Do you have a lawyer?

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MaterDei

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How does one go about getting a lawyer? I hear people talking all the time about 'their' lawyer. Who exactly is this person? A friend? A relative? Or do you guys actually go out and interview and retain a lawyer?

This is a sincere question because I think that having a lawyer is a good thing but I don't know how to go about doing it.

MaterDei
 
I have prepaid legal for $15/mo. Haven't had to use it and hopefully never will.
 
It was offered at work through payroll deduction. It's Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. out of Ada OK. Like I said, I've never needed it so don't know if it's good or bad.
 
Re: a gun lawyer:

When I got my first gun about 7 years ago I thought it would be a good idea to at least know a "gun" lawyer. In the newsprint monthly put out by the CRPA (CA. Rifle and Pistol Assoc.) there was an ad from a lawyer: "You Are Not the Bad Guy". He's also a pro-gun activist. Does work for NRA and CRPA.

I called him. Made an appointment and met with him. "Retainer?", I asked. He said it was not necessary and to call him if I ever had a question and if I ever was involved in a incident with a gun. Haven't to date. I send him a Xmas card when I think about it with a "Remember me?" and Merry Xmas. I have his card in my wallet.

General lawyer: I'm having a hard time finding one. Even corporate lawyers I know don't have one. I've asked.

Entertainment law: My wife and are in the business. We pitch our ideas around to sell to cartoon studios. No luck yet. Disney bought an option a couple years ago. Nothing happened. But we've made contact with an entertainment lawyer in case something happens.


einstein
 
My dad used a law firm, I kept using them.

Two brothers and one other non related lawyer. Handle most aspects, real estate, wills, defense, etc.

I know their number by heart in case I ever need it, have their home phone numbers too.

Smoke
 
I found mine over thirty years ago--

when I started dating my wife, one of her teaching cohorts was married to a guy going to law school. We socialized with them one time, and he was beginning to do work by filling out tax returns.

We grew with him--and he was a wise choice: As we grew older, he remained a single practicioner, but allied with other lawyers in a small firm. His specialty, besides general corporate contract work, etc., became taxes and estates.

As my wife's parents aged--and their lawyer died--he became their lawyer; he became my mother's lawyer when she moved to town, and he helped me do a complex, out-of-country estate that took over six years to get to liquidation and distribution.

Because of the sums involved in each of these (eventual) estates, having the same lawyer was invaluable. Arguably, he's one of the best tax-and-estate specialists in the Mpls-St.Paul area.

I have other legal contacts if I need them--i.e., a gun lawyer, but the reason for posting this history is to say look around for someone your age, or a little younger (if you're older) and maybe a hair older if you're younger. Word-of-mouth referrals from your friends have worked for me.
 
I did.
Currently without one.

One passed away, One moved away , One ...don't really know - he is not practicing anymore.

I have consulted a tilecrawler that posts on THR a few times...I am still most appreciative for his help.
 
There are two things every man should have in life,

First is an AK-47

The other is a good lawyer

I have two.

One is a close friend who specializes in criminal law the other one is provided to me by POAB thru the state of GA incase I need one for anything that happens to me while in the line of duty.

POAB guarantees any due paying member in-person legal representation within 12 hours of the call.

My buddy is on my speed dial, office, cell and home numbers also hang out with him and shoot with him many times each week. He is as much a gun nerd as I and we see eye to eye on 2A issues.


:)
 
I'm a lawyer, and 100% of my practice right now is in the criminal defense arena.

I don’t know a single criminal defense lawyer who operates on a “retainer†basis. I know hundreds of criminal defense lawyers, and all (that are private) seem to operate on a fee-per-case basis. Certainly, you want to have a GOOD one that you can call if you get into trouble. But it’s silly to pay a “retainer†to have the guy show up and agree to handle your case. Criminal defense attorneys leap into action AFTER there’s a problem – I would be extremely distrustful of any criminal defense attorney who demanded payment in advance to handle a case that hopefully will never happen.

Here's what I'd do to find a good criminal defense lawyer in an area. If you know any cops, ask them who they'd want to defend their wives if their wives were to be prosecuted for a self-defense shooting. If you know any attorneys (never mind that they're not criminal defense attorneys - folks know who's good in specialties different from their own, or can find out), ask them the same thing.

Referrals like this are a good thing – folks who know a good professional from a hack generally want to help other folks get the right person for the job, and they’re very happy to make these sorts of recommendations. Often, passing on the name of the person who recommended you will get you treated somewhat better because the attorney 1) has a personal relationship with that individual and wants to please them, and 2) knows that someone is keeping an eye on his handling of your case. I generally try to give folks three names of good people in a given specialty – that way they can pick one that they feel more comfortable with.

Failing this, I'd advise you to start watching the news and papers more carefully. You'll start to notice the same several lawyers defending high-profile cases. Write down the names of three to five of them, and then talk to a cop (go in to a station and ask for five minutes of the captain's time, or go up to a couple of street officers in a doughnut shop) and ask them the question about defending their wives. Get them to rank the names and to tell you if any should just be ruled out.

This should get you three names or so. Many defense attorneys are gun guys - you could call them up and ask if this is the sort of work they do, and if you could swing by to get some of their cards for you and your friends to keep in your wallets. In doing this, you should be able to tell if each one is the kind of guy you'd want to have representing you. No reputable defense lawyer that I know of would charge you for this sort of brief chat, and most will be glad to have their cards out in the world.

I've seen a lot of people advised to contact the Bar for referrals, and I would not recommend this. The Bar is staffed by nonlawyers and their referrals are generally to people who have no other qualification than they are in good standing and they have stated that they are willing to accept referrals in a given area of practice.

The Martindale-Hubble registry is also supposed to be a good way of finding lawyers. I have not found that to be the case with regard to the criminal defense bar. Many (if not most) good criminal defense lawyers don't bother to jump through the hoops that M-H requires (M-H is really a better guide to big firms - use M-H if you need to finde someone to defend an insurance company).

You should remember that it's not that big a deal if you are involved in a shooting and do not have a lawyer's name already. Keep your mouth shut (except to explain that you were in fear for your life - I assume you wouldn't shoot anyone otherwise) and ask for a lawyer - you'll get one.

Again, typically, criminal defense lawyers do not work with the “retainer†system: generally they work on a flat fee basis to handle a case. You’ll want to talk to the lawyer you decide to go with, but it would be most unusual for a criminal defense lawyer to ask you to put a retainer into his trust account against future representation. Probably he’ll just tell you to call him when/if you need him. Essentially what you’re doing at this point is just finding a person who would be competent to defend you in the (admittedly highly unlikely) event that something would ever come up.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions about how to find a lawyer.
 
Too much rice in the malt. I liked it in the olden days, but they changed it too much.

I actually haven't had a Pearl in about 10 years, though.
 
My wife's cousin is an attorney.

We've used her a number of times.
 
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