Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance

Archive for March, 2010

Changing law firms

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

When people come to us looking to dump their current attorney and find a new one, we usually explore what went wrong and see if we can help them fix the problem. A lot of times people suffer from a lack of information (e.g. don’t realize that it’s not un-common for a case to take a long time) or from the “grass is greener on the other side” syndrome.

That said, you can change attorneys and it happens quite often. That is especially true in family law cases because there is so much emotion involved and since you are paying by the hour it’s just a matter of paying a fee to a new attorney.

If you have a case where the attorney you hired is working on a contingency basis (paid if they win) in can be a little trickier. If they have worked for a long time – even if the work they did wasn’t good – they can ask for quantum merit which in plain English means pay me for the work I’ve done. You would have a hard time finding a lawyer to take over an injury case at the 11th hour right before a trial is supposed to start. They could try the case, win and end up making money for just the client and the first lawyer.

In addition, if there has been a settlement offer on a case, the first attorney can usually successfully argue that they are entitled to their fee on that amount. In other words, if you are offered $150,000 to resolve a car accident lawsuit and the lawyer fee is supposed to be 1/3 of what is recovered, the first attorney can make a good argument that they are entitled to $50,000. The second attorney would only make money if they got an offer above and beyond that amount.

It’s always best if you stick with one law firm for the entire case, but it’s also better to switch before it’s too late. If you do switch you should be certain that the 2nd firm is right for you. When a lawyer is considering taking over for another firm they will often pre-judge someone who is on their 3rd, 4th or 5th attorney as a possible problem client. It’s not impossible to get a new attorney at that point, but it’s a real challenge.

Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois attorney referrals and legal guidance. If you would like our help please contact one of our lawyers via our on-line form or call (800) 517-1614. We are based in Chicago, but help people find attorneys for legal matters throughout Illinois. All inquiries are free and confidential.

Tags: change law firm
Posted in Litigation | Comments Off

Illinois family law attorney tricks

Friday, March 19th, 2010

There are more ethical complaints made every year against family law attorneys than any area of practice. Maybe it’s because it is the most contentious type of case and the stakes are so high. Maybe it is because a lot of these attorneys get burned out so they don’t deliver the best service. Or maybe it’s because some Illinois family law attorneys perform tricks that put the dog trick (above) to shame. Here are a few examples.

1. Calling themselves a “father’s rights” or “mother’s rights” law firm. There is nothing in the law that gives the rights over custody of a child to a mom over a dad or a dad over a mom (unless there is no marriage and the dad is not on the birth certificate). Attorneys that use these words are just marketers who are trying to scare you in to hiring them. If you have a contested custody issue, you either have an attorney that fights for your or you don’t. That is why you succeed or fail along with the facts of the case.

2. Charging a really low up front fee to get you to sign up. The total cost of any case is based on how long it lasts. If an attorney asks for an up front fee of $2,500, that buys you a certain amount of their time in advance. Most lawyers we know charge around that amount because they know that even an amicable case is going to take a decent amount of work. If an attorney only wants $500 to start the case then don’t find yourself surprised if you are being asked for more money within a week of signing up. The county charges over $300 just to file the case. There is no way a prepared attorney could get through the first court appearance for $500. We hear a ton of stories from people that are furious because after one month on the case they now have a $2,000 bill to pay and their lawyer says they will drop the client if no money is sent. You are better off with a lawyer that sets a realistic cost expectation up front.

3. They bleed the file. Bleeding the file is a legal term for charging as much money as they possibly can for work that doesn’t need to be done. There is not much an attorney can do that is more un-ethical, yet somehow attorneys turn simple cases in to matters where they are collecting five or six figures in fees. If you have an agreeable case then ask for mediation or for a push to end the case. It takes two to tango, but if you and your ex are on the same page the costs shouldn’t be excessive.

Don’t get us wrong, most family law attorneys in Illinois are honest. But we have heard enough of these stories to know that the tricks are out there. You need to be alert for them. Feel free to send in any other tricks that you have heard.

Tags: family law, Illinois law firm
Posted in Illinois Family Law | Comments Off

An Illinois personal injury attorney you should run from

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

There is no such thing as the “best” personal injury lawyer in Chicago or Wheaton or Peoria or anywhere else in Illinois. You need to find out who the best is for your case. We can’t tell you who that is, but we can tell you a few things to watch out for and one to run from.

1. If you have a big injury where there is a well insured defendant, you are making a huge mistake if you don’t hire a law firm that can demonstrate a record of success. In other words, a firm that has handled hundreds of six and seven figure personal injury cases is much better for you than a lawyer who has only handled a handful of those.

