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Word of mouth and/or a referral from a lawyer you know already is worth infinitely more than a referral from the law society/bar association. I'm sure it depends on your jurisdiction, but here all you need to get listed as an expert in a field of law is to fill out a form listing your "specialties" and be an actual lawyer.
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Sep 15, 2013 01:23
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IAmNotYourRealDad posted:My question here is: are there any tips/questions I can ask that would assist me during a 30 minute consultation so that I might find a lawyer more suited to my needs? I am not sure what I'm looking for [in a lawyer] exactly other than expertise in Family Law and somebody who actually 'gets' me and my situation. It sounds like your first lawyer misunderstood your final result desired. What you're looking for is a scorched-earth lawyer. Ask the referral lawyer the top two layers he or she would hire if he or she was having an acrimonious, knock-down drag-out divorce. Ask the referred-to lawyers the same question. Go with who gets the most mentions. Be warned that to tip the applicable law from 'best interests of the child' to 'legally gently caress over that goddamned son-of-a-bitch' is going to take a lot of money and a lot of time.
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Sep 15, 2013 03:41
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IAmNotYourRealDad posted:So. I have been in a battle with a seriously douchey EX in court in regards to child support, custody, and visitation rights. Last year said douchey EX and I more or less came to a legal agreement, but as circumstances have changed, there are still some changes that I feel need to be made to the agreement. 'More or less' or did? That's important right from the start. Also don't do this. Everyone has seen this story a million times and it always ends horribly. So you had a bad divorce? It happens. Suck it up and move on. I don't care what your Ex did, if they aren't in prison or haven't been physically abusing you then you aren't getting sole legal custody and you don't get to cut one set of your child's grandparents out of their life. You will never get a settlement based on 'your' needs, your child's will come first and then yours and your Ex's will be balanced fairly. Everything you've written gives off the vibe of being the bitter divorcee who wants the world to validate how horrible and unfair the breakup of your relationship was and is outraged when it turns out nobody cares. By all means seek a legal referral, but don't go in expecting great things. You didn't say where you are but my advice is good for everywhere.
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Sep 15, 2013 10:58
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Alchenar posted:'More or less' or did? That's important right from the start. We have a legal agreement. I am unhappy with it. It would seem that I'm not explaining myself well enough. Never married EX. He had abandoned my daughter and I for years (there was a two year gap where we had zero contact because he went MIA) and we had no agreement in that time. When I began a new relationship with my now husband, the EX came into our lives and he has been trying to make us miserable. He is controlling and verbally/emotionally abusive and I don't want any contact with him. He continues to misconstrue our agreement and throws tantrums which cause me a great deal of stress. I don't even know what my options are at this point. I've posted in E/N and was encouraged to come here and post. [For reference, here is the link: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3565804] The thing about the grandparents is a-whole-nother ball game. I am definitely not trying to cut them out of her/our lives. I am sorry for not being able to articulate what I even want right now, so let's just start over: How would I go about hiring a lawyer? What are good questions to ask in the process? What information would be helpful during a consultation for a Family Lawyer (like, for instance, should I bring all of my documentation that I have compiled against the EX? Or should I just go in and listen and take notes or whatever?)? I also need to be able to explain what I am looking for and what I am trying to change. I am just so overwhelmed at this point and really don't even know where to start aside from what people tell me time and time again when I come-a-whining: get a new lawyer.
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Sep 15, 2013 12:17
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IAmNotYourRealDad posted:We have a legal agreement. I am unhappy with it. Ok, I apologise for the last post. Your situation is somewhat different (although I do wish E/N would stop leaking to this thread. If you read back you'll find it happens every so often and hardly ever ends well). You are getting a legal referral. Given you are going to talk to a lawyer competent in your jurisdiction there's really nothing more we can add for you. I will however warn you that opening up a settled agreement is very difficult. It pains me to say this because I hate encouraging this kind of behaviour, but what you need to talk about with your new lawyer in consultation is not just the possibility of changing the settlement, but on the basis on the current settlement to what extend you are permitted to be difficult when your Ex pulls the things you write about in your post.
