I am looking to sue my storage facility in New Jersey over incorrect charges. Does anyone know the name of the firm of attorneys that are sometimes advertised on TV & Radio that do not collect any money unless the case is won? Any constructive thoughts and/or advice would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

For a case this small you’re not going to find an attorney who will do it on contingency. It’ll be tough to find an attorney who will do it at all since it’s really for small claims court. How much money are we talking here?

I’d like to know how much attorneys charge in San Diego compared with other cities.

I am a personal injury attorney here in San Diego. Most if not all accident attorneys charge what is called a contingency fee, meaning that if you recover money the attorney charges a percentage of what you recover. If you recover nothing, the attorney charges nothing. Always read the fine print in the attorney-client contract to see if your particular attorney will charge you other costs, such as for the cost of faxes, copies, court expenses, traveling, etc.

I follow the strict meaning of no attorney fee unless you win – If I can’t recover money for you, I charge you nothing and I will swallow any copy, fax, or other expenses I may have incurred. I do require clients front the costs of trial. I do this to prevent clients from gambling my money on a trial that may not have a likely chance of a winning outcome. I’ll put in the work, but I will not front the costs of trial. see my website for details: http://www.accident-attorney-san-diego.com

Attorneys who charge by the hour can charge what they want, it must be reasonable. I have seen new attorneys looking for experience charging anywhere from $50, $75, to $150 an hour, wiith the more experienced attorneys charging $250 and up.

I am Indian-American and throughout my life I have had a strong interest in fighting against discrimination that Indian-Americans and Pakistani-Americans have experienced in society and in the workplace. However, I do want to be able to live comfortably as I have heard several civil rights attorneys end up defending minorities who are unable to pay them. Although I would not mind taking up cases of minorities who are mistreated who can not pay for their services, I do still need to earn a comfortable living. So my question..how much do civil rights attorneys make?

Well there are two ways to do this. In one case you can dedicate your entire practice to this kind of work, go to work for a private organization that does this kind of work. You won’t starve, you won’t make anything like what most attorneys make.

The other thing you can do is have a practice that is more lucrative, and dedicate a portion of your time (and it’s up to you how much) to this kind of work, doing it "pro bono" or "for free". All attorneys are supposed to do some pro bono work as part of their professional ethics anyway. But that way you can draw a balance between "paying" work and "satisfying" work.

FWIW I have a friend who has made a career of defending people, mostly as public defender. He finds the work especially stressful to be honest, because if he screws up his client suffers a lot. A lot of times he can’t really do anything to help. But on the whole he likes doing it better than anything else he can think of. And he makes, after a decade or so of doing it, a pretty fair income. Not as much as private attorneys typically, but enough to be comfortable. He is not a public employee, he takes cases on a contract basis and the state pays him for each case he handles.

Of course he doesn’t have a big family or a big car. But you know, at the end of the day, I don’t think those kind of things are very important. And the people who do public interest law for peanuts are usually pretty happy people.

The traditional adversarial system continues to draw criticism when aggressively applied to family law cases. Apart from the inefficiencies, impracticalities and costs of such approaches, the reasons for abandoning these poorly conceived methods of dispute resolution should be obvious:

1. Combative fires tend to be fanned and magnified with each contested Court proceeding, thereby creating the potential for long-term conflict;

2. Negative emotions and feelings of the parties are allowed to significantly impact the attorneys’ actions on behalf of their clients;

3. The potential for professional ill-will between attorneys and professional experts is created, while heightening the potential for gross animosity between attorneys and opposing parties.

The litigation process influences the attorney to take every available advantage for the client, put the client’s case in the best possible light, not offer evidence that is harmful to the client (with some exceptions), and challenge everything possible, in the opponent’s case. The opposing attorney has the same job.

Most attorneys in the adversarial process are so caught up with the client’s “cause,” that the attorney can lose sight of any and all sense of objectivity, which is required to analyze both sides of an issue. Many attorneys are all too willing to believe the “emotional” version of the client’s facts, and not inclined to scrutinize the information for false or misleading claims.

The contested dissolution of marriage case is a family disaster waiting to happen. As difficult and bad as things seem to be during the litigation of a family law case, the real battle, the real conflicts, are yet to be realized. After the Final Judgment is entered whereby a Judge determines contested issues, if there are one or more minor children or any ongoing financial support matters or any other issues over which the Court has retained jurisdiction, an odyssey of struggle and conflict will surely ensue for as long as the Court has jurisdiction over the parties and subject matters.

What can be done to avoid this “never-ending” conflict resulting from litigating family law issues? Probably nothing immediately, but over a period of time, changes can occur which will result in most of these kinds of issues not being litigated. However, change is slow in the traditional legal arena where attorneys are trained and experienced in relying upon precedent and stare decisis.

