The Truth About Lawyers

During the matter of my divorce (that's lawyer talk - it's always the matter of this and the matter of that), I spent about $30,000 on three different attorneys in an extremely frustrating effort just to be able to see my own children. As each lawyer failed to obtain one single worthwhile benefit for me, I fired them and hired another one. I couldn't help but notice that I was never allowed to speak directly to the judge and I felt that these people were not saying what I wanted them to say as well as I could. So in the end I fired them all and decided to represent myself in court In Pro Per (as my own attorney). It was then that I learned the most important lesson of all:

The Name of the Game in court is: DON'T PISS OFF THE JUDGE!

The hard truth of the matter is that attorneys have to work with the judges and with the other attorneys every day. A client is just a client and when the case is over, it's over and they need to get on with the next one. It's really all about careers and about relationships, and the attorneys' daily business relationships are with other attorneys. They have ethical guidelines which compel them to show respect even if they don't like each other. But when it comes to the judges it's not a matter of like or dislike. The judges are little gods and the reality is that they have huge case loads which just get larger no matter what they do, and the attorneys understand that the way to help the judges is to move the cases through court as quickly as possible. Help a judge do that and you're on their good side. Take too long with one particular client and you're not. DON'T PISS OFF THE JUDGE or the judge will find a way to take it out on you and you will not like it when that happens. One particular judge actually said to me "I don't get angry, I get even". Attorneys don't have to be told that, they know it. They understand that a career can be lost by alienating a judge and that relationships can be jeopardized by alienating their peers. The vast majority of attorneys will not risk their careers or jeopardize their professional relationships for any one particular client.

So does anybody really need an attorney? The law actually implies that we don't because we are given the right to represent ourselves in court if we choose to. Does anybody really want you to know this? Definitely not, because if everybody represented themselves, how would all the law school graduates make a living? But here's the big problem. When you think you need an attorney, it's almost always because you've gotten into some kind of serious trouble and you think that the stakes are too high if you lose. It's kind of like needing a new roof. Nobody even thinks about their roof until it's too late and the thing is leaking uncontrollably. And it's only then that they find out how incredibly expensive a new roof is, and how impossible it is to educate yourself properly on the subject in order to know how to spend all that money and not get ripped off. Similarly, until you're in serious trouble, you probably don't even think about having to choose an attorney. And now the stakes are much higher than when you need a new roof because with the roof, the great danger is spending a lot of money and not getting what you paid for. With your legal difficulty, it could be about having to go to JAIL, not to mention spending a lot of money on an attorney and then having to go to jail. So when you're in that situation, the conventional wisdom is unanimous - get the best attorney you can afford.

So you bust your budget and make your selection. You sit there in court and watch the attorney do his/her job. How are you supposed to be able to know whether the best possible job is being done for you? There's no way to know because you don't understand the game that's being played out. After all is said and done, the judge calls both attorneys into chambers and the goal of the meeting is to find a compromise solution that will move the case out of court. The attorneys do their thing and then they come back into court and tell you, "This is the best possible deal you're going to get. Trust me. If you don't take this deal, you're going to make the judge angry and you will never get this deal again." What can you do? Nothing. You just lost. But if you ever make the decision to represent yourself in court, you'd better understand how to behave properly or you will really piss off the judge. Here are the basics of good courtroom behavior:

1. Don't digress. Make your points quickly, logically, and in logical order.
2. Always look the judge directly in the eyes when talking.
3. Forget your ego and just grovel. Say "your Honor", "with all due respect", "forgive my ignorance" and things like that.
4. Dress well. Notice that the attorneys all wear suits. Now why do you think they do that? Because they all own stock in Brooks Brothers?
5. When you do get your chance to go back into chambers, follow rules 1 through 4 again.

If you can master these basics, you will find that an amazing thing happens. The judge will be entertained by you simply because what you're doing is very rare and it's not what they have to sit through every day. If you're good and stick to the basics, the judge will bend over backwards to assist you. Of course, there is the matter of knowing the law and proper court procedure. It's possible to lose a case just by missing a trick and being beat to the punch by your opposing attorney on a simple point of order. So . . . do you need an attorney? Probably you do, but maybe you don't. I didn't.

As Sally Struthers said in All in The Family: "Case Closed !"

