than anyone else, but they have very good relationships with prosecutors and judges - something that really comes in handy when it's time to make a deal. Second, their job is to defend you, period. They don't also do Wills, landlord tenant cases or personal injury matters. They are true specialists and they know all of the tricks.

The big downside is their lack of budget. Most PD offices have a full time investigator who can go and collect evidence in your favor, but they don't have a budget to hire expensive expert witnesses, particularly scientists and engineers who can debunk a lot of the police's pseudo-science mumbo jumbo that all jurors believe, thanks to TV cops, who can identify a suspect 100% accurately 100% of the time from a single hair or a partial fingerprint.
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby JamishT » Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:18 pm

I was a jury member for a civil case a while back, and I actually enjoyed it a lot. After the verdict was done, I got stopped by both of the lawyers who asked me how they did, which of their witnesses were the most effective, and other such questions. Is getting feedback from jurors a normal thing for lawyers to do?
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Beernpotatoes » Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:35 pm

JamishT: If we can. Some judges won't allow us to contact the jurors after the case is over. Talking to jurors is the single most valuable insight a lawyer will ever get into how to improve themselves. And it never ceases to amaze me. I'll be in court and I'll be absolutely convinced that we are very carefully attacking the one point that we need to win the case, only to find out that the jury didn't care about that issue at all, and wanted to hear more about something else instead. Plus, I genuinely want to know if I came off as believable, arrogant, clumsy, absent minded, down to earth... I have shaped my entire method of presenting a jury trial based on feedback from jurors.
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby DamianaRaven » Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:10 am

I have a question/rant for which I made a separate thread. I'd be much obliged if you'd contribute to the discussion.
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby ShuaiGuy » Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:25 am

<Redacted>
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Re: Ask a Lawyer

Postby Beernpotatoes » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:14 am

That's a complicated question, and I'd need a few more details....
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