As practicing attorneys, we are aware of websites like legalzoom, rocketforms, and other similar sites. These sites encourage people to use them in order to save money rather than hiring a flesh and blood attorney. Using these sites can cost you more than you save. What people don’t realize is that part of the fees a lawyer charges is to speak to you and learn about what you are trying to accomplish. Websites offer forms, not advice. If you feel comfortable drafting your estate documents, corporate documents, and other important matters without an attorney’s advice, you may want to use a website’s forms. However, if you want to understand what your document says and if you want to understand what you are doing, you need to hire a lawyer and discuss your legal matters with them. Websites are great for general information, but rarely give sound legal advice that meets everyone’s specific needs.
How to Find and Choose a Lawyer
There are over 9,000 lawyers in the State of South Carolina. If you are in need of a lawyer, how do you decide which one is best for you?
Although there is not a single answer to this question, there are various factors and considerations you should give when hiring a lawyer.
AREA OF LAW
What type of case do you have? Are you in need of a divorce attorney? If so you do not want to hire a lawyer who only handles tax law.
Lawyers are much like doctors. They have their different areas that they practice. Make sure the lawyer you hire has handled they type of case that you have.
COST
Many people hire an attorney based on cost alone. An attorney is not like an Ipad. They are all different. You can hire a cheap lawyer. There
are tons of cheap lawyers. Guess what? Those lawyers are starving and need to take a lot of cases to survive. Everyone has the same amount of time in the day. Who do you think can give your case the attention it deserves? The attorney who charges you $300 for your divorce and who must have hundreds of cases just to pay his bills, or the attorney whose services come at a premium and has fewer clients? You do get what you pay for when you hire an attorney. Do you want service, competence, and results; or do you just want a lawyer?
EXPERIENCE, REFERRALS, and RATINGS
Again, not all attorneys are equal. Do some homework. Look at their website. Go to www.lawyers.com and see if your lawyer has a rating. Lawyers.com is owned by Martindale-Hubbell. They spend a lot of money researching lawyers and surveying other attorneys in
order to give a lawyer a rating. You may want to hire a lawyer with a rating of AV or BV. Both ratings are excellent. Also, look at Avvo.com to see if your lawyer has any comments from past clients.
How long has your lawyer been practicing? A lawyer practicing for 25 years is not automatically better than a lawyer practicing for 20 years.
However, an attorney just out of law school will not have the same experience as an attorney who has been practicing for 10 years.
Has your lawyer ever argued in front of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals? Preparing and presenting a case before either of these courts is a
big deal. It takes an enormous amount of time to get ready for an argument. Not many attorneys have argued before either of these courts, less have argued successfully in front of them. Ask your attorney if he has ever presented a case in front of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals? Presenting just one case in front of each brings a lot of experience to an attorney and having more than one is ideal.
Being involved in an automobile accident is a very frustrating experience. Dealing with the insurance company alone can make this experience even worse.
When you are involved in a wreck, you are entitled to compensation for the damages to your vehicle, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
In most cases, the insurance company represents the other individual involved in the wreck. It is important for you to have legal representation to ensure you are adequately compensated for your loss.
Obtaining a personal injury settlement often takes time. The injured party must be released from medical treatment before moving forward. You then have to request all medical records and medical bills before making a demand to the insurance company’s adjuster.
Personal injury attorneys generally get paid a certain percentage of the settlement proceeds. The attorney also has to satisfy any medical liens out of the settlement proceeds. The remainder of the settlement is then distributed to the injured person.
At Turner & Burney, we offer free consultations for personal injury cases. There are also no attorney’s fees unless we are successful in obtaining compensation for you. Clients are generally responsible for any costs associated with the case, but these costs also come out of any settlement or monetary award reached on the client’s behalf.
Standard Visitation in South Carolina
What is Standard Child Visitation?
Any time a person is involved in a child custody action, visitation for the other parent is an issue. You will hear an attorney and probably a judge talk about standard visitation. So, what is standard visitation? For the most part, standard visitation usually means that the visiting parent will be able to visit with their child/children every other weekend from Friday at 6:00 pm until Sunday at 6:00 pm and one evening during the week every other week. Standard visitation also calls for the parents to alternate major holidays and allows for extended visitation during the summer. Some family court judges have even developed their own visitation which other judges have adopted as standard visitation. We have attached Judge Brown’s Standard Visitation and Judge Johnson’s Standard Visitation so you can see in detail what to expect if a judge orders standard visitation.
Calculating Child Support in South Carolina
Client’s often ask, “How much will child support be?” Child Support in South Carolina is generally calculated using a formula set by State law. The law is often called the South Carolina Child Support Guidelines or the Child Support Guidelines for short. The Family Court determines the amount someone must pay for child support based upon the mother and father’s gross income, the amount of daycare expenses being paid, the cost of medical insurance for the child, the number of other children in the home, and any other child support obligation being paid by a parent. Please follow this link for a South Carolina Child Support Calculator. http://www.state.sc.us/dss/csed/calculator.htm
Be the Jury
The below recited case is an actual pending case. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the parties. To participate in our online jury carefully read the facts and arguments below and then render your verdict and answer the questions at the end of the case. Each week on of our online jurors will receive a $100 gift certificate, randomly selected. We purposely withhold information as to which party we represent in order to reduce the possibility that your verdict will be influenced in any way. Thank you for participating.
No cases currently pending for “Be the Jury”. Check back later. Thank you.
