What Are Some Characteristics That Make Up a Good Criminal Lawyer?

No one necessarily wants to be in a position where they have to seek legal counsel for any situation. When lawyers get involved, that's usually when things get ugly for some, if not all of the parties involved. If you are involved in a situation where you need representation from a good criminal lawyer, it helps to know what to look for in the best criminal lawyers.

Here are some very important qualities that you should look for before obtaining legal counsel:

Tenacity

A good criminal lawyer will never say die, they will be ever prepared to do what it takes to get the win. Long, long hours pouring over every little bit of information available - studying case files, interviewing witnesses and seeking new information that even the police haven't found are all things that your lawyer should be doing for you. If your lawyer is getting eight hours of sleep a night while representing you than he isn't doing enough to win the case and earn his fee.

Reputation

A good criminal lawyer will be known and recognized in the community, you will have heard their name and seen their face because they are ever determined to win and will want everyone in the community to know how hard they work. A good criminal lawyer's reputation for success will most certainly precede them.

Experience

Practicing law is a very tricky and difficult occupation, requiring thousands and thousands of hours of study and experience 'in the trenches' to truly perfect. You want a criminal lawyer that has dozens, or better yet hundreds, of cases under his or her belt. With every case tried a good lawyer will learn something that they didn't have up their sleeve before and you'll want the benefit of all of those tricks present in the lawyer that is going to be representing you. It's even better if the lawyer has a good bit of experience representing people in cases similar to yours - some will say that experience is experience, but there are some inherent pitfalls that come with trying certain cases and the more experience your lawyer has dealing with the actual specifics that he or she will encounter with your case, the better prepared her or she will be.

High Workload

If you call a lawyer to make an appointment and they tell you that they are available any day at any time, that is not a good sign. You want a lawyer that you have to fight to get an appointment with; because that means that they are working. An overly busy lawyer normally gets to be overly busy by winning cases, if a lawyer tells you that he has unlimited availability then they probably haven't done to well for themselves in the courtroom. It's much better to be squeezed in by a winning lawyer and give yourself the best chance of getting top quality representation than to choose your appointment time with a lawyer who's got too much time on his hands and set yourself up for defeat.

Local Office

You'll want a lawyer who's got a local office rather than someone from outside of the jurisdiction. A local lawyer will often have solid relationships with many of the judges and many of the prosecutors that you'll be appearing before. If your case happens to be one of the many that will be pleaded out to avoid trial, than those close knit relationships with the judges and the prosecution could come in very, very handy in your particular case.

Depending on your case, your choice of legal representation could very well be a life altering decision. Don't pick blindly from the phone book, do all of the appropriate and necessary research to ensure that you are getting the best possible representation that you can afford for your particular case because that's the only way that you'll truly be able to feel confident going into the trial.

DUI defense attorney Fort Lauderdale provides criminal defense services to individuals charged with DUI. Criminal Attorney Fort Lauderdale also provides expertise in defending people charged with domestic violence and drug related offenses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nutt

Know Your Options If You Are a Victim of Medical Malpractice

Knowing what to do, much less what to look for when you're confronted with medical malpractice can be a real conundrum for those people not very familiar with medical issues.

Strictly speaking, the legal definition for medical malpractice states that it is "...professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury to the patient." This can include improper, unskilled, or negligent treatment of a patient under the treatment of a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional. The standards and regulations for medical malpractice have been found to be different by country and jurisdiction within countries.

If you feel that you or a loved one is suffering due to mistreatments or mis-diagnosis from medical malpractice, there are some specific steps that you can take. First of all, try to educate yourself as much as you can about the condition you're suffering from. You can find this information online, or through other avenues, like the public library, where you can access medical definitions. Make sure you understand just exactly what each term or medical phrase that your doctor uses is, so that is completely comprehensible to you as a non-medical professional.

The next step is to research just exactly where what would be considered to be the "standard of care", which is concerned with the type of medical care that a physician is expected to provide in light of each particular condition the patient is suffering from. If the patient receives care or treatment that differs significantly from the standard, then there's a good possibility that you may be dealing with medical malpractice.

If this is indeed the case, make absolutely sure that you take copious amounts of notes, including the date, time, type of treatment received, and most importantly the name of the health care professional who is responsible for this treatment. Be as detailed as you possibly can, and even if you don't know the correct spellings of the drugs or procedures used in the treatment, spell it out as closely as you can in a form of phonetic script (for example, someone who might not know the proper spelling of "carburetor" spell it out as "kar-burr-ay-ter") and look up the proper spelling at a later time. In the instance where legal action might be taken, this will prove to be invaluable for legal professionals who might be working on your behalf.

