How to Choose a Divorce Attorney Executive Summary About Attorneys By Danielle L. Taylor
When you are getting divorced or are about to get divorced, it's very important that your best interests are protected. For this reason, you may decide to hire a divorce attorney to represent you in the court case. How do you know which attorney to hire? Well, there are several different things you want to look at before hiring any attorney so that you can be sure that he or she will protect you to the best of their ability. Here are some important tips on how to choose a divorce attorney.
Get Recommendations - If you know someone else who has gone through a divorce, you can ask for names of attorneys that they used. Of course, if possible you want to get some information on how the lawyer worked for them and what the result of the court case was. Many times, this is the best way to obtain a lawyer because you're able to get inside information on how the lawyer performs, what sort of price he charges and how the court case turned out. You can ask your friends, family, business associates or other people that you're close to. This is a great way to find a competent divorce attorney to represent you in your divorce case.
Ask about the Attorney's Wins and Losses - While every attorney will not win EVERY one of his or her cases, it stands to reason that you want an attorney who has had more wins than losses. It's perfectly acceptable to ask an attorney about their previous cases as far as wins or losses, in fact - you should absolutely ask them. This will help you determine whether or not you want to hire them. The best idea is to speak to a few attorneys that you're interested in and compare information so that you can find the best one out of the bunch.
Are You Comfortable Talking with the Attorney? If you do speak with a few different attorneys, it's important to consider how comfortable you feel speaking to them. An attorney can only best represent you when you are comfortable with them and feel perfectly comfortable talking to them about the relationship and the things that transpired in the relationship. Again, compare your instincts and feelings about the attorneys you speak to so that you will know which one is right for you.
Ask about the Prices - Of course, the biggie is the price the attorney charges. You need to ask about prices with each of the divorce attorneys you speak with in order to determine the best value. Also, ask them if there are any 'hidden fees' or if you will only be paying the price they have quoted you over the telephone or during your consultation. This is important because many times, attorneys will tack on fees that you didn't know you would be charged. This can turn out to be a real pain, so make sure you ask this question. When you consider each of the points above, you will be able to choose a divorce attorney that you will feel comfortable with and that will fight for you to the best of his or her ability in the divorce.
Asset Protection Attorney – Selecting the Right One for You
Executive Summary About Attorney Jobs By Ryan Alwood
Asset protection attorney selection is a very important and sometimes tricky task if you don’t know where to start. If you select the wrong asset protection attorney you may be setting yourself up for a major catastrophe.
The problem with finding the right asset protection attorney is that most attorneys know next to nothing about proper asset protection. Asset protection is a complicated specialization that demands your attorney know all about taxes, trusts, wills, Limited Liability Companies, Corporations, estate planning, personal corporations, and on and on.
Your average attorney will not have the experience or knowledge to do an adequate job. To find the best attorney for the job you may even need to look out of your state. Don’t worry, an experienced asset protection attorney will know your state laws and will be able to work with you.
When you’re first looking at what attorney to hire you must ask them several questions before hiring them. For example how much experience do they have? How long have they been doing asset protection and is that what they specialize in? Do they offer a free consultation before you pay anything? Do they know not only all about asset protection but taxes as well? Do they work with people out of state and are they knowledgeable about your state laws?
These are just a few questions you should consider when choosing an asset protection attorney. After you have selected a candidate you should ask them for a free consultation before you hire them. This will give you a good idea about what is needed for your situation and how much it will cost to complete a proper asset protection plan.
One more important issue to know about is that you should be hiring an attorney and not an “asset protection specialist.” You need to hire someone who is currently licensed to practice law and not some average Joe who read a book about asset protection once. Hiring an attorney also gives you certain privileges like the client-attorney confidentiality that an asset protection specialist cannot offer.
How To Get An Investment Banking Job As A Lawyer Executive Summary About Lawyer Jobs By Ian Spellfield
Decided to go to law school, start working at a law firm, and realize you're actually more interested in finance and investment banking?
You're not alone.
It's fairly common for lawyers to switch into finance and investment banking specifically. There are several paths from law to investment banking.
You can get a banking job immediately after finishing law school; you can work as a law firm Associate for several years and then transition over; and you can go to business school after practicing for several years and interview for banking jobs as you complete your MBA.