Peter Cross is a Web Master who has represented himself in court In Propria Persona many times. You can find this article at: The Truth About Lawyers and his home page at: Rock and Roll with an Immortal Soul

A Quick Guide to Lawyers

Lawyers specialize in a wide number of fields from personal injury and criminal law to immigration, business and finances. But what do these lawyers actually do? There is a wealth of misinformation available to the average consumer, and you may be confused where to start looking.

Finding a good lawyer is essential, but if that lawyer doesn't specialize in the specific area in which you need them, it doesn't put you in the best situation. You don't want to hire a lawyer who specializes in divorce to help you with a personal injury suit, and vice versa. Thus it's imperative that you find not only a good lawyer, but one who really knows specific information about your problem. Here is a brief overview of some of the most popular types of lawyers and what they do:

Criminal Lawyer

A criminal lawyer is the highest profile lawyer for good reason. Criminal lawyers handle statutory and common law crimes and the punishment of criminal offences. They deal with every aspect of criminal law, with the state defender, or prosecutor, defending the state's interest and the defense attorney representing the defender. They defend against and prosecute crimes against the person (assault, murder, rape, etc.), crimes against property (arson, theft, larceny etc.), crimes against justice (bribery, perjury etc.) and other myriad lesser criminal offenses.

Divorce Lawyer

Divorce lawyers focus on any and all matters concerning divorce. This applies to any proceedings, including prenuptial agreements, division of property, alimony or spousal payments, child support, and more. Most individuals going through a divorce generally hire a divorce lawyer to take care of all legal matters. Much of the time a good divorce lawyer can make all the difference in how messy or clean your divorce becomes.

Accident Lawyers or Personal Injury Lawyers

Accident lawyers, also known as personal injury lawyers, specialize in legal claims relating to auto accidents and vehicle claims, dangerous or defective products, medical and health care malpractice, workplace injuries (worker's compensation), wrongful death, and a slew of other accidental incidents that warrant legal procedures.

Immigration Lawyers

Immigration lawyers handle any matters pertaining to immigration, including citizenship and naturalization proceedings, permanent residence, green cards, work visas, asylum, deportation hearings, family-based immigration waivers, and any other legal issues surrounding immigrants to the US.

Financial and Business Lawyers

Financial lawyers deal with a wide range of business and personal investments, savings products and services. These include mortgages, banking, brokerage services, commodities, claims, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, and other securities. They are in charge of taking care of all legal requirements and formalities surrounding any financial issue. They are also helpful for starting and operating businesses, including: LLC's, corporations, and partnerships.

myabogado.com

Marcela De Vivo writes on behalf of myabogado.com, a directory specializing in law related resources.

Article Marketing for Lawyers

What is article marketing? Article marketing is a clever method of promoting a product or service through the use of articles. You simply write articles relating to your expertise. After you've created an article, you share your article with the world. Content is a valuable commodity on the Internet. If you provide good content, your article will likely be picked up for use in blogs, newsletters, lenses, portals and websites.

Article Marketing is an excellent way to promote a law firm. Law Firm articles can help establish credibility for your practice, help establish yourself as an expert in your field, brand your firm and lead potential clients to your firm. Also, since articles can be syndicated, there's an enormous potential to utilize articles to drive visitors to your law firm's website and to ultimately generate more business!

The following are some tips and ideas on how to write and promote your law firm articles.

Start with existing articles. In many cases you may have articles you've written in the past that are still relevant. Why not dust those off and use them to market your firm? In most cases, the content is still relevant or could be easily adapted to fit current trends and conditions.

Write new articles. Share your expertise by writing articles based on practice area topics for which you practice. For example, if you represent clients who have been involved in 18 wheeler accidents and would like to target more 18 wheeler cases, simply write an article about 18 wheeler accidents. To support your topic of choice, consult with research and statistics organizations. They provide detailed statistics, trends and information which can be referenced. Combine hard facts and data with your own experiences for a compelling article.

Keep articles relatively short. Articles do not need to be lengthy. Many articles fall between 150 - 500 words. Keeping it short is a good rule of thumb, particularly when the article is going to be viewed and read on the web. However, oftentimes, it's difficult to convey a message in so few words. In those cases, try to keep the topics under thousand words.

Find a Topic Once you've decided to write an article, it may not be as easy to find a topic to write about. It helps to write about something you have a passion for. That passion will carry over into your article and in turn, produce a piece the reader will be compelled by.