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Sep 15, 2013 12:31
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Can the estate of someone who would have received benefit from a class action settlement receive said benefits?
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Sep 18, 2013 21:45
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Alchenar posted:Ok, I apologise for the last post. Your situation is somewhat different (although I do wish E/N would stop leaking to this thread. If you read back you'll find it happens every so often and hardly ever ends well). You are getting a legal referral. Given you are going to talk to a lawyer competent in your jurisdiction there's really nothing more we can add for you. I will however warn you that opening up a settled agreement is very difficult. This is correct. To add to it: Make sure that you're comfortable with whatever lawyer you end up working with. Don't automatically go with the first attorney you speak to. If you get along well, great, but you can get a consultation with two or three attorneys first. You don't have to know exactly what you want going in, but the attorney should be able to distinguish reasonable goals (changing custody arrangements, altering visitation time) from impossible ones (terminating parental rights, ending parent time altogether), should be able to walk you through the process, etc. That said, you should spend some time beforehand thinking about what you want for your child. You don't need to bring everything with you all at once, but it might be helpful to bring it. Or at least have it in the car so you can grab it (I have no idea how much crap you have on this). If you have the specific legal agreement, definitely bring that. i.e. a divorce decree, custody or support agreements, alimony agreements, etc. Anything the court has sent you. A summary timeline of dates and major events would also be helpful. Putting these together is a tangible task you can do that'll let you focus on discrete actions, rather than being overwhelmed. (When scheduling your consultations, you can also ask the attorney/their secretary what they'd like you to bring)
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Sep 18, 2013 22:04
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In search of a little consult.. I live in Los Angeles, CA. Here's my story: Amazon has two membership levels, Amazon Prime (AP henceforth) and Amazon Prime Fresh (APF henceforth). Earlier in the year AP members in certain areas got the opportunity to sign up for a free trial of the new APF membership. The trial lasts for approximately three months. Amazon offered users the ability to opt out of having their account upgraded and payment methods charged from any time after starting the trial to the end of the trial period. I made sure and double checked that I completed this process two weeks before my trial's end date. Today I received two emails. The first stating that my AP membership had been cancelled and a second that welcomed me to an APF membership. I confirm via my checking account that I had been charged for the service. I immediately opened a chat session with Amazon support. The chat session, which I have saved, involved an admission of the mistake, a statement that this incident has been happening to other users and that I would need to talk to someone over the phone. The phone conversation also included the same admission of the mistake, a mention of the problem not only being with me, and resulted in the initiation of a process of having the issue corrected and money refunded to my checking account. I inquired about possible overdraft fees that may incur on my checking account as a result of the mistake as I have many transactions coming and going through that account. The representative informed me that there is another formal process involving the financial institutions (Amazon and my bank) will have to undergo to have that settled. I received a "confirmation" email approximately two hours after the phone conversation that includes the following lines: 'As we discussed, I have set an official follow-up to have this refunded. I will contact you back via e-mail when this has been done.' 'In regards to the overdraft fees, I have forwarded this information to our Billing Team who will be contacting you with further information.' I am not satisfied with this resolve as it stands and I undoubtedly will wish to pursue more in terms of damages than they may be prepared to pay. Is there anything I can do at this point? Do I have ground to stand on to pursue compensation? etanmaet fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Sep 19, 2013 |
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Sep 19, 2013 07:34
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etanmaet posted:I am not satisfied with this resolve as it stands and I undoubtedly will wish to pursue more in terms of damages than they may be prepared to pay. What exactly would your damages be outside of the extra money they took and them refunding any (actual not potential) fees caused by this?
