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.
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.