Any attorney will tell you that from the moment you step on the grounds of your law school, your phone will start ringing with people asking you for legal advice on specific issues. Over the course of my brief career I’ve fielded questions regarding products liability, business formation, immigration, estate planning, family law (unfortunately), criminal matters (of course), various property and real estate issues, international issues, etc. You can pretty much name it and I’ve been asked about it. They do a good job of demonstrating this in the movie Rounders, with a conversation between Mike (the main character and a law student) and a store clerk on his delivery route that basically goes like this:
Store clerk: Does Steinbrenner have the legal authority to just move the Yankees? Can he just up and move them?
Mike: How the (heck) should I know?
Store Clerk: What, you didn’t learn that yet?
Mike: Nah, you get to Steinbrenner in the 3d year of law school.
Store Clerk: (nods affirmatively)
The truth is, I often don’t know the answers to the questions people ask me. It’s a great way to learn something, though. I honestly enjoy being one of those people that other people come to for advice. Maybe that sounds narcissistic. I like to help people, though. I like helping my friends, and I like learning new things – although I don’t necessarily like having to go digging for info if they happen to catch me when I’m busy. The law is very specialized, and there are lots of areas that I’ll likely never delve into, so it can be fun to take a look at different things/problems that people may have.
I got an interesting question earlier today, not necessarily about a specific legal question, but about good resources for taking care of legal issues you may have on your own, with little to no cost. I think there are a lot of issues that you can handle on your own. When possible, I think it’s a good idea to get an attorney, just so you can rest a little easier. I feel the same way about handling lots of things. If anything requires you to potentially appear in court, other than small claims court, you absolutely should hire an attorney. Many transactions and other things that require filing specific forms are best done with an attorney as well. This will also give you someone to blame if something gets messed up – like an insurance policy. If you mess up and lose yourself money on your own, there’s no one to blame but you.
I should say, first of all, that if your income is pretty low, you might check and see if you qualify for legal aid. Do a google search for legal aid and the name of your state. If you live in Kansas City, for instance, you could use this link to find out more about whether you qualify. Legal aid handles a variety of legal matters and will do a good job of handling whatever problem you might take to them.
A few of the sites that offer free legal forms are Nolo, Legalzoom and Free Legal Advice. Like anything else, use these sites with caution. There are some great resources here, but some of the forms may not meet the legal requirements of your jurisdiction. I have not personally used any of these sites. I have read (in Kiplinger’s) that Nolo is pretty good about telling you when you should hire a lawyer for your particular legal problem. I think a good rule of thumb might be this – if you’re sophisticated enough to assess how complex your problem is, and you’ve decided your problem isn’t too complex, and you’re familiar with the proper forms that will enable you to do what you need to do, then you might be able to handle a legal matter on your own. If you think it’s too complex for you to handle, it probably is. If you don’t think you can even assess the complexity of your problem, the answer is obvious – hire an attorney.
If you do reach the point where you feel you need to hire an attorney, make sure you get a copy of the fee agreement that outlines exactly what you’re paying for. When they bill you, request that they itemize your bill. If you challenge a particular charge, there’s a good chance you can get it reduced or taken off. The attorneys are going to want to get paid. Good luck. I hope this helps and thank you for reading.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Haha… I don’t mind when people come to me for advice too. Maybe we are narcissistic.
Good stuff – seems everyone (me included) knows how to find a doctor or a dentist if we’re in pain, but are quite clueless about knowing where to start with solving a legal problem and if we even need to go so far as to get the aid of a lawyer.
So can Steinbrenner just move the Yankees?