2. If your personal injury attorney also was your divorce attorney and your speeding ticket attorney then you have hired a general practice law firm. They might be able to do a good job for you, but your best chance of the best result is someone who handles nothing but injury cases every day.

Now the one to run from.

3. If you have a personal injury lawsuit where there is a defendant with insurance, no attorney we recommend would ever ask their clients for a penny up front. If your attorney wants you to pay the lawsuit filing fee or for the medical records or for any other costs up front then you should find a new lawyer. Personal injury attorneys advance all of these costs and are reimbursed when the case is over. If your accident law firm can’t afford these minor expenses then they probably will be motivated to settle for an amount less than what your case is worth. Established attorneys would never do anything like this. Put on your Nike’s and run away.

Tags: accident, Chicago, Illinois, personal inury
Posted in Injury Cases | Comments Off

Illinois attorney advice- testifying in court

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Every Wednesday we offer five legal tips based on questions we have received from callers. Today we are going to provide five tips on testifying in court. This list was inspired by a person who witnessed a crime and was subpoenaed to testify in court about what he saw. These are general tips that can apply to you if you are testifying in your case or as a witness to someone else’s case.

1. Don’t embellish. Not only should you tell the truth, but don’t exaggerate. Some people think that they need to make a story sound better than it is. Huge mistake that presents an opportunity to the other attorney to tear you apart.

2. Answer the question that was asked. Don’t respond with what you think they want to hear. It’s the attorney’s job to ask you the right questions.

3. Speak up. Not just talk loud, but if you don’t understand a question say so. If you want it repeated, say so. The worst thing you can do is provide an answer when you are not even sure what a question was or what they meant. Lawyers ask a lot of dumb, rambling questions. Again, it is there job to ask you a question in a way that you can understand.

4. Don’t anticipate. There is nothing that drives a Judge or court reporter more crazy than someone who starts answering a question before the lawyer has finished asking it. There is no hurry to do anything and the most important thing to do is answer correctly.

5. Don’t ramble. Whether it’s nerves or bravado or something else, it’s very common to see a witness answer a question and keep talking and talking and talking and talking. Whether you are a plaintiff, defendant or just a witness to an event, volunteering information is a terrible idea. If it’s a yes/no question that deserves a yes/no answer, give one. If you can’t say either then say it’s neither. If you give an answer that makes you look bad it is the job of your attorney to later ask questions that will help you explain away what you meant.

Bonus tips: Dress nice, be respectful to the Judge, and don’t be surprised if you are bored as this process is usually not that exciting.

Tags: testify, witness
Posted in Five Tips | Comments Off

Pre St. Patrick’s Day Advice- You can’t beat the breathalyzer test

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

You can’t beat the breathalyzer test if you are pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving.

You’ve probably heard at least one “tip” on how to beat a breathalyzer test if you’re pulled over for a DUI. We’ve heard many, but we wouldn’t recommend relying on any of them. The only certain way to avoid a DUI is to not drink and drive.

For example, many people think that if you chew gum or rinse with mouthwash, the breathalyzer device won’t be able to detect alcohol. This just isn’t true. Disguising the smell may prevent a police officer from smelling alcohol on your breath, but it won’t fool the test. In fact, some mouthwashes and other breath fresheners actually contain some alcohol, so it might make things worse.

Another common myth is that you can lower your alcohol content score by putting a penny in your mouth. Again, not true. The idea behind this myth is that the copper in pennies somehow decreases the amount of alcohol the device can detect. This is just an urban legend. Besides, pennies are made of zinc these days, not copper.

Some people get the idea that they can just pretend to blow into the breathalyzer device, therefore preventing it from registering any alcohol. The people who make the devices thought of that, too. If you don’t blow enough breath into the breathalyzer, it alerts the officer and you will have to do it again.

A final myth worth mentioning: If you drink Zima, you’re in the clear. Just like any other type of alcohol, if you drink Zima, it will register on a breath test. Do they even make Zima anymore?

Again, the only way to make sure you don’t get a DUI is to avoid drinking and driving. If you have too much to drink and get behind the wheel, no amount of mouthwash or copper will help you beat the test. And if you decide to try out one of these myths, such as not really blowing into the device, it can be interpreted as a refusal to submit to the test, and you could face additional penalties.

Finally, you don’t have to take a breathalyzer and any Illinois DUI attorney we know would tell you that if asked you should politely decline.

Tags: breathalyzer test, DUI, DUI lawyer in Chicago
Posted in Criminal Defense in Illinois | Comments Off

Seven times when an hiring an Illinois attorney is just a waste of your time

Monday, March 15th, 2010

One of the things I do every day is help people realize when they don’t need an attorney. Sometimes it’s because it’s not cost effective. Other times it’s because it’s just a pipe dream to thing a lawyer could have success for you. Here are seven times when we think seeking out an Illinois attorney is just a waste of a time.