It sounds appealing to go immediately from law school into investment banking. However, it is difficult to pull off and most banks do not recruit someone immediately out of law school. They would have difficulty placing the candidate and deciding whether to make him an Analyst or Associate.
This method becomes easier if you had finance experience prior to law school, in which case you just need to tell a good story about why you went to law school.
If you haven't had this experience, it's better to work for a few years at a law firm and transition over.
Going to business school after law school is only recommended if you've practiced in a completely unrelated legal field like Intellectual Property or Environmental Law.
How To Work In Law And Then Switch To Banking
You need to Corporate Law. Don't even think about Intellectual Property, Litigation, or anything else. Do Corporate Law.
Recruiting is ultimately a numbers game, and you increase your odds greatly if you have Corporate, Securities, or M&A legal experience.
Once you have a few years experience working on transactions, you can consider switching into finance.
Contact all your friends in the industry and ask for referrals to recruiters; contact former clients and ask about setting up informational meetings or discussing opportunities at their firms.
Target industries and clients you have experience with. If you worked with a lot of technology companies, go for technology investment banking firms; if you did Mergers And Acquisitions, go for the M&A departments at banks.
Also, try for boutiques and middle-market firms rather than bulge brackets unless you work at one of the top few law firms - it will be much easier to get into smaller places.
How To Sell Your Story In Interviews
With a Corporate Law background, there are 2 main points you'll need to prove: 1) that you have quantitative and finance skills and 2) that you really want to make a big career change even if you're on Partner track at your law firm.
You really need to focus on financial skills in your interview preparations. Know the 3 financial statements cold. Be able to explain models and valuation methods because they will ask you tons of questions here, especially if you were an English or History major and have no finance experience.
This is one of the few cases where getting a CFA might actually help you get into investment banking - it would give you the finance knowledge and show your interest in the field.
Making the case for a career change can actually be easier. You want to emphasize you were always interested in corporate finance and dealmaking, and went into Corporate Law for those reasons. However, you got frustrated with your inability to BE the dealmaker and how you had to just sit on the sidelines, and so now you want to switch into banking and be a player.
Finding High Quality Legal Staff in Difficult Market Conditions - Legal Jobs Executive Summary About Legal Jobs By Mischa Weston-Green
As more and more redundancies take place, the legal job industry is really feeling the slow down. Whilst legal job agencies have their books brimming with talented legal job seekers, law firms just don't have the legal job vacancies.
However, there is one type of legal candidate that a law firm cannot ignore - a candidate that is a proven business winner and able to add substantial value to the firm. Law firms can't afford not to create a legal job opening for this type of candidate, as legal job candidates such as these are a law firm's best asset and can often be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful legal practice, especially at a time such as this.
But how do you find a candidate of such quality amongst the hundreds of CVs that appear on the desks of your HR department each month? The simple answer is that this type of candidate is, more often than not, the type of candidate that does not look for a new legal job opportunity; their present employer will already be showering them with love and affection, and moreover, they will be turning down plenty of legal job opportunities approaching them on a regular basis.
It takes a great sales person to persuade such a candidate to overcome their natural reluctance to even consider a new employer's opportunities, and in this situation it may be wise to employ a well-reputed and experienced legal recruitment agency to take on a head-hunting project on your behalf. A search and selection team will be familiar with this scenario and will know how best to approach it whilst advising you on how to dampen the noise from other competitors. That said, the new legal job opportunity must be a competitive and enticing proposition - if the pursuing law firm are unable to better the salary, prospects and remuneration of the candidate's present employer - using a head-hunter would be a time and money wasting exercise.
Another type of quality, business winning candidate is the unacknowledged workaholic, a fee-earner deeply submersed in their work without the time to even acknowledge whether or not they are happy in their present legal job let alone what the possibilities outside it are. Whilst these candidates are easier to persuade to move into a new legal job they are much tougher to find but should not be ignored- and again, an experienced legal recruitment agency would be able to advise you on this.
In this market place law firms and indeed legal recruitment agencies need to become much smarter with their recruitment strategies, and it really is the survival of the fittest. Legal recruitment can no longer depend on avid active candidates who reside on legal job boards, but must start to look at the relatively unopened passive candidate market in addition.
