ER Legal Blog
Legal guide to all aspects of law and the legal system covering family and business law, personal injury, medical malpractice and criminal law.
Estate Law
Probate is used to disperse property and funds, but a will contest can stop an estate from being awarded until the courts decide the true intentions of the deceased party. Estate planning can be used to avoid these unfortunate events, so use all tax exemptions and clauses to your benefit.
Criminal law - Misdemeanors
Some criminal charges are more severe than others, but ultimately, nearly all charges can lead to terms of imprisonment. Learn what can happen as a result of being charged with a misdemeanor offense and gain the knowledge that you will need to defend your innocence.
Moving Violation Penalties
At some point in life nearly everyone receives a moving violation. The penalties can range from verbal warnings and fines to having your car towed or spending time in jail. The best thing that you can do is to address all moving violation as quickly as possible.
How Legal Fees Work
Before a lawsuit can be filed plaintiffs must retain attorneys that will represent them in court. This applies mainly to civil lawsuits, although the defendants in criminal cases may be able to have public defenders appointed if they live below the poverty line. Depending on the nature of the lawsuit filed, legal fees can amount to a large amount of the total judgment. In addition to paying an attorney an hourly fee, there will be costs for filing, transportation, expert testimony and even forensic analysis. Most plaintiffs are able to pay a small portion of the total sum charged by their attorneys, which is referred to as a retainer fee. Because court cases can take months or even years to finally be decided, most lawyers bill their clients on an ongoing basis.Alternatively, some plaintiffs use no win no fee lawyers so that they are not required to pay any retainer fees or periodic payments. Attorneys will not usually take on a case with no upfront fees unless they are very certain that they will win their cases. Sometimes this will include class action lawsuits because settlements can amount to millions of dollars. In addition, no win no fee claim attorneys are able to command much higher rates because they need to have a high success rate in order to attract new clients.
Attorneys don't just charge clients for representing them in the courtroom. They also can be retained by businesses to draft their policies, business letters and employee guidelines. Lawyers are also retained by companies to collect on outstanding invoices and bills as they are usually a more reasonable option when compared with collection agencies. Some law firms choose to add interest onto outstanding accounts that are not paid in full by a specific time frame, however, clients that have longstanding relationships with their attorneys are usually able to avoid this.
23.03.2011. 02:13