In recent years, specific rules known as the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act" (HIPAA) were enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. Even though HIPAA requires that patients be able to access their medical records, it doesn't say just how this access is to be given. As a result, the majority of patients have to go to the medical records departments of doctor offices and hospitals to get paper copies of their charts at whatever cost the caregiver wishes to charge. HIPAA's complexity in combination with the potential of stiff penalties for violations can cause doctors and clinics to keep information from people who might have a right to see it, and there have been cases where certain institutions guilty of medical malpractice find ways to hide this potentially damaging information from the client.

Someone who alleges they are the victim of negligent medical malpractice has to legally prove four elements in a court of law. These four elements are: (1) that a duty of care was owed by the physician; (2) the physician violated the applicable standard of care which is determined by others in the medical profession; (3) the patient suffered a compensable injury; and (4) the injury was caused in fact and proximately caused by the substandard conduct. The burden of proving these elements is always on the plaintiff in a malpractice lawsuit.

For more insights and additional information about Medical Malpractice as well as finding additional resources to help you with your case, please visit our web site at http://www.malpracticeinfonow.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Arnold

A Car Accident Lawyer and Attorney

Being involved in a car accident can be a very stressful situation. Not only is there the possible lost of an expensive vehicle, but the risk of injury of yourself or others involved is also present. Injury is not always physical, either. Emotional and mental injury can last for a long time after a traumatic event. Insurance companies are available to offer some compensation, but many times they will not provide as much as possible, or as much as a person deserves. Also, if the experience was traumatic, causing that mental or emotional injury, insurance companies will not be able to compensate for that. One way that a person can obtain what they deserve, however, is through a car accident lawyer. This is a relatively specific type of lawyer; one who specializes in car accident cases.

A car accident lawyer will know what to look for while wading through the large amounts of information that accompanies car accident cases. Their job is to make the incident as beneficial to a client as possible, obtaining adequate compensation and keeping future insurance costs low. An experienced lawyer will know how to negotiate with the insurance company, build your case, and if needed, take the case to trail. Insurance companies will not want to pay as much as you deserve many times, so a lawyer is important to obtain.

The lawyer has a wide variety of tasks once hired. Some of these include evaluating the case, computing the amount of possible financial recoveries, preparing the case for formal filing to the insurance company, completing all the paper work needed, attending scheduled hearings to present evidence, and gathering evidence such as witness statements, medical records, and police reports. If a claim was rejected, he or she will know when and how to file an appeal in court as well. A lawyer is there to defend you and to make sure that your rights are protected and upheld.

If one tries to take these situations into their own hands, the amount of information and procedure could become overwhelming. These cases often must be formed within a certain timeframe, so there is not a lot of time to waste. A good lawyer will have experience in these types of cases and will know what to do immediately. This will save time, money, and a lot of mental anguish.

When selecting a lawyer that will be beneficial to your case, there are a few general guidelines one should follow. Start out by forming a list of various lawyers and law firms that handle cases like the one in question. A lawyer's background and track record may be available, and it would be beneficial to examine in order to see how he/she fared in similar cases in the past. Talking to other people who have hired lawyers would also be helpful to get an idea of how they handle cases. It is good to find out how the law firms charge clients, as well, since one benefit of hiring a lawyer is to save money overall. One of the most important factors when choosing a lawyer, however, deals with communication. You have to believe that the lawyer is determined to obtain the best possible outcome. This will open good communication lines and create a working relationship with the lawyer, both of which will be vital keys to success.

The information you obtain from this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

A local law firm can provide a car accident lawyer and attorney in Rochester MN and specialize as a car accident attorney or lawyer.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/a-car-accident-lawyer-and-attorney-480055.html

Find a Local Accident Injury Attorney For Free

Have you or someone you know been injured, received injuries in an auto accident, or been adversely affected by a personal injury; described as any harm caused to a person such as, a broken bone, a cut, or a bruise, an invasion of a personal right, including mental suffering and also being subject to false imprisonment? Fortunately, you or your loved ones may be legally entitled to compensation for injuries received. Find out how to claim through a personal injury attorney.

If you've received injuries through an accident then you may be entitled to a personal injury claim. Filing your claim on your own can be fraught with many legal difficulties and if you don't complete the legally required Personal Injury Claim Form correctly you will either end up with a lot less money than you expect and rightfully deserve, or even worse receive no personal injury compensation whatsoever, thus declined.

Another important consideration maybe your convalescing suggested you needed to take time off work to recuperate or convalesce to recover at home or hospital. Many recovering patients consider the the time relevant for the healing process can be a financial burden, or even a financial nightmare, finding that its financially impossible to recuperate at home sufficiently in order to recover full health and vigour. This often results in the injury not healing sufficiently and prematurely returning to work in an unhealthy physical and psychological state of mind and susceptible to further injuries through more work related accidents and painful falls.