Better Legal Billing: Win Win Client Options Executive Summary About Legal Lawyer By Daniel Harris
In the old days of legal billing, lawyer's invoices — usually a single page of elegant letterhead—contained only the phrase, "legal services rendered," and a hefty dollar amount. No time breakdowns, no list of activities performed or equipment and supplies used—just a final, usually shocking, charge.
But client demands and the evolution of sophisticated billing software have led to more detailed invoices today. Itemized statements have triggered discussion among businesses about whether hourly billing is the best way to be charged for legal services. As the legal profession becomes more competitive and dependent on high quality customer service, lawyers need to embrace alternate billing methods.
Fixed or flat fees, contingency fees, non-refundable retainers with discounted hourly fees, blended hourly fees and variations on those themes are becoming increasingly common. But many law firms have been slow to join this trend — lawyers still perform approximately 95 percent of their corporate legal work on an hourly basis.
What does that mean for your small business? If your company is currently working with a law firm or looking for legal counsel, try requesting alternate billing options. While many law firms rarely initiate different options, they'll negotiate when brought to the table. If you want something better than the old "bill by the hour" deal, try presenting one of these billing structures:
Project billing for routine issues
If your legal needs include large but repetitive tasks, consider a flat-fee approach, also known as project billing. If you need legal assistance on a large research project involving several repetitive tasks with a fair amount of predictability for cost estimation and time duration, request a dollar cap for predetermined services. Be sure to compare estimated costs at the equivalent hourly rate—a projected cap that far exceeds any likely bill is really no cap at all.
Once you get a project billing estimate, don't hesitate to shop around. Making an informed decision — shopping around, comparing prices and services with other law firms — is good business sense, especially if you intend to hire a firm for a single project. If you anticipate establishing a long-term relationship, mention this as you're negotiating a project amount — a firm may provide a better deal if it expects future work from your company.
Results-oriented options
Forget the image of personal injury attorneys taking a third of any verdict or settlement. Consider instead contingency fees — fees based on the outcome of the case and the performance of your counsel. Creative use of contingency fees can create efficiencies in even the most high-level corporate settings. If you retain a lawyer to help your company avoid litigation, couple a reduced hourly rate with a bonus for successfully lowering your litigation outlays.
You also can establish an incentive based on a percentage of money won or saved in trial. If you're a defendant in a case where the plaintiff has a strong shot at a $1 million settlement, negotiate a flat fee if the case goes to trial, plus a bonus if the plaintiff ends up getting less than $1 million. If you're a plaintiff and estimate your case is worth between $1 and $2 million, you might negotiate services for a flat fee plus a percentage of any settlement over $1 million.
Contingency fees turn the matter into a shared risk or shared incentive, making the law firm your business partner, not just representation. Contingency fees can work well with both flat fee and reduced hourly fee arrangements. Because a number of variations on the "pay-according-to-success" theme exist, you should ask firms for the options they're willing to discuss.
Multi-layered tasks
If you're shopping for a firm for substantial legal work involving a number of legal specialties, consider using blended hourly fees. Rather than each attorney billing at the usual hourly rate, the firm calculates in advance an "average" rate based on the anticipated time each attorney spends on the matter.
The value of this arrangement is twofold—it helps define responsibility in a project and it provides a fair price schedule for the client, who avoids paying a senior partner's hourly rate for research that should be conducted by a junior associate
Legal "Insurance"
Firms without in-house counsel that frequently hire legal services might consider contracting with a firm. In this legal billing option, firms and clients agree to a specific charge per month in exchange for a predetermined set of legal services. The contract fee permits the client to pick up the phone and talk to the attorney without needing to eye the clock. This approach works like a legal insurance policy. It encourages companies to contact their counsel on non-litigation, non-crisis matters, and to save money in the long run by engaging in more preventive legal action.
Just as in business, the impetus for change comes from consumer demand. The sooner businesses take the lead in securing more effectively tailored billing methods from their legal counsel, the sooner they'll get better, more cost-effective legal assistance.
Law Firms Should Look to Marketers as Rainmakers Executive Summary About Law Firms By Robert Melillo
Small and mid-sized law firms around the nation are faced with the proverbial question - what comes first the chicken or the egg? In the case of marketing, many firms are learning that marketing needs to come before client acquisition and investing in quality marketing is key. The competition among lawyers and law firms is too severe to view marketing as a luxury.
