Legal Research Librarian for Information Technology and Scholarly Communications Law Library at the University of California Berkeley, School of Law Associate Librarian VI, $66,492 – Librarian IV, $91,140 (annual salary, 11 month basis) Overview of Responsibilities: Under the general direction…
Posts Tagged ‘basis’
How Does California DMV Treat a Failure to Appear? Here is the Law.
21
Sep
How Does DMV Treat a Failure to Appear on a traffic ticket? The law allows an FTA conviction to show on your record and can become the basis of a “Negligent Driver” suspension. Continue reading
Paradigm Shift Ignored: On Reasons Why Law Schools Admit So Many Students When Their Employment Prospects are So Dismal
05
Jul
Commenting on the EMSI estimate of the surplus of law school grads on a state-by-state basis which was reported on LLB at Cut the Glut: State-by-State Empirical Labor Market Model for Law School Grads, in The Coming Crunch for Law…
Sixth Circuit Upholds the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act
29
Jun
From the opinion: Congress had a rational basis for concluding that, in the aggregate, the practice of self-insuring for the cost of health care substantially affects interstate commerce. Furthermore, Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the minimum coverage…
How to Make Offers of Proof
31
May
| From the Jurisdictionary Evidence Tutorial …
If you begin to offer evidence and, before you can get it before the court, the other side objects and the court sustains the objection, you must move the court to allow you to make clear on the record what the evidence was. This is called an offer of proof. If you don’t get your evidence in and don’t offer the proof, you’ll have nothing to appeal if the court rules against you. You won’t be able to win on appeal, because the record for the appellate court to review will not show what the evidence would have been! Therefore, when your attempt to get evidence in is prevented by the court’s sustaining the other side’s objection, be sure to make an offer of proof stating what the evidence would have been and what you intended to prove by it. Then, if an appeal must be taken to the higher court on the basis that you were not allowed to get the evidence in, you’ll have a record to show what the evidence was (or would have been) and be able to argue that “but for” the excluded evidence you would have won … or, at least, that you should be given another chance on remand to the trial court with instructions from the appellate court! In jury trials, offers of proof should be made outside the hearing of the jury. In some cases an offer of proof may be made at the bench, but if you make your offer of proof at the bench, make certain the court reporter comes over to the bench along with his or her recording device to take down every word you, the judge, and other side say! No record = no appeal possible. No appeal possible = judge free to rule as he chooses! Not good.
To learn more about offers of proof, evidence, motions, hearings, pleadings, witness testimony, and other essential know-how you must have to win in court (with or without a lawyer), discover the easy-to-learn methods I teach in my affordable step-by-step official Jurisdictionary self-help course). I’ve been working 25 years as a case-winning lawyer. Accept no substitutes!
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How Much is Legal Advice Worth?
25
May
One of the winners of TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon is a new, yet to be launched, legal document web site called, Docracy, The idea is that members will contribute their legal documents to an open source site so that there would be a basis for comparison between "open source" documents and the document that the member needs for their business. The theory is that by comparing documents, with the document that the member has on hand, there would be a basis for comparison, resulting in an informed decision, without the cost or benefit of legal advice.
In this model, legal advice from an attorney is worth zero. The model is designed to eliminate the attorney from the transaction.
The idea was developed by mobile app developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson ,from Larva Labs, who were faced with signing an NDA with a client and were unsure of some of the terms and concluded that the cost of legal advice was either unnecessary or prohibitive.
This is another example of the resentment that the average consumer and small business person has towards the legal profession resulting in the rise of non-lawyer legal form web sites such as LegalZoom.
Another example of an open source legal document repository is Docstoc which we have used as a research source. It is useful for us, because as lawyers we understand what we are reading. I think simply accessing raw documents as a consumer would be a daunting exercise, although I am sure that many consumers and small business use the site.
The problem with any legal document web site as a source for creating binding legal documents is that the use of a particular clause may be rooted in case law in a particular jurisdiction.