Significant changes in process are required; however, the professionals practicing in the adversary system may be resistant to change and unwilling to consider different and creative means in representing a family law client. Also, such creative and innovative changes in process may appear to be either unethical or in violation of the attorney’s duties to fully represent the client, thereby further delaying change.

As time progresses, changes must occur in the “system” which will result in a process which is more practical, simplified, less financially expensive, less time-consuming and less confrontational. Moreover, changes are occurring whereby legal procedural rules in many states now require alternate dispute resolution at various stages of litigation, as well as required financial disclosure and supplemental disclosures periodically during litigation.

However, the real change necessary to simplify and create an atmosphere of less confrontation shall result from the individual professionals taking appropriate action – the Judge, the attorneys, the other expert professionals, such as mental health professionals and financial professionals, called upon to assist one party, the other, or both parties.

Each professional person coming into contact with the parties in the family law “system” has a significant opportunity to “assist” the party/client/patient, rather than to “advocate.” The goal of the family law professional should not be to represent his or her client’s interests blindly, but to be mindful of the client’s best interests in light of the entire family’s long-term interest, both financial and emotional. If children are involved, their interests must be paramount. If there are financial issues, they must be approached with a sense of objectivity and fairness to both sides.

Most parties arrive in the family law “system” via the divorce attorney. Some persons will have contact with a mental health professional or clerical member. Others will have discussions with their accountant, family physician or other trusted family friends. Yet, it is the attorney who most often has the first real opportunity to change the way the system operates.

The first contact between the attorney and client is critical and will probably set the parameters of the relationship between the attorney and client throughout the entire case. The attorney can easily take sides with the client, support the client in every way, and begin planning a strategic attack on the other side at this beginning point. Or, the attorney can sit back and listen to the client (listening is, of course, an excellent communication technique). At some point, however, the attorney must ask some questions, explore the facts not being volunteered by the client, and inform the client of reasonable expectations notwithstanding the client’s feelings, wishes and concerns.

A problem-solving approach would include:

1) Assessing whether the client, in fact, needs an attorney at this point. Is the marriage really over? Is it realistic to consider saving the marriage?

2) Counseling that children are not to be “used” as pawns. Their best interests must be considered, which normally means regular, frequent contact with both parents.

3) Encouraging or discouraging communication between the parties, depending upon the relationship and feelings of the parties toward each other.

4) Avoiding any action that will result in antagonizing the other side or in engendering distrust. Typically, an attorney’s letter articulating his or her client’s grievance or position may result in additional ill-will and additional disagreement between the parties. Consider picking up the telephone and talking with the opposing lawyer first regarding sensitive and potentially confrontational issues.

5) Treating the other side with courtesy. Try to overlook actions that will appear to be, or are, in fact, uncooperative or insulting. Instead of responding in a like fashion, the attorney should start to attempt cooperation. Avoid emotional reactions and deal with the factual issues logically.

Curtis J. Romanowski
http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/setting-the-scene-for-success-in-nj-divorce-103894.html

Speed reading involves not only the ability to read vast amounts of information at an accelerated rate but also the ability to absorb and comprehend the information you’ve just read. This can be a huge benefit during school and in many professions that require copious amounts of reading on a daily basis.

In addition to reading and retaining more information more rapidly speed reading has other benefits as well. Among these benefits are not needing to go back and reread passages that have already been read as frequently (this process is known as skip back), lessening the amount of time in which your eyes linger on particular words or blocks of words, and enlarging the area upon which your eyes rest while reading. This is known as the fixation zone and includes the word or block of words that you are reading at any given time. Some people can only manage a word or two at a time and others can read entire lines at a time. The more words you can read at a time, the faster you will ultimately read.

While it probably comes as little or no surprise that speed reading gives most students a noticeable edge in the studies, it may come as a surprise to discover that students who can speed read in another language (their native language) have a much easier time of learning English as a second language than those who have not developed this particular skill. They are much more likely to excel in the learning of a new language and far less likely to give up the learning of a new language.

There are also many professions that will find speed reading abilities of an incredible benefit as well. The very first one that comes to mind is the field of law. Attorneys and judges must perform massive amounts of reading in the course of an ordinary day, the faster they can read and comprehend the material at hand the quicker they can manage decisive action in regards to the materials they’ve just read.

Scholars and professors must also do a great amount of reading as do journalists, reporters, writers, novelists, researchers, and any number of other professions. We live in a world that is moving at the speed of sound many days in order to keep up with the world it is becoming more and more necessary to develop speed reading skills rather than the hobby or edge that it once may have been within professional communities.

