List your contract work in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent experiences. If you’ve done multiple projects for the same company, list all of that work under the same company’s name. Be clear with your formatting.
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Aug 15, 2019 · As far as finding a lawyer, almost every state bar association has a lawyer search function on their websites. Some states allow you to filter by practice area – if yours does, add that filter and go down the list of names it generates. Go through that list of names and call/check out their websites*.
Apr 18, 2017 · Your partnership agreement it most likely contains a notice provision, detailing the requirements for how you must give notice to the firm, and how much notice you must give to the firm, regarding any departure. This means that if you leave before the notice period expires, you may be creating exposure for a claim for breach of contract, namely ...
Word of mouth is one of the best ways to find a reputable lawyer. Even if your friends or family don't know any employment lawyers, they might know other lawyers—such as a family lawyer or estate planning lawyer—who can provide a recommendation. Keep in mind that individual preferences for a particular lawyer are guided by intangibles such as personality or your comfort level with the person. Here are a few questions you may want to ask a person who gives you a glowing review of a particular employment lawyer: 1 Did this lawyer respond to all your telephone calls and other communications promptly? 2 Did the lawyer take the time to listen to your explanation and understand your situation fully? 3 Were all the bills you received properly itemized and in line with the cost projections you got at the start of your case? 4 Did this lawyer personally handle your case, or was it handed off to a younger, less-experienced lawyer in the same firm?
Some states have a searchable online database where you can find lawyers by name. Once you have a few names, start by calling for an appointment. Some lawyers will try to screen you over the phone by asking you to discuss the basics of your case. A little of this can be helpful to you both.
Every state in the country has its own bar association, which is typically the governing body that licenses, monitors, and disciplines all lawyers practicing in the state. Many state bar associations operate attorney referral services for use by members of the public for a small fee.
However, others will charge a reasonable fee for legal advice. A charge of between $75 and $250 for a one-hour consultation is typical.
Before narrowing down your list, do a little research on each lawyer. Check out the lawyer's website or other online profile. In most states, you can also confirm that the lawyer is in good standing—meaning currently authorized to practice law and not facing disciplinary charges for misconduct—through your state's bar association. Some states have a searchable online database where you can find lawyers by name.
Call or write to your lawyer at least a week before any important deadline in your case to inquire about plans to meet it. Maintain your own file on your case. By having a well-organized file of your own, you will be able to discuss your case with your lawyer intelligently and efficiently—even over the telephone.
Bring any important documents (such as an employment contract, disciplinary warning, or proposed severance agreement) with you to the meeting. An hour should be more than enough to explain your case and obtain at least a basic opinion of how it might be approached and what it is likely to cost.
You can group by industry or job type; whatever makes sense for you. List your contract work in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent experiences. If you’ve done multiple projects for the same company, list all of that work under the same company’s name.
For this reason and others, the organization of your resume is extremely important for your resume. Group all of your contract work into one central location of your resume, so that any interviewer will be able to quickly scan and understand which work experiences of yours were done in which context.
Focus on your skills. Go over the job posting and highlight the skills mentioned there. Then, emphasize those skills in the context of your contract work. Your cover letter gives you a chance to emphasize your skills even further, but you can still incorporate a few choice keywords into your resume.
Just make sure it’s clear that the staffing agency was your employer and your projects were done for other companies. You can impress the recruiter if you’ve done contract work for some reputable companies.
But when contract work is all you have, it can be even more harmful to leave off this kind of work. When in doubt, include any contract work that can make your work history more impressive, emphasize your qualifications and accomplishments, and ultimately help you stand out in recruiters’ minds.
Note: When listing multiple projects under the same company, remember that you only need to list the company’s name and address a single time.
For one thing, contract work is not a bad thing — in fact, it’s how plenty of people make most or all of their total income. Plenty of employers are aware of this, even if others are still catching up. Regardless, leaving off your contract work is something that you likely can’t afford to do. Doing so could leave noticeable gaps in your employment ...
First, the Starting Point: Your Clients’ Interests Must Come First. You have a duty to protect your clients’ interests at all times during any transitions, and so does your future-former firm. This duty is not mitigated by your individual business considerations, by your old law firm’s interests, or by your new law firm’s interests.
Some states — California, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, to name a few — have enacted specific ethics rules or have issued ethics opinions that create notice obligations or describe best practices for how to go about giving notice.
Second, You Have Duties to Your Old Firm. If you are a partner at the firm, you may have a fiduciary duty to tell your firm about your departure before you tell anyone else. This means that if you tell your clients or tell your team and staff before you tell your firm, you may be creating exposure for a claim for breach of fiduciary duty.
A lawyer can quickly review and troubleshoot employment-related agreements you routinely use with your workers , such as employment contracts, severance agreements, or releases. A lawyer can check your contracts to make sure that they contain all the necessary legal terms and will be enforced by a court.
If a current or former employee sues you, speak to a lawyer right away. Employment lawsuits can be very complex. You have to take certain actions immediately to make sure that your rights are protected -- and to preserve evidence that might be used in court.
A lawyer can help you make difficult decisions about your employees. Firing. Particularly if you are worried that an employee might sue, you should consider getting legal advice before firing an employee for misconduct, performance problems, or other bad behavior.
For example, an employee might file an administrative charge of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or a similar state agency. Or, a former employee might appeal the denial of unemployment benefits, which in many states allows the employee to request a hearing.
Firing the employee would dramatically change your workplace demographics.
Misclassification often comes with a hefty price tag, which can include years of unpaid overtime and penalties for multiple employees. Other decisions. You may also wish to have a lawyer review any employment decision that will affect a large number of employees.
