The Court Of Public Opinion

Often, people who most need attorneys are the ones who cannot afford them. Fortunately there are some options available to you if you find yourself in this situation.

There are some federally funded programs to provide attorneys, though they will take into account your income level and possibly even yours assets.

Many attorneys work pro-bono, that is, without pay. They represent people who have specific circumstances rendering them unable to work, such as having AIDS or being over 65.

Self-help clinics are offered by many attorneys where they answer legal questions for free in a forum. Look for such clinics in your area.

Courthouse facilitators, employed by the court, may be able to help by telling you what documents you need to file and assist with processing your claims.

All states have Public Defender programs, or court appointed attorneys, to assist people with a demonstrably low income level facing criminal charges. There is generally good incentive to pursue another option, as Public Defenders are not always as skilled as their private counterparts. Colorado is known to have particularly good public defenders.

Low cost legal programs are available for people who make too much money to qualify for pro-bono or public defender programs, but still not enough to be able to afford an attorney. These services can help you find the most economical attorney for you. Remember that attorneys in these programs are often young or overworked, so be patient when dealing with them. Stay on topic when talking to them and be as helpful as you can.

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You have been in a accident, automobile, slip and fall, workplace, etc.. Should you see or speak with an attorney?

As far as I am concerned, the answer is always yes.

When should you consult with an accident attorney? You should seek the advise of an accident attorney as soon as possible after the accident. Do not wait. You could be giving up certain rights. You should definetly speak with an attorney before speaking with the other sides insurance agent, adjuster or attorney.

You say that you can not afford an attorney. Most accident attorneys will consult with you for free and, if they take your case, will handle it on a contingency basis, not taking any fee untill the case is settled. Most settlements are increased to cover the cost of the attorney and therefore normally the attorney costs you nothing. Many attorneys will also advance all court costs for you if they are forced to file suit.

You say that you were injured, however, the insurance company has offered to pay your medical bills and you do not feel it is right to take advantage of them by asking for additional money for your, pain, suffering, lost work, etc.. Don’t you feel that you as a person are worth something? Do you think so little of yourself that you feel that your pain, suffering, inconvience, etc. is worthless. You did not cause this accident. What you are going through was caused by someone else. You deserve to be compensated. The insurance company, as a matter of good business, has already built these types of costs into the premiums that they charge their customers. If the money does not go to you it will probably go to their shareholders or to increased salaries or ?. Why shouldn’t you be properly compensated. Remember most good attorneys are ethical and although they will attempt to obtain as much money for you as is due, they will not take your case unless they feel that it is proper.

You say someone else admitted liability and said that their insurance will pay all your damages. That’s great, however, what if the person changes his or her story later on and says that you were at fault. Or what if the other side’s insurance company refuses to pay what you think is proper. In fact, how do you know what is proper? Remember, an insurance company may pay claims, but it is in business to make money. It normally will not offer one dollar more than it has to and if you are not represented by an attorney the insurance company adjuster or attorney may feel that he or she can get away with paying much less than the claim may be worth. Additionally, what people state at the time of an accident is not always what they state after having spoken with a friend, insurance agent or attorney. Finally, an insurance adjuster or insurance attorney works for the insurance company, not for you. How do you know that what they are telling you is correct or true. Remember, in most instances, they are there to try and save the company money. You need an attorney on your side to tell you what your rights and obligations are.

You say that you were not hurt that bad or at all. How do you know how badly you were hurt. Some injuries do not show up for months. Other injuries may aggrivate a prior problem. Even if you have been found to be ok by a doctor, how do you know that a problem will not come up later. If you have insurance and did go to a doctor, who is going to pay your co-pay or deductible. If you do not have health insurance, who is going to pay for your examination which should include xrays, etc.. If you retain an attorney he or she can probably refer you to a doctor who will accept a lien against the insurance settlement, thereby saving you from paying money out of your pocket.

You say you have accident insurance, why not let them handle everthing for you. Your insurance company is there to defend any claims against you not to represent you in any claims against other parties. Additionally, they also are in business to make money. How do you know if they are trying to settle a case to help you or to save themselves money.

The foregoing article was written by the author based on experiences he has had as a private investigator representing both accident attorneys and insurance companies. This article is not stated as a legal opinion or as fact but instead is stated as opinion of the author.