One way to find a good topic for your article is to do some keyword research. If you are hoping to attract clients using the article, it helps to know which topics prospective clients are using to locate law firms and legal information pertaining to your practice area. There are a number of tools available on the web for keyword research. To locate them, search for the phrase "keyword research" in your favorite search engine and you'll generate a whole wealth resources. You may also choose to hire an Internet marketing consultant to handle this task. Oftentimes consultants have the necessary tools and expertise to give you a clear understanding of topic you should be addressing.

Don't Forget Your Author Box The author box consists of your personal biography, copyright notice, and a link back to your law firm's website. This should be kept brief. You want to state in the article box that permission is granted to re-publish this article online as long as the author box is left intact and as long as the hyperlink is linked to the correct website.

Not a writer? Have Someone Write an Article for You It's quite possible that you don't have the time to write your own articles or maybe writing is not your forte. No problem. There are a number of consultants available who can do this task for you. It's referred to in the industry as "ghost writing". There are a number of quality professionals who specialize in copywriting and ghost writing. You simply convey your thoughts and expertise verbally or in written form and let these "wordsmiths" do the rest.

Another suggestion is to tap into your law firm's internal resources. It's quite possible that someone on your staff is an excellent writer and can do the work for you.

Include a Picture Including a picture reminds the reader that there is actually a person behind the article. It lends credibility to the article. Additionally, a photo helps brand yourself in your field with name and face recognition.

Share Your Article Once you've written your article(s), you need to let people know that they are available for reading and re-publishing. There are a number of organizations or individuals who may choose to re-publish your article on their Blogs, MySpace, Lenses, Websites and other online mediums.

To share your article, you need to submit it to any number of article syndication sites and article directories. These sites give authors the opportunity to dramatically increase traffic and exposure by syndicating to thousands of publishers almost instantaneously.

Search Engine Benefits By sharing your article, you not only promote your name and brand, you increase your rankings with the major search engines.

Search engines determine rankings based on a number of factors. Two of those factors are incoming link popularity and keyword density. By including an active hyperlink in your author box for articles, you increase link popularity. Each time your article is re-published, you receive a one-way link back to your site! Also, if your article is on a particular topic with strategic use of keywords, your article is more likely to show up in top results with the search engines.

As a legal professional, it's critical to your success that you establish yourself as an expert in your field. By publishing quality articles with useful content, you WILL drive prospective clients to your firm and establish credibility that will secure more clients. Article marketing is one of the most powerful marketing methods available to lawyers ... and best of all, it's FREE!

Laurie A. Williams is a veteran Internet marketer for the legal industry. She has been involved in Internet marketing for over 10 years. Please see her site, LegalMarketingPros.com for more information

Atlanta Business Lawyers

This article provides useful, detailed information about Atlanta Business Lawyers.

Whether you are an employer or employee, you will at some time or the other require the services of a lawyer who specializes in business law. Within business law, you will need to look for specialized expertise. Most business law firms specialize in business agreements, contracts, litigation and arbitration, appeals, business and corporate law.

When looking for a business lawyer to represent you or your company, you need to understand your priorities. For example, in cases of professional liability, you should look for a lawyer who has extensive experience in counseling insured professionals and their insurers.

The expertise of a lawyer in business law is extremely important. The person should understand company law, cooperate law, evaluate the case judiciously and opt for the best possible solution. Apart from professional expertise, you should ensure that the lawyer is not just a pretty face who ultimately uses assistants and paralegals to face the judge.

Also, the lawyer should be able to provide you personalized services, have the patience to listen to you, clarify your doubts, and most important, not take advantage of your fears and insecurities. Also, it is important for you to ensure that the lawyer does not publicize the names of the professionals they sue or defend.

It is important that the lawyer should have a keen understanding of federal procedure, as there is a wide scope of employment and federal laws that exist in the state of Georgia. The business lawyer should be able to offer you several advantages in terms of negotiating employment contracts and severance packages and be able to negotiate retirement and disability benefits and work them out in such a way to avoid further disputes.

Atlanta business lawyers can be found through a referral service provided by Georgia State Bar Association, the county bar association and other professional law associations. Information is also available in the yellow pages or through search engines like Google and Yahoo on the Internet. You can check advertisements of law firms in magazines and newspapers. Friends and family members are also excellent sources of information.

