Avoidance

On a final and practical note, how should one avoid the bad lawyer in the first place?

According to Microsoft's website for small businesses, the following tips will help prevent one from committing to a relationship with a poor-performing attorney:

1.  Get a specialist.  Do not settle for a general practitioner or a specialist in a different area of law just because she's a friend or has served you well in that one area.  As we are all learning, the body of law is enormous and it is impossible for an attorney to specialize in all of the law.

2.  Do your homework.  Resist the urge to use the exclusively use the phone book to find an attorney.  Check with the state Bar to see what attorney's have been disciplined in the past five years.  Check with people you know who have used an attorney.

3.  Check out the fees.  Make sure you understand what costs are associated with the lawyer, how he charges, and if the consultation is free.  Do not go into a meeting with an attorney with a blank check because some attorneys may take everything they can get, especially if you do not know what to expect.

4.  Do not sign unless you agree.  Do not enter into a relationship with an attorney unless you understand and are comfortable with the fee agreement.  Also, ask the lawyer for an estimate for how much she anticipates the case will cost.

5.  Ask questions.  Understand what your attorney is doing for you.  If you do not understand, ask questions.  If your lawyer will not answer your questions, see if other staff can explain procedural issues to you.

6.  Insist on good communication.  Make sure you discuss with the attorney the best way of being in contact with him.  If he regularly fails to respond to your communication for more than a few weeks start looking for a new lawyer because yours may be too busy for your case.

7.  Be wary of promises.  The law is difficult to predict and any attorney who makes black and white promises probably is not a good attorney.  Most legal issues are complex and do not qualify for a yes or no answers.

When you need an attorney be aware of all of these tips so that you do not get taken by a greedy and unscrupulous lawyer.  Good luck!

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.

Pass-Through Discipline

In Ohio, there is not an ethical code of conduct for paralegals, only attorneys.  Yet, many of us have just spent a quarter learning the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, rules that if we break, we cannot be disciplined for.  I seems strange, doesn't it?

So how then is a paralegal disciplined?  Is he fired; put on leave without pay; is his name tarnished in the legal community?

According to The Empowered Paralegal, a paralegal blog, a Florida jury found in favor of a paralegal who entered into a contract with her supervising attorney to receive a portion of the earnings from the attorney's fees.

If you have been paying attention in Legal Ethics, this is fee-sharing or fee-splitting and is prohibited for non-lawyers.  The paralegal goes to court, knowing she has committed unethical behavior, will be fired, and will be known in the community for her unscrupulous behavior, yet still pursues the case which ultimately results in her supervising attorney being disciplined.

I find it strange that two legal professionals can go to court, both having committed unethical behavior and only one is disciplined.  Even though the lack of a paralegal ethical code protects me from court discipline, I would like to have the confidence that any non-lawyer with whom I work is under the same rules and guidelines as any lawyer with whom I work.

This issue applies to paralegals who work in all kinds of law, business, family, litigation, personal injury, and others.  I think clients should be able to have the confidence in all parts of their legal representation and that there are legal consequences for those who misbehave.

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.

Is There Help Out There?

This week we turn from horror stories of attorney malpractice to an offering of hope for those legal professionals who recognize they need help.  I visited the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program website this week; it is an organization which serves attorneys, judges, and law students who suffer from substance abuse, chemical dependency, addiction, and mental health issues.  While no client likes to hear that her attorney has personal problems, OLAP is a wonderful organization and resource for legal professionals in Ohio.

OLAP is a member of a larger national organization, the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.  This organization lists all of the state lawyer assistance programs, holds an annual national conference, and publishes a quarterly newsletter for the benefit of legal professionals.

The most recent copy of the periodical, called Highlights, has several articles which focus on the struggles of law students.  I have several friends who are either in law school or have completed law school and I have heard many a horror story about the rigors and impossibly high expectations imposed by professors, not to mention the cut-throat competition between students.

Law school is a business and filled with tradition.  Even if a law student gets cold feet after the first year, he may feel forced to continue based on the amount of debt already incurred for that one year.  Susan Grover's article, "Helping Law Students," outlines the many stressors that such students face.

Many students go from being at the top of their undergraduate class to struggling to make B's, let alone the impossible A.  For perfectionists and Summa cum Laud grads, law school can seem impossible.  Often, in an attempt to focus even more on their studies, students will put aside important personal practices, such as prayer, meditation, and personal private time.  Grover argues that although the stress in law school is immense, Lawyer Assistance Programs are more frequently now reaching out to law students, helping them regain perspective, deal with chemical dependency, and serve as a means of encouragement.

Also included in this issue is an anonymous article detailing one law student's struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse.  Although his law studies did not initiate his problems with addiction, it exacerbated such issues and only through the help of an LAP was he able to hind help, healing, and remain in law school.

If, when you have obtained a fantastic paralegal job, you find that an attorney in your firm is struggling with chemical dependency or mental health issues, I would urge you to anonymously contact the OLAP so that the attorney can find help and her clients get the best representation possible.

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.