Permission is given to reprint this article providing credit is given to the author, David G. Hallstrom, and a link is listed to Resources For Attorneys the owner of this article. Anyone or any company reprinting this article without giving proper credit and the correct link, is doing so without permission and will be subject to legal action.

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Copyright 2004 Resources For Attorneys. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

The following article was written for Resources For Attorneys.com by David Hallstrom, a private investigator, he is not now nor has he ever been an attorney.

Permission is given to reprint this article providing credit is given to the author, David G. Hallstrom, and a link is listed to Resources For Attorneys the owner of this article. Anyone or any company reprinting this article without giving proper credit and the correct link, is doing so without permission and will be subject to legal action.

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Winning a lemon law battle can be time consuming. However, the lemon law is there to protect you, and it’s becoming easier to win your case.

First of all you should get your state’s information on lemon laws, consider all of your options, call the lemon law 800 number, and put your trust in the men and women who know what to do to get you a fair lemon law settlement. They will answer all of your questions, for example, Who pays lemon law court fees? Every state has lemon laws that are a little different, but by all means put your faith in the lemon law system.

Using the power of your state’s law system, you will find all the answers you need. They will do the work for you and charge you little for the work. In the end, if they win the case, the person who sold you the lemon will pay your court fees anyway!

In many states, arbitration is used to solve problems when a car still under warranty turns out to be a lemon.

Lemon law provisions, like those of the California lemon law, often allow for a specific arbitration process that saves you time and money over expensive court hearings. Under the California lemon law, there is an arbitration process that the Better Business Bureau uses that helps consumers with lemon cars.

Check into the exact lemon law requirements of your state, and before going immediately to court, it may be in your best interest to use an arbitrator.

Just be sure to get started right away by making the right contacts and keeping documentation.

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Becoming a lawyer in todays society is a noble goal to undertake. There are many jokes about lawyers that we all have heard, but the truth is, it takes a lot of work to become a an attorney. Pursuing a career as an attorney allows one to experience the gift of helping people in ways that most people are unable to. If your heart ever goes out to struggling individuals legal battles, then this career may just be for you.

To get into law school, you must first have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution. Unlike Medical school, there is not really a certain type of major that is required at this time of writing. Some may major in pre-law which focuses on the government, criminal justice and aspects of politics. But it would be perfectly fine to major in math or history. As long as your GPA is high enough to get into the college and your score well on the LSAT, then you increase your chances of getting into this field. Depending on what type of law you decide to study and the school you go to, requirements for your GPA will be different. For example, in you decide to go to Harvard Law School; your competition will be fierce because most of the people applying will have 4.0 GPAs. On the other hand, if you decide to go to a law school in Hawaii, the GPA requirements will be lower because most people will be trying to go to more recognized law schools. This is not to say that non Ivy League schools will not offer a wonderful education for any individual who is focused and determined. For example, the late Johnny Cochran did not got Harvard or Yale, but received his law degree from Loyola University School of Law in 1962. In 1977 he was named Criminal Trial lawyer of the Year. Cochrane later became one of the most sought after attorneys of his time.

Another point to mention is cost. Cost varies greatly depending on the affluence of the school. The tuition at Harvard is quoted on their website at 35,000 per year with an estimated 21,000 a year for living expenses. A law school in Hawaii is around 10,500 per year. Idaho is reported as one of the lowest with tuition cost of 6,700 per year. However, with inflation these costs are increasing each year. The Law college experience lasts three years currently. After this opportunities open up for Private Practice, Corporate Law, Military and teaching, just to name a few. This is an immense field and again, can offer some very rewarding experiences in your life if you choose to pursue this career.

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Identity fraud crimes, one of the most insidious forms of white-collar crime, are a federal offense under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. Identity fraud is the deliberate appropriation of an individual’s personal information to impersonate that person in a legal sense. In the sci-fi flick The 6th Day machines are used to replicate the mental state of a person, such as memories, habits, etc. and subsequently create a clone. Similarly, stealing someone’s identity allows a fraudster to clone or create your shadow, enabling him to make a number of financial and personal transactions in your name, thus making your life a living hell, particularly if you don’t realize what has happened right away, and the pretender siphons off huge funds. Identity theft is usually slow to detect and even slower to rectify.