Small and mid-sized law firms need to invest in marketing and view their marketing firm as their primary rainmaker. The right marketing firm will bring clients into a firm through a multi-faceted approach.
Marketing for law firms should include: Internet marketing, local marketing including advertisements, networking, seminars and public relations among other forms of marketing. With a marketing firm focusing on their area expertise and the attorneys focusing on their area or areas of expertise success comes much easier.
Internet marketing for attorneys is vital. Many small and mid-sized law firms are realizing that they do not need websites with all the bells and whistles. A clean, professional website that is seen by their target audience is much more effective than a state-of-the-art website that is seen by no one. The best marketing firms are having law firms spend less on website development and more on Internet marketing.
Internet marketing is much more than search engine optimization and pay-per-click campaigns. The top marketing firms are also working with clients on webinars, optimized press releases, podcasts, social networking and more.
In addition to a comprehensive Internet marketing campaign, marketing firms are using an integrated approach that focus on branding and targeting specific markets and populations. While the lawyers focus on practicing law the marketing firms are researching local opportunities to bring clients into the firm ranging from local ads in publications and church bulletins, to opportunities to be interviewed on the latest legal news.
Optimized press releases and e-zine articles are a great way for lawyers to show expertise in a particular area, while the marketing firm stays on top of what the law firm can and can not say (for example, few marketing firms know they should not use the term "expert" to refer to lawyers in most areas of practice).
The best marketing firms, whether local or not, can also plan and execute highly effective seminars and social events to expand the firm's client base. The key is the marketing firm maximizing the law firm's return on investment - the measure of a truly great rainmaker.
The highly competitive legal industry requires firms to invest in high quality marketing that is specialized, diverse and integrated. The top marketing firms are offering this unique approach to small and mid-sized law firms around the nation.
How to Select a Divorce Lawyer Executive Summary About Divorce Lawyer By Scott Morgan Selecting a divorce lawyer to handle your family law case is a very important decision. The following are a few important criteria to help in finding the right divorce lawyer. Experience and Focus Any divorce lawyer you consider should have substantial experience in handling divorce cases in your location. An experienced divorce lawyer will know the tendencies of the various judges in your jurisdiction and should be able to use this knowledge to your advantage. Additionally, that lawyer should practice primarily in the field of divorce law. Often people will hire a lawyer who practices primarily in some other area, thinking that any lawyer will do. However, divorce law is a very specialized field that requires particular skills and experience in order to have a likelihood of reaching a successful conclusion. Past Client Testimonials Perhaps the best way to decide which divorce lawyer to use for your divorce case is to find out what former clients have to say about that lawyer. While divorce is never an enjoyable process, some divorce lawyers have more success at satisfying their clients than others. If you do not know someone who has been a client of that particular divorce lawyer, you should consider asking the lawyer for a list of clients that you can contact who can describe their experience with the lawyer. While client confidentiality is important, any good experienced divorce lawyer should have at least a few former clients who are willing to vouch for him or her. Accessible When a client becomes dissatisfied with a divorce lawyer, one of the most common complaints is that they were unable to communicate with the lawyer. It is very important that your divorce lawyer be accessible and prompt in responding to your phone calls, emails, and requests for meetings. While you can ask the divorce lawyer about their office policy, this is another area where you can best evaluate the divorce lawyer by hearing what former clients have to say. If a former client of the lawyer tells you that they found it very difficult to contact the attorney, or that the lawyer either did not return calls or respond to emails or would take several days to do so, you should definitely avoid that lawyer. Divorce is an unpleasant and frustrating process under the best of circumstances. If you are unable to reach your divorce attorney, or at least someone on his or her staff, the frustration level can increase exponentially. Fees When you make your initial appointment with the divorce attorney, you should inquire about a consultation fee. Some lawyers do brief initial consultations for free, although most experienced divorce lawyers will charge between $100.00 and $200.00 as a consultation fee, or will charge their normal hourly rate. For example, I charge a flat $100.00 consultation fee with no additional hourly charges, regardless of the length of the meeting. Essentially, the consultation fee is to "weed out" those people who are not serious about the possibility of hiring me. Given that my normal hourly rate is $200.00/hour and the usual typical consultation takes about 90 minutes, the charge for my consultation is significantly discounted. Therefore, you shouldn't let a consultation fee scare you away from interviewing a particular lawyer. During the consultation it is vitally important that you have a candid discussion with the prospective divorce lawyer about fees and what you can expect. Typically, an experienced divorce lawyer will require the payment of a substantial retainer up front, against which that lawyer's hourly rate and expenses will be charged. You should find out what that lawyer's hourly rate is, what the up front retainer will be, whether any portion of the retainer is refundable if it is not exhausted, and how often you can expect to receive invoices that detail their hourly charges and expenses. You also will want to know how detailed the invoices are. Once again, this is another area where you can get excellent information from those people who have been clients of that divorce lawyer. Comfortable While all the above issues are important, there is one final question you should ask yourself before hiring a divorce lawyer. Are you comfortable with that lawyer and are you confident in his or her abilities? If the answer is anything other than a resounding "yes," you should keep looking. Your case is too important to entrust to someone who does not inspire your confidence.