Atlanta Bankruptcy Lawyers provides detailed information on Atlanta Lawyers, Atlanta Bankruptcy Lawyers, Atlanta Criminal Lawyers, Atlanta Employment Lawyers and more. Atlanta Bankruptcy Lawyers is affiliated with Atlanta Personal Injury Laws

New Jersey Criminal Lawyers

If you have been accused of a crime or think you might be, you should contact a criminal lawyer immediately. No matter how minor the charge, it's always beneficial to contact a criminal lawyer. A criminal lawyer is one who specializes in handling criminal defense cases. The role of a criminal lawyer is to represent anyone who commits a crime in order to prove his or her innocence. A criminal lawyer with substantial experience and expertise in this field can work on strategies to cleverly cross-examine the prosecution witnesses to prove your innocence in the case. And, in case of extreme situations, an expert criminal lawyer can work out negotiations with the prosecution lawyer to arrange for a lesser charger or reduced sentence.

In order to have a strong defense, it's very important to hire the right lawyer who has expertise and a proven track record in handling the crime of which you are accused. Only an expert lawyer can provide you with a reality check--a knowledgeable, objective perspective on the situation--and make you aware of what is most likely to happen, which can prove vital for the defendant in deciding whether to accept prosecutor's offered bargain.

Criminal law in United States varies from state to state. Though a basic law code is followed all across U.S., it does differ a little across the states. For example, in New Jersey, you have a right to a speedy and public trial. Also, you have a right not to be convicted unless the State can prove each and every element of the offense with which you are charged. If you have encountered a situation where you need to seek the help of a criminal lawyer in New Jersey, it would always be to your advantage to go for a local lawyer practicing there.

It is unfortunately not always easy to find a good criminal defense lawyer. To find a good lawyer, it is always advisable to go by referrals from somebody who is familiar with the law practice. You may wish to sit through some public sessions of court while criminal cases are being argued. If you find a particular lawyer's performance to be impressive, you may take note of the lawyer's name and later contact the lawyer about the possibility of representing you. Each state and some major cities have organizations of criminal defense lawyers who can offer referral services or online directories. You can also browse through the yellow pages or online directories listing defense lawyers to find a good lawyer.

New Jersey Lawyers provides detailed information on New Jersey lawyers, New Jersey bankruptcy lawyers, New Jersey business lawyers, New Jersey criminal lawyers and more. New Jersey Lawyers is affliated with New York Real Estate Lawyers

Chicago Personal Injury Lawyers

You should contact a lawyer if you've recently suffered an injury due to someone else?s negligence. Lawyers specializing in personal injury cases usually work only on a contingency basis, meaning that you only pay if you win the case. The costs of hiring a lawyer are not that high.

If you are contemplating hiring a lawyer for your case, it would be prudent to do some research on the facts of your claim. List the questions you what to ask a lawyer and what kind of services should you expect from him or her.

An experienced legal representative will be familiar with the specific facts that need to be taken into account for your specific argument. Your lawyer will guide you though the legal aspects of the case that you may not be able to comprehend. Similarly, he would provide aid when dealing with the insurance companies and health plans.

The main reason to hire a lawyer is that they are able to negotiate the case better than you could yourself. This is particularly true when you are involved in a case that involves multiple states, since the personal injury laws differ from state to state. Take into account that you should only hire a lawyer with an extensive practicing in your region. A variety of personal injury lawyers can be found but you should make certain that he or she has experience managing cases similar to your personal incident.

Finding a lawyer to argue your case who is experienced shouldn't be overwhelming. Bear in mind the specific statute of limitations set by your state and think about the fact that you need to get legal representation soon. Consider using the Internet to gather all the information you need about a lawyer.

Law School Does A Great Job Of Training Lawyers To Be Professional Skeptics

That's Part Of The Reason Their Own Marketing Efforts Are Destined To Fail.

Here Are 8 Great Suggestions From Law Firm Marketing Professionals That Are Guaranteed To Produce Results.

Lawyers practice law, NOT marketing. Effective marketing takes a certain amount of faith and patience. It just doesn't happen overnight. To make matters worse most lawyers tend to over analyze any marketing plan. Some gain satisfaction in proving "beyond a doubt" there is no way marketing can be effective for them.

When it comes to marketing, most lawyers don't have a clue. It's not their fault. No one in law school ever told them the practice of law involved actually starting a business.

Here are a few suggestions from law firm marketing professionals about what it takes to successfully market your law firm.

1. Realize that there is some risk involved in lawyer marketing. Start taking a little risk. Even a turtle has to stick his neck out to make progress.

2. Realize that being a lawyer is being a business owner. Start thinking like a business person. Stop defining yourself as "an attorney". Instead, define yourself as the owner of a law firm.

