LawyersandSettlements.com receives a lot of inquiries asking whether or not it’s really necessary to obtain a lawyer if you’re trying to file a lawsuit. Pleading Ignorance is responding to all those questions and the answer is…yes, and no. But there’s a very simple and basic “litmus test” you can try to help you figure out what—or who—you need..
One way to help determine whether you’d benefit from having a lawyer is to consider how much is in it for you. Now, that might sound a bit opportunistic, and to some degree it is—but it’s also the reality of most personal injury lawsuits: someone’s been injured, someone caused the injury, and damages will be due. The question everyone wants the answer to is “how much?”
While you won’t be able to gauge exactly how much you might receive in damages—nor will anyone else until your case unfolds–you probably will have an estimate of what your out-of-pocket expenses have been for things like medical care, physical therapy, car repairs, lost wages…things like that. Once you add those up so you have a rough estimate (keeping in mind it will most likely not include everything you might be able seek damages for in an actual lawsuit), your next step is to visit your state’s Small Claims Court information center to find out what the maximum damages your state allows are—that’s the maximum you’d be allowed to recover in Small Claims Court.
If your expenses, as a result of the harm or injury done to you or your property, exceed your state’s maximum allowed damages in Small Claims Court, chances are you’ll need to consider a formal civil lawsuit, which in most instances will require a lawyer. Formal civil lawsuits need to follow civil procedure (i.e., “Rules of Civil Procedure”), and that process tends to be a bit (ok, a lot) more complicated for most folks. So if you’re seeking to recover damages that exceed what you’d potentially recover from Small Claims Court, an attorney can help you navigate the process and the filing of all the necessary forms and paperwork.
The following is a list of links for each state’s Small Claims Court information:
If after reviewing the expenses associated with your injury you conclude that the damages you’re seeking would be more than what your state Small Claims Court allows, you can submit a complaint for an attorney to review here.
For additional state legal news and information, visit our State Law Pages.
It’s a Catch-22. Law school enrollments have been declining—they’re reportedly down about 10 percent nationally in 2011, with some schools like Vermont Law School down 23.8 percent. Law schools, in order to drive enrollments, need to show that their post-graduate job placement rates are fairly high (Marketing 101).
But the economy is not exactly cooperating as it leaves newly minted attorneys loaded with debt and schlepping coffee orders at Starbucks. And that’s left some students with that WTF? feeling—after all, those published post-grad job placement rates (promises, promises) are looking rather bogus once that graduation cap is tossed in the air.
(Toss that law career, too!)
The cycle is nothing new—very textbook, if you’ll excuse the pun. But, let’s face it, it’s a scam that schools have been known to employ—not just law schools—to bolster enrollment. So while there has been at least one lawsuit filed, according to an AP report, against Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, looks like more are en route…
Two lawyers—David Anziska and Jesse Strauss—are hoping to put a reality check on the marketed outlook for law firm gigs post-graduation.
So far, they’ve filed two lawsuits in New York and Michigan alleging that New York Law School and Thomas Cooley Law School (MI) inflated their post-grad employment rates. Next up, 15 more law schools:
According to Anziska and Strauss, the above 15 schools individually reported post-grad employment rates in a range of 80-98 percent; along with an average debt per student of $108,829.40 (2009 graduates).
That’s more than some folks’ mortgages.
Figure in also that the National Association for Law Placement reported that only just over two-thirds of spring 2010 law grad had landed jobs requiring law licenses nine months post-graduation (source: AP).
And, the same report states that the national median salary for new 2010 law school grads dropped to $63k, down from $72k.
Sure makes the graduation party a bit less festive, and certainly makes the “80-98 percent” placement picture seem like b.s. (assuming, of course, that the 15 schools’ placement rates are in line with national averages, which, I’m guessing they are).
Times are tough, indeed. But having a bunch of eager, aspiring and, dare I say, impressionable lawyer wannabes ramp up their law school application process with visions of plum positions (partner!) in their heads is misleading at best, fraudulent at worst.
Anziska and Strauss are looking for lead plaintiffs. And somehow, I think they’ll find them.
Please, please—I beg of you—if you have the slightest iota of musical talent—or think you do—and you are a “legal resident of New York, USA” please head over to the Cellino and Barnes Facebook page (after, of course, you’ve “liked” the LawyersandSettlements.com FB page) and submit your own Cellino and Barnes jingle—it could net you $1,000 and a placement in one their ads!
If you need any incentive or if you should question my plea for help on this one, the above—click it to play—is their current jingle, which I have heard one too many times on 1010 WINS. Granted, it’s not as bad as listening to “HeadOn…Apply directly to the forehead…HeadOn…!” which has more of a Chinese water torture effect (not to mention HeadOn has potassium bichromate, which I’ve always questioned the efficacy and safety of—but I digress).
I kid you not. Here’s the deal, straight from Cellino and Barnes website:
“Enter to Win $1,000 and placement in one of our ads! Think you’ve got what it takes to create a winning jingle? Perfect! Just check out our Facebook Page and learn how to enter! Already a fan, simply click on our Welcome Tab!”
Read the rules and legal mumbo-jumbo on their FB page–it’s all there; they’re even out there tweeting this one. But please…
Do the NYC-metro listening area a favor. Start singing away and picking that guitar. It’s our only chance…
Chances are, none of the lawyers shown above is really comfortable with the title “hero”. And we usually reserve the honor for caped crusaders in tights or, joking aside, those who’ve shown incredibly selfless acts of courage in the face of devastating events. But for the individuals who were extended a helping hand during their own personal hour of need—often when everyone else had turned their backs on them—these attorneys are indeed truly heroes.
In each of our interviews with these attorneys, the majority shared this one quote with our senior legal correspondent, Brenda: “It’s the right thing to do.” If you’re wondering what that ‘thing’ is for each of them, click on their images above to find out. The legal practice areas they’ve chosen to champion and the causes they’ve chosen to support are as diverse as can be imagined—from Hurricane Katrina to children with special needs to the transgender community and even one that combines practicing with preaching.
We continue to be inspired by the pro bono stories we share in our Lawyers Giving Back columns. We hope you are, too.
If you know an attorney who ‘gives back’, let us know—we’d love to share their story as well. Drop us a line at .
FYI for lawyers…If you’re heading to the Southern Trial Lawyers Association (STLA) for the Mardi Gras Conference later this week, don’t forget to pack your beads and scan us ahead of time to have a member of our team contact you. We’re setting up interviews, too–so let us know if you’re interested in having one of our writers contact you…see you in NOLA…