750

Latest calculated numbers percentages

1%

Good lawyers can lose, and great lawyers lose more often. Lawyers who say: “I have never lost a trial” haven’t had many trials—or at least not many tough trials. Taking only the easy cases to trial is not being a good lawyer. In fact, easy cases don’t go to trial most of the time because they settle.

In California, visit www.calbar.org, in the Attorney Search box just type in the lawyer’s name and you’ll find out the status of their license to practice law, as well as any disciplinary action taken against them.

Yes, some lawyers lie, cheat and deceive their clients. But they are the exception, and an embarrassment to most lawyers.

Most contingency fee agreements give the lawyer a percentage of between 33 and 40 percent, but you can always try to negotiate a reduced percentage or alternative agreement. In the majority of cases, a personal injury lawyer will receive 33 percent (or one third) of any settlement or award.

Thankfully, most lawyers don’t steal. Only a small fraction of one percent do. For their clients, however, collecting could be difficult. In Florida, the Florida Supreme Court disbarred a Daytona Beach attorney for stealing money from his client trust account.

If the case doesn’t settle during a settlement negotiation, anything that was said during those negotiations remains privileged. The court noted that although settlement negotiations are confidential, the lawyers are not allowed to lie.

5 Smart Things To Do With Your Settlement Money

1. Double-check the facts about tax. Before you finalize any settlement, it’s always best to get advice on tax.
2. Consider hiring a financial advisor.
3. Boost your savings.
4. Pay off debt.
5. Invest.

The Rules of Professional Responsibility encourage attorneys to work with clients until their legal matter is completely resolved. If your lawyer does withdraw from the case, he or she must inform you and the court. However, the court may refuse an attorney’s request and order him or her to continue to represent you.

If you think your attorney has acted unethically You may also call the State Bar at 800-843-9053 (in California) or 213-765-1200 (outside California) to discuss the complaint-filing process.

Dear [Name of Attorney], I am writing to officially notify you that I am terminating your services immediately. This is because {reason(s) for terminating the representation}.

No. A defense attorney has an ethical obligation to zealously defend his client (within the law), whether innocent or guilty. If the attorney knows the client is guilty (perhaps the client confessed to the attorney), then the attorney’s job is still to make the State prove it.

The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct states that a lawyer “shall not knowingly make a false statement of material fact.” In other words, lawyers aren’t supposed to lie–and they can be disciplined or even disbarred for doing so.

The answer is still NO!.. It is because, even if you are 99% sure that your client is guilty, there is still that 1% that he could not be guilty. Lawyers will keep defending their client, because who knows, that 1% could still turn the tables around.

When a lawyer has actual knowledge that a client has committed perjury or submitted false evidence, the lawyer’s first duty is to remonstrate with the client in an effort to convince the client to voluntarily correct the perjured testimony or false evidence.