3. Realize that when it comes to marketing, you need to stop arguing with the marketing experts. You went to law school. Unfortunately they didnt offer even one single course on actually marketing your practice.

4. Realize that traditional law firm marketing is dead. The old yellow pages ad and "word of mouth" isn't going to cut it anymore in the Internet age.

5. Realize that you need an "effective" Internet presence to exist in today's law firm marketing space.

6. Realize that you are no longer considered an "ambulance chaser" just because you advertise effectively. Times have changed and so have the attitudes and perceptions about lawyers who advertise.

7. Realize that effective law firm marketing comes at a price. Start focusing on the end result (more billable hours) instead of fixating on the beginning cost.

8. Realize that "Education Based Marketing" coupled with a solid "Client Referral System" is the recipe for effective 21st Century Law Firm Marketing.

OK, so let's say you buy into the fact that you need to start an effective law firm marketing campaign. Where do you start? With the basics of course. If you practice law in New Jersey or the surrounding states of NY, PA, or DE you are really in luck.

Here is a bit of shameless self-promotion. Start by getting a listing in the Law Firm Directory. http://www.jerseyjustice.com/resources/add.cfm Otherwise, look to obtain a listing in another highly trafficked legal site in your state.

If you don't already have a dedicated law firm website, it's time to get one. But don't just throw up a few web pages and expect clients to start beating a path to your firm. Your website needs to be effectively designed and marketed as well. Otherwise it becomes a solitary billboard in the desert that receives little or no traffic from clients searching the Internet superhighway for attorneys able to relieve their pressing legal problem.

Find a professional legal marketer with a proven track record and experience in promoting individual as well as multi lawyer firms. Then listen to what they have to say and act on their suggestions. All the while be sure to they provide blind control testing all of your marketing efforts so that you know what is working best.

Every practice area has it's own set of characteristics that influence results. In other words, one size legal marketing does not fit all firms. Allow your marketing consultant to custom tailor a program that works.

Learn how to attract new clients, increase referrals, strengthen client loyalty and build your image as an authority in your practice area. When you first begin marketing your legal services it is common to rely on intuition and common sense to make decisions. But in most cases the results from your own marketing efforts won't produce the desired result. That is why it is wise to hire a professional legal marketer.

How do you find a qualified legal marketer? Simple. Go to any major search engine like www.Google.com and type in "Lawyer Marketing". Then look for the top generic listing. If he is a good enough marketer to earn the number one or two spot for the term "lawyer marketing" (considering all of the formidable competitors), it should be good enough for you.Tony Merlino is webmaster and Legal Marketing Consultant at Jersey Justice.com

Examining the Value of Auto Accident Lawyers

Through the year, the automobile has helped us experience greater mobility and higher productivity. However, despite the fact that the automobile has become an important part of our everyday living, it has its own way of getting its payback for the good life that it brings us. I am speaking here about the various automobile accidents that happen in our busy streets everyday. At present, auto accidents are responsible for lots of deaths especially of innocent pedestrians.
When you or your loved ones have been involved in an auto accident and suffered various injuries or even death, you can avail the services of an auto accident lawyer. An auto accident lawyer can be found anywhere in the community. He specializes in auto-related injuries and knows everything about the various laws on national roadways and other relevant matters. The question now is whats the best way to locate the most credible and experienced auto accident lawyer?

Basically, there are lots of ways to find the auto accident lawyer that you need. First, there are lots of online lawyer referral services that can recommend competent legal counsels. You can also ask for the recommendations from your friends, relatives or officemates who have gone through auto accident claims. You can also ask a non-injury lawyer if he knows an auto accident lawyer whom he trusts. You can try all these methods in searching for the perfect lawyer for your auto accident case.

When you finally have a list of possible auto accident lawyers to assist you in your claim, you can now set an appointment with them for consultation. Most of these lawyers offer this type of consultation for free. Through this, you will be able to get to know the lawyer and he can also make the proper assessment on your case. Take note that it is important for you to be able to get along with your lawyer well to assure you of a successful legal battle. Having full trust between the lawyer and the clients part is very important.

In addition, being comfortable with the auto accident lawyer is also a benefit for both parties. After all, auto accident injury claims can really become a big headache. You have to go though lots of paperwork to file and a lot of protocol to follow before getting the compensation that you dream of. Whether the auto accident is minor or serious, youll definitely need legal assistance from an auto accident lawyer to help you understand your legal rights and options.
For comments and questions about the article, you may visit http://www.mesrianilaw.com