How Do I Find A Good Lawyer And Avoid A Bad One Executive Summary About Lawyer By Sebanti Ghosh
Finding a good lawyer for your business is not a tough job. If you do not get a lawyer that suits your business needs, the result can be horrible. Some cases can be very important for you and if you do not win them, you may loose a very good amount of money. So choosing a good lawyer is always prevention. We have some tips to offer so that you can be on a safer side. The First thing is, always know if a general practitioner can fulfill your need or you need a specialist. Hiring a specialist may prove to be expensive or cheaper too. It all depends upon situation. So figure out what you need. When you start looking for a lawyer, try to take some reference from some other lawyers. They can guide you better about it. When you come to know about one, do some homework and cross check if the lawyer is really a good one. The more you find out, the better it is. Finding a very expensive lawyer for some trivial issues is not a good choice. If you know that the lawyer is very expensive and you case is not a big one, you can go for a general practitioner. Before making any deal with any lawyer, please read all documents properly and be clear what you are going to sign. Regularly ask your lawyer to provide you a written statement what he is doing. This will increase your understanding and you can know if something is going wrong. These few things can help you when you are going to choose a lawyer.
Most Frequent Complaints About Other Lawyers Executive Summary About Lawyers By David Sandy 1. Won’t return phone calls. I’ve had this one leveled against me once. This happened after about two months of not getting a cost deposit and when I checked my records I found I had e-mailed the parties back at 10 P.M after receiving a message at about 8 P.M. This resulted in me asking them to get another attorney, everyone knows setting up conference calls is tricky. What is a reasonable response rate for a Memphis lawyer. If you call in the morning 80% of the time you should be called back the next day, especially with solo practitioner who are frequently out of office, which is the reason you should never expect a solo to call you back the same day unless clearly an emergency and they would be justified in calling you at eight at night. Occasionally, it will take a few days to call you back. The rule is after three days call the lawyer again. We’re lawyers not organizational geniuses. 2. Won’t do what I say. This one’s a nasty one. You’re okay with what the other side agrees to but the lawyer just won’t take the offer. Keeps telling you you can “do better”. Then when you don’t agree to the expensive rabbit hunt all of a sudden problem one occurs and you can’t close the case out. The quick solution is to ask for the bar number and threaten to report the attorney. This one is absolutely inexcusable. 3. Not fast enough. Leveled against me before. Frequently heard and frequently incorrect. Virtually every lawyer has an internal clock. Your case is most important to you. It probably isn’t to me. If you have a two month old debt collection with no statue of limitation issue I’m going to push it in favor of a child custody that needs attention. The fees charged will reflect this too. I’ll ask for a higher retainer on a non-urgent litigation then on a child custody I think will need the same amount of work. Most major work product should be done within about a month of when I say I’ll get it done. Sometimes weeks sooner too. Past a week call me to check on it. Those get prioritized. If I get the feeling you don’t care about your case I won’t care a lot either, but don’t be nasty I pencil shave the bills of clients I like all the time and stay up until two in the morning if I have too. Its all about the magical random slack time. This is lighting fast in Memphis Lawyer time. I have opposing counsel months behind on all sorts of stuff. 4. They’re an idiot! Maybe, maybe not. I encounter a lot of idiots. Frighteningly enough, it doesn’t seem to harm a lot of reputations or sometimes effectiveness. Sometimes the lawyers don’t listen. They should explain the law and how it applies to your situation. If think they are speaking in gibberish they might just be spouting vaguely remembered legal terms from law school. You might not be able to follow the reasoning but you should see analysis. Ask how if something was different how it would change the situation. There’s no cure besides a new lawyer if they really are an idiot though. Beware each change increases the difficulty and cost of getting a new lawyer. If your case gets complicated at all the lawyer should do at least one brief memo. Ask about research. If a lawyer doesn’t do it then watch out. They may have turned into an idiot. 