The time limits for taking action are very short -- many courts require you to file a formal, legal response to a lawsuit within just a few weeks. As soon as your receive notice of a lawsuit against you, begin looking for a lawyer. Claims and complaints.
Anytime a lawyer leaves a law firm, clients are entitled to notice of the same.
Once the law firm has been informed of your plans and the notice letters are agreed upon , it’s time to start soliciting business for your new law firm (to the fullest extent allowed by your contract and applicable law).
The firm and the departing lawyer agree on a single letter to send out jointly.
If you’re leaving to work for someone else, create a personal “career plan.” The idea is the same: to have a system for gauging your progress and an idea of where you want to be.
Act carefully to avoid overlooking any of your duties. For example, soon after announcing your departure, you might have to request that a court remove you as counsel of record for certain matters. You will probably also have to notify the bar of your change of employment, address, etc.
The first thing you’ll need to decide is whether you really want to leave. Ultimately, no one can answer that question for you. But as a general principle, it’s important to remember that you’ve worked too hard, and reached too high a level of achievement, to settle for a life or a job you find unfulfilling.
But in some cases, you may need the client to contact the old firm and expressly request the transfer of their files from your old firm. Be sure your clients understand the process and be ready to assist them with it.
If you are an employee, the general rule is that all of the work you do on the job – and the rights to that work, such as copyright, the right to license or sell it, and so on -- belong to your employer.
Works for Hire. There are nine types of works for hire. If you create one of these things as an independent contractor, it will belong to the firm that hired you to create it if you have entered into a written agreement to that effect. If you don’t have a written agreement, you will own the work.
If your creation relates to the work for which you are paid, your employer may argue that it owns that work. If you have an employment agreement, find out whether it addresses ownership of employee work. A lawyer can help you figure out whether you have an argument that you should own something you created.
An independent contractor, by comparison, is in business for him- or herself, who is not managed or directed by the hiring firm, often works on a project basis, and determines the hours, location, and means of completing the job independently.
If you are hired as an independent contractor to create something that doesn’t fit within a work-for- hire category, you will retain the copyright unless you sign a written agreement assigning some or all of your rights over to the hiring firm. You might decide to sign over your copyright entirely. Or, you might decide to give the hiring firm a license to use the work in some way, retaining your right to use it as well. You might, for example, agree that the hiring firm can use your photographs exclusively for three years, after which you may license the photographs to others. Or, you might give a nonexclusive license to use your invention to the hiring firm, while you retain the right to license it to other companies at the same time. Your rights in this situation depend on your written agreement with the hiring firm.
As part of the review process, respondents must affirm that they have had an initial consultation, are currently a client or have been a client of the lawyer or law firm identified, although Martinda le-Hubbell cannot confirm the lawyer/client relationship as it is often confidential. The content of the responses is entirely from reviewers.
Generally, employees have very few (if any) rights to work they create on their employer’s dime. You are an employee if your employer has the right to dictate and control how you do your work, including the time, place, and methods by which you do your job.
If you’re thinking about filing suit, you probably want to speak to a lawyer. Confusing claims: There are some employment laws on the books that you might not be aware of, so you might have a case you don’t know about. And there are some laws you think exist, that don’t.
It could be a spouse or partner, a good friend, shop steward, or even a counselor in an employee assistance program (EAP).
What does the employee want to achieve? An employee should have a clear idea of what he or she wants to accomplish in resolving the issue. An apology? A denied promotion? Monetary damages? Or to correct a systemic problem? Potentially, an agency action could accomplish all of these things, but if what is being sought is relatively small, an employee may be choosing a very large hammer to put in a very small nail. The bigger the stakes, the more appropriate it is to consider governmental involvement.
To attend a disciplinary meeting (take good notes, don’t sign anything except a form acknowledging receipt of the discipline , and sign “as to receipt only, rebuttal to follow); To sign documents you understand, like applications, insurance forms, and tax documents.
When a work situation has reached a level where initiating an agency complaint or process is being considered, an employee should approach the decision as objectively as possible, despite the fact that at such a point the situation likely is very emotionally charged.
Being taken seriously: Some employers don’t take you seriously unless you have representation.
If you are a party to litigation, confirm that your new lawyer will notify the court as to your change in representation. When you meet with new lawyers, don’t bad-mouth your old one. Remember, the legal community can be small, and you may be speaking about someone’s close friend or former colleague.
If you feel that your lawyer simply doesn’t understand your goals and aspirations, you are not obligated to continue to the relationship . If, upon reflection, you think you have a valid beef with your attorney, first talk to him or her about the problem.
Will changing lawyers be detrimental to my case or legal issue? Changing a lawyer in the middle of an active litigation is like changing pilots in the middle of a flight. It will take time for the new attorney to get familiar with the file, particularly if the case is complex. In addition to potential delays, this process might also cost you money, since your new attorney will bill you for the time spent performing that review and getting up to speed. Also consider the immediate state of your case. Is there an upcoming appearance, hearing, or motion deadline? If so, your new attorney might not have time to adequately prepare.
This might be due to the lawyer being new to the practice, venturing outside his or her primary area of expertise , or just not being as sharp as you'd like.
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.
The attorney is unprofessional. For example, the attorney wastes time in meetings, does not appear to be prepared for court, seems very disorganized, or in the worst-case scenario, seems to be mishandling your funds or documents. The attorney does not communicate with you.
If any fees were paid in advance and the work hasn't been done, ask for a refund of the fees. Also, ask for an itemized bill listing all pending fees and expenses. If yours is a contingency case, your new attorney will pay your old attorney from any money that you ultimately recover.