Whether your injury was received in a road traffic accident or while walking on the pavement/sidewalk, or receiving injuries as a result of personal attack from human or animal origin, you should instigate a personal injury claim so as to alert local authorities or police department to the dangerous issues which need urgent attention.

Filing a personal injury claim confirms your injuries will need to be assessed by a medical assessment expert its then necessary to forward a Letter of Claim to the Agency involved to inform them of your personal injury Claim intentions concerning rightful compensation for the harm caused. this issue will be decided by the Courts and their final decision may be Appealed against.

It can be extremely problematic to conduct these legal procedures yourself, unless you are fortunate to be qualified University level at law studies. By appointing a personal injury attorney at law, personal injury lawyer who specialises in personal injury claims, you can be reassured that your very important claim is handled by an expert and experienced professional attorney who is regulated by the Law Society of the residing Nation.

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I am a mature family orientated male living a traditional family lifestyle. I have worked in various employment positions and the current position is in a Youth Offending Team as Project Manager of an extremely busy City Youth Offending Team, thus providing needs based supportive packages - education, leisure, befriending and support, to disenfranchised and socially excluded young people... http://www.completeattorneyindex.com Check out the Local Accident Injury Attorney Search Directory...

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/find-a-local-accident-injury-attorney-for-free-723569.html

Find a Local Accident Injury Attorney For Free

Have you or someone you know been injured, received injuries in an auto accident, or been adversely affected by a personal injury; described as any harm caused to a person such as, a broken bone, a cut, or a bruise, an invasion of a personal right, including mental suffering and also being subject to false imprisonment? Fortunately, you or your loved ones may be legally entitled to compensation for injuries received. Find out how to claim through a personal injury attorney.

If you've received injuries through an accident then you may be entitled to a personal injury claim. Filing your claim on your own can be fraught with many legal difficulties and if you don't complete the legally required Personal Injury Claim Form correctly you will either end up with a lot less money than you expect and rightfully deserve, or even worse receive no personal injury compensation whatsoever, thus declined.

Another important consideration maybe your convalescing suggested you needed to take time off work to recuperate or convalesce to recover at home or hospital. Many recovering patients consider the the time relevant for the healing process can be a financial burden, or even a financial nightmare, finding that its financially impossible to recuperate at home sufficiently in order to recover full health and vigour. This often results in the injury not healing sufficiently and prematurely returning to work in an unhealthy physical and psychological state of mind and susceptible to further injuries through more work related accidents and painful falls.

Whether your injury was received in a road traffic accident or while walking on the pavement/sidewalk, or receiving injuries as a result of personal attack from human or animal origin, you should instigate a personal injury claim so as to alert local authorities or police department to the dangerous issues which need urgent attention.

Filing a personal injury claim confirms your injuries will need to be assessed by a medical assessment expert its then necessary to forward a Letter of Claim to the Agency involved to inform them of your personal injury Claim intentions concerning rightful compensation for the harm caused. this issue will be decided by the Courts and their final decision may be Appealed against.

It can be extremely problematic to conduct these legal procedures yourself, unless you are fortunate to be qualified University level at law studies. By appointing a personal injury attorney at law, personal injury lawyer who specialises in personal injury claims, you can be reassured that your very important claim is handled by an expert and experienced professional attorney who is regulated by the Law Society of the residing Nation.

Complete Attorney Index is a free regularly updated, US directory of thousands of highly experienced local injury attorneys at law and personal injury lawyers who consult people like you, often free of charge. Free Nation Wide Search...

Excellent resource, completely free and intensively independent search directory. Without doubt the most freely available and regularly updated local accident attorney, accident lawyer directory on the internet today. Complete attorney index US local injury attorney, injury lawyer database is regularly updated. This injury attorney, accident local law firms search facility provides an essential search facility of accident law firms, accident injury within your local area. The search injury attorney accident lawyer directory provides the potential client the intense absolute priority of an independent and unbiased, yet a free efficient, effective and needs led service. I honestly believe complete attorney index accident attorney, accident lawyer search facility have accomplished the perfect local law firm with the essential criteria of absolute independence and unbiased selection local injury attorneys, local injury lawyers that protect your freedom of choice. Excellent Resource and unequalled anywhere on the internet.

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I am a mature family orientated male living a traditional family lifestyle. I have worked in various employment positions and the current position is in a Youth Offending Team as Project Manager of an extremely busy City Youth Offending Team, thus providing needs based supportive packages - education, leisure, befriending and support, to disenfranchised and socially excluded young people... http://www.completeattorneyindex.com Check out the Local Accident Injury Attorney Search Directory...

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/find-a-local-accident-injury-attorney-for-free-723569.html