5. Overbilling. I see a lot of this though never of an intentional type. Its always subtle. Remember everyone likes to have it a little easy and value themselves and I'd never take offense at taking a double look at a bill. Never be accusatory unless you plan on changing lawyers. Mainly bigger firms are guilty. I’ve had clients show me intra-firm e-mails that consumed a 3k retainer on a simple matter and accomplished nothing except apparently a gab session. Beware of multiple attorney firms, also minimum charges of ¼ an hour and paralegals. Ask not to get charged for messages to call you that you leave. A lot of times the best lawyers work in firms though. So what to look for. One attorney should be responsible for your case. Associates should be bossed around or leading your case and asking pointed questions. I know that sounds bad, but its what you as a consumer want. Group think can literally triple your bill. Discrete tasks are okay and can allow people to share a talented lead attorney. When solos tend to overbill they do so by dragging out litigation. I’ve rarely heard of a solo with minimal staff who itemizes being criticized on the billing front.
What to Look For in a Personal Injury Lawyer Executive Summary About Personal Injury Lawyer By Anthony Williams Sr.
Flip through the Toronto Yellow Pages looking for personal injury lawyers and you'll be inundated with ads. There is certainly no shortage of lawyers specializing in this area of practice and it can be pretty overwhelming at first glance. How can you choose one?
The first thing to understand, when looking for a personal injury lawyer is that not all lawyers are alike. In fact, there are some downright lousy ones out there and they are hard to separate from the rest by simply looking at an ad. The market in Toronto for personal injury lawyers is completely saturated, but that doesn't mean you should just close your eyes and point to one.
What to Look for in a Personal Injury Lawyer
Unfortunately, many personal injury lawyers that you'll find in the Toronto Yellow Pages or newspapers are what we call "ambulance chasers". The stereotypical image of a sleazy attorney waiting outside the ER to overcharge grieving families or angry patients isn't that far from the truth in some cases. Choosing the right lawyer is a big decision and one you don't want to make in haste.
So, how do you select someone who really has your best interests at heart? Here are a few things to watch for:
• Fees. How much is the lawyer going to take of the settlement? It shouldn't be an excessive amount, but you'll find that a huge number of Toronto personal injury lawyers overcharge for their services. When you are suffering, the last thing you want to do is overpay, so make sure your lawyer is offering a fair rate.
• Honesty. There will always be some gung-ho young lawyer telling you that you can get millions for your injury and that there is no way you'll lose. They might be right, but not always. An honest lawyer will take the time to sit down with you and let you know just what to expect. Most companies won't sit quietly by as you sue them, so a good lawyer should let you know how they will come back at you.
• Quality. The best lawyers don't fill their schedules with hundreds of clients that they can only spend a few minutes with. You'll want someone who is willing to get all the details and to work hard with you to get what you deserve. A good way to check how well a personal injury lawyer works is to simply ask to speak with former clients.
• Real. When you walk into the legal office, what do you see? A personal injury lawyer who is trying too hard to impress you is usually pretty obvious. Trophies, medals, certificates and everything adorn his walls. A real lawyer is far more useful to you, since he or she will be able to identify with you and help you work through the process of getting your restitution.
Once you've judged the personal injury lawyers in Toronto with these four standards, you'll be left with a fairly short list. This is actually a good thing. By weeding out the useless options, you'll find that you end up with only the best. And, when it comes to recovering money for an injury, you really only want the best to be working for you.
Find the best personal injury lawyer in Toronto, not by randomly selecting someone you find in an ad, but by doing some research and getting a lawyer with integrity (yes, they do exist) who will be honest and upfront with you and who will help your case far more than the hundreds of unqualified ones could.
