Why serving as your own lawyer is generally a bad idea

This headline jumped out at me yesterday: More Americans Serving As Their Own Lawyers. Basically, it implies that in the midwest and other parts of the country, people are deciding to represent themselves in certain disputes, such as over custody and divorce.

My friends would occasionally send me excerpts from transcripts on family court cases they had come across and as a clerk I came across a few pro se appeals on the criminal side in one way or another. I can say with absolute certainty that the adage "a person who represents herself has a fool for a client" is around for a reason. The law is tricky and, in the family law realm, very statutory. Why you would want to risk screwing it up by doing it yourself is beyond me. Maybe you enjoy wasting everyone's time. Criminal is another story, but even that is goofy nine times out of ten. Take the prosecutor's deal.

Now, obviously things cost money. Assuming you have to pay your rent, car insurance, food bills, whatever, you probably can scrimp and save up enough (or borrow for that matter) enough for some family law attorney to handle your case. Figure they will want some sort of retainer, and that is probably going to set you back $1000. And then figure it may still cost you more depending on many other factors they can explain to you, so you're going to have to have a budget and figure it out. Divorces, on the other hand, are probably much less complex, and if you are worried about how much a lawyer is going to cost in your divorce case, your case probably is less complex than you think and hence, less expensive. Call around and find a good rate.

So, like anything else you want or desire in this world, if you can't afford it, save your money and figure out a way for it to either become affordable or manageable. There are services (in most states) that may be able to represent you for free, although for this sort of thing, you're probably going to be out of pocket. But, think of it like this: If you're going to try and do this yourself and then screw up, it's going to cost you ten times as much as it would have cost you had you gotten a lawyer in the first place. Hire an attorney.

Tags: people representing themselves as lawyers, should i get an attorney

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24: Redemption thoughts

I did sit and watch the 24: Redemption preview yesterday. It was okay. I had heard that episode was supposed to be the start of last season (which got cut short) and they reworked it so they could essentially start over when the new season starts in January.

I wonder if they will just gloss over the subpoena stuff and "find out" that Jack Bauer was granted a presidential pardon as Powers Booth's final act as president. I kept waiting for them to show his name on a pardon list, but alas, I will have to wait to find out what happens next on January 11 (or in June so I can watch the entire show without commercials and through tivo).

So, if you like 24, you will be moderately disappointed by this episode, but it gives some hope if you plan on watching the next season.

Tags: 24 redemption review, powers booth

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These pirates are making me thirsty...for some naval warfare

Here's a simple observation in light of these pirates attacking every boat on the other side of the atlantic. Cut your losses and sink their ships! They are on boats, which should be just as sinkable as the Titanic. The British have started to fight back; my lack of foreign policy experience doesn't provide me with any reason why we (or Russia, or whoever else) can't do the same. I can't imagine how pirates have somehow created a united naval presence rivaling us, Russia, or whoever else.
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Incredibly long days and another attempt at online dating

November is not even half over and I have already billed an inordinate number of hours this month. Who says a recession is bad for lawyers? Not I.

As a result of work, I must say that my social life has taken a bit of a nosedive, particularly because I wind up getting done work late and am often too tired to go out except on weekends. This is going to have to change, as this sort of non-stop work is sure to lead to an ulcer or other health related side effects which I don't need.

On a related note, I am going to give a shot at this online dating thing again. I figure being in a much larger city should give me a few more options. I'm not sure I'm going to go into as much detail as Law With Grace has done, but I think I can be general enough not to trigger anyone who may stumble across this blog. I purposely did not write anything about the previous dates I have been on during the clerkship, mainly because there was nothing out of the ordinary with any of them. None of them worked out for any long amount of time, plus with me moving away with no intention of staying didn't help for any long-term potential either.

Despite my previous disasters with Match.com, I think I'm going to give it one more shot, or at least something like it. At least now I don't have to explain what a clerk is, and my work schedule accommodates more casual post-work drinks. Plus it will give me something to write about since I feel compelled to bill anything legal-related. But the job is fun so far, don't get me wrong.

Anyway, so long as I stay away from those who describe their occupation as "designer of things" (which is a real one by the way), I have a good feeling about this time around. Then again, I'm not going to set the bar too high either.

Tags: online dating

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Money found in walls and the legal battle that ensued

This article was all over the news yesterday and merits a brief discussion, if only for the humor of it. See Finding Cash in Walls, and Reaping Grief.

A contractor found $182,000 hidden in a wall of a house he was working on. Since that's a lot of money to hide from the government, he decided to do the right thing and tell the owner, with the expectation of getting the equivalent of a "finders keepers, losers weepers" fee.

The question becomes how do you split the value of this treasure trove? Well, like kids on a playground, they couldn't agree. Without knowing how this particular law works in Ohio, I read on with curiosity as to what happened next: the family of the original owner of the money found out about it, decided the upside of suing was worth more than the downside, and will wind up with a certain part of it.

Now, this is good for the descendants of said money hording original owner of the $182,000, but bad for the finder and the current owner. Because they could not agree on a number between 10 and 40 percent (owner offered 10, contractor wanted 40), they decided to get the law involved, tipped the press off to garner sympathy, and the family of the original person who hid the money decided that this money was really theirs. And the real winner of all of this? The lawyers.

Here's some free common sense advice: It will be much cheaper if you can figure out how to divvy up the money between the two finders. Granted, the contractor probably should have gotten not much more than 10 or 15 percent, but that could have easily been negotiated out. I think the article alludes to the fact he wound up with 13 percent or so. Either way, 10 or 15 percent of 200,000 is much more than the pittance they probably wound up with after fees and fighting this out in court since December 2007.

I also saw an interesting article about how the internet generation (or "Google generation," if you will) makes for a lousy jury, but haven't read it yet. It's about English law, so I'm not sure how well that translates over.

Tags: contractor finds money in ohio, money found in wall and split, internet generation and jurors

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Obama wins and the sun still came up today

Well, the world didn't end. I think the breadth of Obama's win is going to be good for this country. For those who are disappointed, McCain's comments in his concession speech should be taken to heart:

"I urge all Americans . . . who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again."

I'm sure I will have some thoughts on all of this, but not at the moment.

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Vote cast

Although I recognize generally the idea that voting is an irrational practice, I still did my civic duty this morning and cast my vote. Now I will sit and watch the returns come in and watch this three-ring circus finally come to an end. Read more!