Therefore, to detect many types of identity theft crimes in the earliest stages and minimize damages, you should subscribe to one of the identity theft monitoring services provided by all three credit bureaus. For a small monthly or yearly fee, the identity theft monitoring agency of your choice notifies you by email of any changes or unusual activity in your credit reports. Most of these services come with identity theft insurance as well as the reports. Some of the bureaus even offer a three-in-one monitoring service that alerts you to changes in any of the three bureaus’ reports. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the leading governmental agency addressing the problem of identity fraud, recently launched an identity theft monitoring website annualcreditreport.com where all consumers are eligible for a free copy of their credit reports. I recommend that you visit this web site and determine if the service is for you.

Banks, credit cards, debit cards and brokerage statements give a transaction-by-transaction replay of where you spent your money for the month. The more often you monitor them, the more quickly you will detect foul play. However, the best way to obtain and monitor your credit worthiness is through identity theft monitoring organizations that work with major reporting agencies. ConsumerInfo.com is one such identity theft monitoring agency that provides copies of reports and a credit check monitoring right over the Internet. Time is of the essence. Monitoring credit statements on the Net, removes the paper statements from the mail, and there is a very little lag time between making a charge on your card and being able to view it online, thus cutting detection time. Fast detection time is your friend in stopping identity theft.

Keith Londrie II is a well known author. For more information on Identity Theft, please visit Identity Theft for a wealth of information. You may also want to visit keith’s own web site at http://keithlondrie.com/

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The massive strikes by the National Union of Mineworkers in the year 1926 and then again in 1970 had crippled the country to no limit. While it succeeded in pulling down the government in 1926, it sent the economy into a tail spin in 1970. Although, now it looks a pretty much weakened, pale shadow of its former self, facing dwindling fortunes and irrelevance in the 1990s, one cannot forget the all out war it fought with the Margaret Thatcher government in 1984-85 with Aurther Scargill leading from the front.

NUM entered the year 1984 with its roll at 171,000 comrades. The great war of attrition, as it is now known, saw the strength reducing to paltry 13,000 by 1998. Today the head count stands at a low 9,300 what with only 8 deep mines producing nationally. The strength swayed up and down between then and now, 2001 from 13 thousand odd to a tad above 24 thousand and back to the present 15,320.

The Carrot Called Compensation

However, it is noteworthy that the recent upswing in the number has got nothing to do with the prevailing employment situation. With the winning of a High Court test case in the days between 1997 and 1998 by NACODS (South Wales), and the ruling against British Coal for being negligent about the workers’ diseases such as respiratory and vibration white fingers. The prospect of personal injury claims getting honoured at Courts saw a rush of workers wanting to join collieries.

Although, NUM was no longer seen as a scourge of the government, it is merrily occupying the position of friends of lawyers specialising in personal injury cases and was found busy regaining its lost wealth.

Membership Subscriptions at 300?

Whomsoever wanted to make a claim were asked to pay a hefty membership subscription in addition to the mandatory admission fees. Ex-NUM and the retired mining workers were being admitted back to the union upon payment of an all time high of up to a maximum of 300. Retired workers from Lancashire, South Derbyshire and Yorkshire were all admitted back to the union by collecting backdated subscriptions. The top carrot was to come in the form of assurance that the 300 membership subscription would be deducted from the award whenever it came.

However, this gold rush was not without its share of controversies and disputes too. The controversy that the personal injury lawyers misled the miners has raged over a long time. Ironically, the union which stood for the cause of its member comrades for decades, was alleged to have been luring more memberships by funding their claim suits. Surprisingly the denial was to come from the solicitors, who were acting for individual members, that it wasn’t the case in majority of the cases.

It may be noted that no stones were left unturned in an effort to clarify their individual positions. Spokesmen for both the union as well as the law firm clarified that the funding from the union would have been necessary had the suits, in individual cases, were to be fought outside the agreement between the Government and the miners. The agreement was signed in 1999.

The Locus Standii

All having said and done, where does the litigations now stand? Of the 11,279 registered cases of vibration white finger and 44,642 of respiratory disease claims only 11 have been admitted for litigation by the Court, surprisingly all of them were from the former case. However, what was still unclear was whether the defendant was DTI or the private employer.

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