Even recreational reading benefits from speed reading. The less time you spend the reading, the less eye strain and fatigue you are likely to experience. Additionally, eliminating the need to linger as often is a great benefit to your reading times and how quickly you can go through a book that might have you on the edge of your seat. While speed reading is murder on your book budget, it is a great way to work in a great novel over the course of a night or a weekend.

For those who love and live to read, speed reading is the only way to go. As your skills improve so does you ability to not only learn new things rapidly but also retain the knowledge you’ve gained. For many, that alone is worth the price of a speed reading course or two.

Melvin Ng
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/the-incredible-benefits-of-speed-reading-65487.html

Is there any topic that can create more controversy among women then the subject of whether or not its better to stay home with your children while they are young and forgo or at least postpone your career aspirations, or have alternative childcare and give equal focus to both your family and your job?

I have experienced both. I am currently a stay at home mom and I can tell you that it is not easy. In my previous life, I worked as a criminal court clerk in a district court. There are not many happy people who come into contact with the court system. In most cases they are facing the consequences for some poor choices. No one wants to be in court and the clerks are usually the ones who take most of the abuse because not many people are dumb enough to yell at the Judge. I also had to deal with scheduling and anyone who knows anything about attorneys knows that that is not an easy job either. They are often supposed to be in many different courts at the same time and always want their case moved. And they are ALWAYS in a hurry. I dealt with angry people and believe it or not, drunk people. It always amazed me that people could come to court under the influence, but it happened more then one might think. And I will tell you that I would take a drunk, angry defendant that has just been told he has to pay $1200.00 in fines and costs as well as serve 30 days in jail over a two year old in a grocery store. Or an infant just about anywhere. Or the same two year old WITH an infant.

Being a stay at home mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. The social isolation for stay at home moms is worse then I ever thought it would be. My husband works long hours to make ends meet. Our daughter had some health issues and that is why the decision was made for me to become a stay at home mom.. Nothing that serious, but enough to have me at home more then work most of the time anyway and that was not fair to my employer. Then just two weeks after I had happily quit my job and started to settle in with my then 14 month old daughter, I found out that I was pregnant with Baby #2. Quite a surprise. So I found myself home with a two year old and an infant who NEVER slept and a husband who was gone most of the time. And when he was home, did not want much to do with his very cranky stay at home mom/wife. ( I can hardly blame him). I found out that being stay at home mom is not all about smiling kids eating cookies and drinking milk after school. Its more about laundry and grocery shopping and more laundry and shuttling kids from soccer practice to Brownies to doctor appointments. Its about shouldering most of the household responsibilities and trying not to complain too much about the fact that my husband NEVER puts his dishes in the dishwasher and would it kill him just once to put his dirty clothes in the hamper?

Its also about being able to see the smiling faces as your children reach the many milestones in their lives. I was lucky enough to see their first steps and hear their first words and for all my complaining I would not trade that for a maid and a cook AND a nanny. At least not on most days.

So I am a little jealous of the women who get to shower first thing in the morning and go through their day clean and with their makeup on. But would I trade places with them? Not on most days. Most days I count my blessings and am grateful for every moment that I am lucky enough to be a stay at home mom.
Jennie Crawford is the stay at home mom of two small children. She is trying to make a living on the internet.

jennie crawford
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/stay-at-home-after-children-or-go-back-to-work-66601.html

Every day approximately 115 people die in car crashes. That’s one death every 13 seconds. Almost 3 million people are injured annually in auto accidents. And that’s just in the United States. Accidents happen for a variety of reasons, speeding, cell phone distraction, drinking or driving while under the influence of an illegal substance, driving while under the influence of a legal prescription narcotic medication, slippery surfaces, car part malfunction, falling asleep behind the wheel, and driver error. In nearly every case, an auto accident attorney should be contacted immediately.

Attorneys are able to evaluate a situation quickly, determine fault value and whether or not the fault lies with the other driver or with a car part failure or malfunction. In either case, an auto accident attorney can quickly advise you of your rights and your options. Any good attorney will explain, claiming damages due to an auto accident is far from a “free lunch.” The attorney will have to be able to prove that the other driver or the car part was responsible for the damage done in the accident.

Auto accident attorneys are a necessity in car accidents. It is far from uncommon for the driver at fault to distort details to prevent being the recipient of blame. An attorney can help you defend what isn’t true and provide you with support in determining the facts from fiction. Car accidents happen quickly, and the people involved are often emotionally distressed. Attorneys can be there to be sure that you are in a reasonable frame of mind before speaking to the police.

Auto accident attorneys will not facilitate lies. Thus if you have been involved in an accident and you were drinking, regardless of whether or not it was your fault, an attorney will not recommend that you deceive the police or anyone else for that matter. There is a common misconception that if you have behaved poorly or recklessly and caused an auto accident that somehow having an attorney present will prevent you from having to comply with the law.