Without understanding all of the implications of using particular language in an agreement, the "non-lawyer" moves into a danger zone, because he or she has no idea what they are signing.
A better alternative is a "self-help" book from Nolo that contains both legal forms and explanations of the implications of each clause, but that often involves reading and understanding a 300 page book, which is beyond the attention span of most consumers.
Another solution is an automated document with extensive help screens that explain the implications of choosing one clause over the other.
A third alternative, is to purchase "unbundled and limited legal services" from an on-line law firm for a fixed price with legal advice bundled into the transaction. In that case you get a certain level of accountability and guarantee that the legal advice is correct for the user’s individual situation.
See for example the firms listed at DirectLaw’s legal document portal , where you can access legal forms for free, or forms bundled with legal advice for a fixed fee.
You don’t get legal advice from a legal forms web site or a LegalZoom for that matter, which can be a major limitation depending on the complexity of the document or the transaction. Without annotations that explain the significance of particular language in an agreement, the non-lawyer is stumbling around in the dark.
Nevertheless, I don’t doubt that consumers and small business will find this a popular site, despite its limitations. Caveat emptor!
Confessions of a Lawyer
08
Oct
A lot of people think that law school teaches everything there is to know about being a lawyer. In truth, almost everything practical I learned about being a lawyer, I learned in practice after I graduated. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t knock my law school experience. Law school taught me critical thinking skills that I use on a daily basis. But most of what I learned about the nuts and bolts of practicing law I didn’t get sitting in a class room. Also thought me to have a estate lawyer near me, because there is always some problems with properties.
Law school can’t possibly teach all you need to know. There are so many unique issues in legal practice, so many variations from one jurisdiction to the next, so many local rules, so many differences in the way different court rooms operate. So when a new issue comes my way that I don’t know how to deal with, what do I do? How do I get started?
I research. I read. I ask around. As a lawyer getting started (and even to this day), I spent time in the library (both law library and public library) and online. I always find myself asking fellow lawyers what to do about situations. This is not a bad thing. Any lawyer who doesn’t do these things is committing malpractice.
I find that one of the best ways to familiarize myself with an area of the law is to use quality legal self-help materials. These are practical guides that teach about legal issues. These guides won’t teach you everything. You also have to review relevant statutes, case law, and local rules that apply to your case, but it is certainly a great place to start.
Nolo is a great resource for legal self-help materials that I have used on numerous occasions. Link to them below to see if they have materials for your legal issue.
The Unbundling of Legal Services
04
Oct
What can you do if you have a legal issue for which you cannot afford to retain a lawyer (but you do have some money) or you feel the issue is simple enough for you to handle on your own, but you need a little guidance? Perhaps you would like to use a lawyer for certain parts of your case such as:
- To provide advice, information about the law, procedures to follow;
- Completing crucial forms;
- Review forms you prepared;
- Conducting legal research; or
- Representation at critical court hearings (perhaps you want to represent yourself to reach a settlement but want a lawyer in case the case goes to trial).
A lawyer providing limited representation for a client must follow Rule 1.2 division (c) of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct which states:
“A lawyer may limit the scope of a new or existing representation if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and communicated to the client, preferably in writing.”
So as long as the limited representation is reasonable under the circumstances and preferably in writing, then it is allowable. However, many lawyers are still reluctant to enter into such agreements. Some find it difficult to communicate the limitations and fear misunderstandings with the client. Some are busy enough representing clients on a full-time basis that they don’t need to engage in limited representation. Others are just traditionalists and historically, this was not how legal services were rendered. Some attorneys will provide limited representation as long as it does not involve appearing in court. It is difficult to start handling a matter without knowing what previously happened in court. Also, once an attorney makes an appearance in court, the court must approve a subsequent withdrawal.
This should not stop you from inquiring about a limited representation arrangement if you feel it is right for you in your situation. This site’s administrator, Jason Kasunick, is an Ohio attorney who does engage in limited representation arrangements under the right circumstances. Please feel free to contact him at (216) 245-7375 or through the email form on the Contact Us page to learn more.
