Jan 28, 2013 · Today, many lawyers work in offices that offer legal services to persons who cannot afford to pay for them. Some legal aid offices are supported by funds from private groups. More lawyers work in local legal assistance offices that are funded by the government. In the U.S., most such offices are affiliates of the Legal Services Corporation.
poverty practice. The lawyer who wants to build a practice that will serve the needs of poor people must be aware of this fact. A lawyer who wants to work for poor people should also learn some facts about our society. Knowledge of these facts is not, strictly speak-ing, necessary to determine how a poverty law practice should be
If you are thinking about suing a contractor for unfinished work, you may want to hire an experienced construction law attorney. An attorney will understand state statutes and may be able to identify any weaknesses in a construction contract. No matter whether you have a written contract, suing your contractor can be a lengthy, complicated process.
A bad deskside manner doesn't mean that the lawyer isn't an excellent lawyer, and it can be difficult to find a new one in the middle of a case. If you conclude that you simply can't work with your lawyer anymore, fire your lawyer and find someone new.
If you have a personal injury or medical malpractice case, and a lawyer says he would prefer to be paid by the hour than by contingency, then you may have a weak case. Seek a second opinion.
Some lawyers are willing to work out a payment plan so that you don't have to pay all of the fees at once. You may be able to work out a plan to pay a certain amount every month until everything you owe has been paid. It's up to the individual lawyer to decide whether to make this option available.
In some cases, such as criminal, divorce, or bankruptcy cases, lawyers are not permitted to charge contingency fees. In some cases, attorneys will charge you an hourly rate. However, others (especially lawyers for criminal cases) will charge you a flat one-time fee.
Legal aid programs employ lawyers and paralegals to offer free services to people who are eligible. If you need help with divorce proceedings, employment issues, landlord and tenant issues, and a number of other legal problems, legal aid programs are an excellent resource.
Lawyers willing to work for free, or "pro bono," are matched with people who qualify for free legal advice. There are also nonprofits dedicated to providing pro bono legal help to those in need. Research pro bono programs in your area by looking online or contacting a legal aid office to get a referral.
Legal hotlines provide advice for people in specific situations, such as victims of domestic abuse. In some cases the advice is free, and in other cases it is very low cost. Do a search for legal hotlines in your state, and find one that will give advice appropriate to your situation.
Ideally, the attorney should have some experience in handling matters similar to yours. At the very least, they should have the proper qualifications to handle your case, such as training in property or divorce law. ...
Personality conflicts. Some lawyers are high energy all the time. Some are calm and serene. Others are either somewhere in between or change based on the circumstances or what they had for breakfast. If you had to hire a lawyer, then you have a serious problem.
In a perfect world every lawyer would be a perfect match for every client. In the real world your attorney's personality and style needs to match your needs as well satisfy your legal goals. Sometimes even the best attorney in the courtroom and office can cause you additional stress and money.
Workmanship refers to the quality and skill a contractor puts into completing a project. Poor workmanship typically arises when a contractor fails to follow industry quality standard practices, construction documents, or the installation instructions from the manufacturer.
If you want to avoid taking the issue to court, you may try to resolve the dispute through a mediation or arbitration. The legal system offers a variety of dispute resolution options such as arbitration and mediation which parties can utilize before proceeding to a court of law for relief. The two primary dispute resolution options are arbitration and mediation.””Mediation” means a voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral person is invited or appointed by disputing parties to assist them in identifying and discussing issues of mutual concern, exploring various solutions, and developing a settlement mutually acceptable to the disputing parties.”
Fire Your Contractor. Another option you may have is to fire your contractor. However, this can be a complicated option, as the contractor may challenge this in court, claiming a breach of contract. To defend yourself, you must be able to show that the contractor was the first one to breach your agreement.
When you hire a contractor, both you and the contractor will sign a contract that describes the terms of the work to be completed, the time frame during which the work is to be completed, and the amount that will be paid to the contractor for the work performed.
Unit price contracts: A unit price contract is also referred to as a measurement contract, a remeasurement contract, or a measure and pay contract. This type of contract divides the work needed for the project into different units.
Time and materials contracts: A time and materials contract is usually best for a project that does not have a well-defined scope of work. This type of contract will establish a daily or hourly pay rate and reimburse the contractor for the expense of materials.
Your contract agreement is the document in which a date is set for project completion and parties who will be participating in the process are specified. Typically, this agreement is executed between you and the contractor, and it may include multiple clauses or sections that define the terms, conditions, and scope of your agreement. This is the point at which lawyers may be involved, due to the legal writing and the stakes.
Every state has an agency responsible for licensing and disciplining lawyers. In most states, it's the bar association; in others, the state supreme court. The agency is most likely to take action if your lawyer has failed to pay you money that you won in a settlement or lawsuit, made some egregious error such as failing to show up in court, didn't do legal work you paid for, committed a crime, or has a drug or alcohol abuse problem.
If you can't find out what has (and has not) been done, you need to get hold of your file. You can read it in your lawyer's office or ask your lawyer to send you copies of everything -- all correspondence and everything filed with the court or recorded with a government agency.
If that doesn't work, as a last resort you may need to sue your lawyer in small claims court, asking the court for money to compensate you for what you've spent on redoing work in the file or trying to get the file.
If you're not satisfied with your lawyer's strategy decisions or with the arguments the lawyer has been making on your behalf, you may even want to go to the law library and do some reading to educate yourself about your legal problem.
If you lost money because of the way your lawyer handled your case, consider suing for malpractice. Know, however, that it is not an easy task. You must prove two things:
But all states except Maine, New Mexico, and Tennessee do have funds from which they may reimburse clients whose attorneys stole from them.
If you want to sue for legal malpractice, do it as quickly as possible. A common defense raised by attorneys sued for malpractice is that the client waited too long to sue. And because this area of the law can be surprisingly complicated and confusing, there's often plenty of room for argument.