There are many reasons why an individual might need to testify during court proceedings. Perhaps someone is a plaintiff in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Their testimony about their experience could have a profound impact on whether the courts agree that they deserve compensation and how much compensation they ultimately receive. Maybe someone faces accusations of criminal infractions. Their testimony during a trial could help exonerate them or could clarify certain extenuating circumstances that may mitigate their culpability. Lawyers representing people embroiled in a legal mat ..read more

A conflict of interest in legal representation can be a complex topic for clients. It’s a situation where a lawyer’s professional judgment could be influenced, or appear to be influenced, by a separate interest or relationship. Understanding what constitutes a conflict of interest is vital for clients to protect their rights and interests fully. Defining conflict of interest A conflict of interest occurs when a lawyer’s ability to represent a client is, or could be, compromised by other interests or relationships. This includes situations where the lawyer represents two clients with opposing i ..read more

When it comes to professional services, trust is the foundation of every relationship between a client and their chosen expert. When seeking legal representation, clients place their confidence in the belief that their legal professional will serve them with transparency, integrity and fairness. This trust is extended to the service’s quality and fairness in billing for a professional’s time and resources spent on a given matter. Unfortunately, there are instances when this trust is unreasonably compromised. Legal malpractice manifests in various forms. Billing hours fraud is one the possibili ..read more

There are some professions in which it may benefit an individual to have a broad but shallow understanding of many different skills. For example, a property maintenance specialist likely needs to know a little bit of plumbing, understand basic electrical work and feel comfortable mudding drywall. Too much specialization in any one area might detract from their overall ability to maintain a property. In other professions, appropriate specialization in one area and an intense focus on mastering that specialty can be of the utmost importance for someone’s overall ability. In the legal profession ..read more

Working as a lawyer is an incredibly demanding profession. Attorneys must attend years of college and then law school. They often put in incredibly long hours on the job and have to make personal sacrifices to become top performers in their field. Unfortunately, a large percentage of lawyers struggle to manage the pressure generated by their profession. Research indicates that roughly a third of lawyers may have issues with alcohol abuse, meaning that they drink more than they should or more frequently than medical professionals recognize as healthy. Unfortunately, choosing to self-medicate wi ..read more

Many attorneys work long hours on behalf of their clients, and their jobs can be very labor-intensive. They often have to review not just state and federal statutes but also court precedents to develop a legal argument on behalf of their clients. Anything they can do to reduce the time they spend on each case can potentially help them to assist more people and keep their total charges for clients lowers. They may hire paralegals to help perform some of that work, or they may rely on technology to automate some of their repetitive job functions. Recent advances in technology may have promise fo ..read more

Hiring an attorney is often a very expensive decision. New clients often commit thousands of dollars in the form of a retainer to have a lawyer to assist them with a legal issue. A legal retainer is a large upfront payment that reflects the amount of work a lawyer believes their client’s case will require. Lawyers should hold retainers in special escrow accounts separate from their personal bank account or their law office’s bank account. They will then bill against the balance in that retainer account for the hours of service that they provide to their clients. The client will receive detaile ..read more

You hire a lawyer because you need someone on your side who understands the law and can negotiate on your behalf. Whether you face criminal charges, are headed to divorce court or intend to sue a business for an injury it caused you, you rely on your lawyer to give you the right advice and to act in your best interests. Unfortunately, not every lawyer will always put their clients first the way that they should. Although attorneys do have a fiduciary duty to their clients, which means that the client’s needs should come before any other consideration, lawyers may fail to fulfill that duty for ..read more

You expect to receive proper legal guidance for the money you pay for an attorney’s time. Such services often command a premium price when are least able to pay for them. You may have needed to make some hard choices when you first hired your attorney. Gathering the necessary money to pay a challenge for those who did not anticipate a legal battle. Retainers are typically thousands of dollars and represent a good portion of what an attorney believes it will cost to resolve a legal issue. The lawyer that you hired likely also explained their hourly rates and any billing minimums that apply to c ..read more

When you hire an attorney, you expect them to offer you appropriate advice and to put your interests ahead of even their own. Unfortunately, not all attorneys fulfill their duty to their clients. Some offer inadequate representation due to a lack of experience or incompetence. Others will fail to disclose a conflict of interest and may give biased advice or poor legal representation as a result. You may have blamed your lawyer for the outcome of your case for some time before discovering what you believe was likely a serious conflict of interest. What are the more common reasons that an attorn ..read more