Innocent victims are entitled to claim damages related to a car accident. With the help of a competent attorney, a victim is entitled for medical expenses, lost wages, and depending on the severity of the accident, pain and suffering compensation. Attorneys help thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of victims of intoxicated related accidents collect vast sums of money for the blatant inexcusable disregard for human safety. It can happen and not every auto accident is grounds for a lawsuit, but don’t dismiss your claim without consulting with a reputable attorney. An auto accident attorney can explain if your case meets the necessary qualifications for a lawsuit.

Very few attorneys will be able to be on scene right after an accident. Be sure to document the accident with photographs and as many witness statements as possible, collecting their names and phone numbers, to hand over to your attorney. In most cases, this information will be available from the police department, but providing your own accident documentation may in fact be more thorough. Your attorney will be able to advise you whether or not your documentation will be permissible in court.

Some auto accident attorneys will file a lawsuit based on emotional trauma when physical trauma is not present. This should only be done when the emotional trauma truly negatively impacts the victim’s life to a distressing degree for a period of time. Talk honestly with your attorney before deciding to file an emotional trauma based auto accident lawsuit.

Attorneys are there to see that innocent people do not have to be victims of someone else’s negligence or irreprehensible behavior. A serious car accident can complicate the victim’s life far beyond what most people understand. The job of an attorney is to assess a case, determine whether or not it fits the criteria for a claim, and then pursue the claim as aggressively as possible. There are good auto accident attorneys and then there are fabulous attorneys. It is vital that you know what type of attorney you are retaining when you hire one. An auto accident can leave emotional scars, but don’t allow emotion to cloud your judgment when hiring an attorney.

Nick Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/claiming-damages-due-to-an-auto-accident-123003.html

 For far too long, drunk driving in South Africa has largely been ignored by the authorities and has claimed literally thousands of lives of both drivers and pedestrians over the years. This season, however, the powers-to-be have beefed up their presence on the roads with positively resounding results – the casualties on South African roads have virtually halved.

With new innovative technology that has the ability to trace not only the amount of alcohol consumed but the use of illegal drugs as well, it should only be a matter of time together with concerted efforts by all concerned before the statistics plummet even further.

Fifty percent of dead drivers are over the limit

Although road users are clearly delighted at the zero tolerance approach to drunk driving, startling statistics reveal that as many as 50% of drivers who die on our roads are indeed above the legal limit (0.05 grams per 100 ml).

Figures posted by the Arrive Alive campaign for 2002 and 2003 indicate a marked increase of drivers driving while under the influence of alcohol – from 1.80% to 3.10%. In 2002, it was the North West Province that had the most culprits with as many as 4% driving drunk, but in 2003 Mpumalanga had the dubious honour of topping the list with 4.68%.

Road users in South Africa are far more vulnerable to drunk driving at night and the statistics for 2002 and 2003 make a drastic leap between the hours of 18h00 to 24h00 when as many as 5.50% of all drivers were found to be driving drunk in ’02 and 5.08% in 2003.

Sadly, the death toll has increased exponentially over the years with its only beneficiaries being the overworked car accident attorneys. A study conducted by the Medical Research Council of South Africa in 2004 indicated that more than half of the 570 drivers killed in accidents were over the legal limit, an unacceptable figure by anyone’s standards.

A drunk driver or pedestrian is killed every 2 hours on SA roads

To put things into sharp perspective, a drunk driver or pedestrian is killed on South African roads every two hours (figures for 2004 – 2006), with the most victims claimed in the Gauteng province, closely followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

A good car accident lawyer will advise you to avoid the local taxis, especially at night, and for very good reason. In 2005 the taxi industry cracked all records by becoming the most dangerous transportation sector, with 7.70% of drivers driving drunk at night. Interestingly enough, the drivers who are least likely to drive while inebriated are truck drivers.

Lavana James
http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/drunk-driving-statistics-735515.html

EA is IRS Enrolled Agent. What are tax attorneys looking for in paralegals who have little or no experience? Research skills? Tax preparation skills? EA skills? Also, if someone files bankruptcy, can he sit for the EA exam and become an EA?

Yes.

Right now attorneys are looking for the paralegal that they can pay the lowest wage to. The bottom line is driving everything right now. Reminder: We are still in a Recession.

EA is IRS Enrolled Agent. What are tax attorneys looking for in paralegals who have little or no experience? Research skills? Tax preparation skills? EA skills? Also, if someone files bankruptcy, can he sit for the EA exam and become an EA?

Yes.

Right now attorneys are looking for the paralegal that they can pay the lowest wage to. The bottom line is driving everything right now. Reminder: We are still in a Recession.