1. When you have been convicted of a heinous crime like criminal sexual abuse and want a pardon. Getting pardoned by the Governor is one of the hardest things to achieve. But if you have a terrible conviction on your background the chances of success are probably worse than one in a million. It would be political suicide to pardon someone with that on their background unless it has been established they were actually innocent. Paying a lawyer for that would be burning your money.

2. If you want to apply for social security disability benefits. You don’t need a lawyer, just go to the local office, fill out the paperwork and apply. The only real advice a lawyer can give you before social security denies you is to get a doctor to state that you are disabled and will be for at least a year.

3. When the person that owes you money has filed for bankruptcy and you know they have almost nothing to their name. The chances of you recovering any money are zilch at that point. All you can do is put that problem behind you.

4. If you are over 21 and get a speeding ticket for going 10 miles over and the court is offering you supervision. Unless you want to fight the ticket, take the supervision. It’s a small court fine and if you don’t get in any more trouble it is entered as a not guilty on your record so your insurance doesn’t go up.

5. If your ex is $1,000 behind on child support. Hiring an attorney would almost surely cost more that you can recover. So unless you want to proceed based on principle it’s a bad idea.

6. If you have been convicted of four or more DUI’s in the state of Illinois and the 4th one was after 1999. You are revoked from driving for life without the possibility of reinstatement and there are no exceptions. Don’t make your situation worse by paying money to a lawyer that is selling false hope.

7. If your loved one died in an accident four years ago and now finally you are able to emotionally deal with the possibility of talking about it in court. The time statute of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit in Illinois are a maximum of two years and sometimes only one. The smoothest talking lawyer in Illinois can’t work their way around that one.

Tags: clemency, pardons
Posted in Did You Know? | Comments Off

Chicago loop lawyer- Are you in the loop?

Friday, March 12th, 2010

For better or worse (most people say worse) there are more than 60,000 attorneys licensed to practice law in Illinois and more than 35,000 of those are in the City of Chicago with another 7,500+ in other parts of Cook County.

We talk a lot on the site about what gives you the best chance for success. If you have a Cook County case, especially one that will be heard downtown at the Daley Center, the fact of the matter is that a loop lawyer increases your chances for a good result. There are numerous reasons for this:

1. The main court, the Daley Center, is downtown in the loop. That is where 90%+ of family law cases take place and almost all major injury cases are handled (medical malpractice, car accidents, wrongful death, etc.). It is also where 100% of Cook County probate cases are heard. If you are an attorney who regularly appears in this court, you want to be nearby so it’s not a pain to get to and from court. It’s not uncommon for a lawyer to have a meeting in office at 8:00 a.m., court from 9-10:30, another meeting at 11 and then court again in the afternoon. If your office is in the suburbs or in other parts of the City, going to court would really disturb your practice. In some cases attorneys end up charging clients for travel time or sending lesser experienced associates.

2. Because most cases are downtown, if you are there more then you get to know the Judge’s better. If the Judge likes your lawyer more than the lawyer on the other side it is a good thing.

3. The only Federal Court in northern Illinois is also in the loop. So for any Federal lawsuits or Federal criminal cases, the same statements as above apply.

4. The most accomplished attorneys are downtown. This is just a fact. Sure there have been times when good results have been achieved at the Daley Center by lawyers who aren’t in the loop. But if you look at the firms that get the best results year after year they are all within a few blocks of Daley Plaza.

Once a week we get a call from someone who was in a car accident in the burbs and hired a suburban lawyer because they didn’t want to have to deal with coming downtown. The story almost always goes the same, something like, “He’s always out of the office so I never get a call back.” These attorneys are out of the office because of the travel time involved going to and from court.

By the way, we get people that don’t want to come downtown. The novelty of it wore off for me years ago too. But the reality is that when you are involved in a case you almost never have to go downtown as attorneys usually work by phone and e-mail. In fact we know many lawyers who have handled entire cases without ever meeting their client face to face because there was never a need (FYI, in many cases the attorney will send you paperwork to sign up or come to your house).

I thought of this when I read about a wrongful death lawsuit that was being filed by a younger attorney in which he asked for $100 million in the complaint. That’s a great headline getter, but has no basis in reality. I looked the attorney up because I had never heard of him and sure enough he is located in a mostly residential neighborhood. Now I don’t know him and he may do great work on this case. But if history is any indicator, he is not the best choice to handle this case.

No attorney can guarantee a result on a case so as a client you have to do what you can to increase your chances of a good outcome. Location of the lawyer is the first thing to think about when it comes to hiring a Cook County law firm.

Tags: loop lawyers
Posted in Litigation | Comments Off

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