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Sep 19, 2013 08:15
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This is a car/impounding related question in California. Yesterday my car was mistakenly towed by the city (my car is new and has no plates yet, but has temporary registration in the window, and was towed because a police officer failed to see the temporary registration in the window and assumed the car had no registration. Both the police department and the towing company admitted to me that this was a mistake, did not charge me any fees, and released my vehicle to me the same day.) Today, my car started up but would not accelerate, idle, or go anywhere. I got it towed to a mechanic. They told me that my car is experiencing transmission problems consistent with improper towing. Can I get the towing company or the city or whoever's liable to reimburse me for the repairs? Or does this vary depending upon the city/towing company? If it is possible to get them to pay for the damage they did to my vehicle, what would be the best way to go about it? That is, should I just go to the towing place and be like, "hey, you hosed up my car, here is proof," or do I need to get some kind of court situation involved?
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Sep 19, 2013 08:24
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etanmaet posted:Is there anything I can do at this point? Do I have ground to stand on to pursue damages? Nope, not really. It's not clear what your damages would be, plus the terms and conditions you probably accepted almost definitely severely limit amazon's liability and probably your right to sue. That's probably for the best, as you don't really want to file a lawsuit against a company as big as amazon.
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Sep 19, 2013 12:46
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Budget Bears posted:That is, should I just go to the towing place and be like, "hey, you hosed up my car, here is proof" IANAL but yes, this is step one.
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Sep 19, 2013 15:19
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the milk machine posted:Nope, not really. It's not clear what your damages would be, plus the terms and conditions you probably accepted almost definitely severely limit amazon's liability and probably your right to sue. That's probably for the best, as you don't really want to file a lawsuit against a company as big as amazon. The damages are clear to me, as my checking account is in overdraft with many more transactions going to be making that worse. Yeah, you're right that I don't want to file a lawsuit against them, but I'm pretty boned out of the money and overdraft fees this is going to cause. Sup, poo poo creek.
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Sep 19, 2013 16:34
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Call your bank, explain the situation and try to get them to waive the fees. Kind of an hail mary, but hey, phone calls are cheap.
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Sep 19, 2013 16:40
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I'm also not entirely sure why you're grumpy about Amazon's response on the overdraft fees. The rep you spoke to said that she couldn't handle it, but that she'd forward it to the people who do. And her e-mail confirmed that it's been sent on to the billing department, who are responsible for those issues. How long has it been? If it's less than 48 hours, you might want to let it sit for a bit. If it's been more than that, call them back and make them transfer you to the billing team.
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Sep 19, 2013 16:44
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FrozenVent posted:Call your bank, explain the situation and try to get them to waive the fees. Banks rarely do that anymore. And by rarely, I mean not ever at all over the phone.
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Sep 19, 2013 16:51
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etanmaet posted:Banks rarely do that anymore. And by rarely, I mean not ever at all over the phone.
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Sep 19, 2013 16:54
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Yeah, Wells Fargo did that for me several months ago, and my wife accomplished the same from BB&T a year ago or so. Call your bank.
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Sep 19, 2013 16:57
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the milk machine posted:That's probably for the best, as you don't really want to file a lawsuit against a company as big as amazon. Actually, it's fun to sue companies as big as Amazon. The only real issue is doing your homework. Check those terms and conditions and make sure that there is actually a case. You need a lawyer to help you review your agreement with Amazon. Pay attention to jurisdiction clauses, to arbitration clauses, to clauses requiring a written statement or complaint mailed to a particular address, and to other clauses requiring certain actions within certain time frames. Apart from Amazon, there are probably other time limits for things like reporting bogus charges to your bank, do those things. The truth is that Amazon is playing nice right now and may well take care of everything without a bunch of drama. After all, they are begging for a class action if their error is systemic. In this particular matter, it looks like etanmaet is pissed off and wants his pound of flesh immediately. That doesn't happen when lawyers and courts get involved. In any event, don't wreck your case by seeking drama or by playing into Amazon's niceness. There may be a nice lawsuit here that you can take to one of your local LA sharks.
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Sep 19, 2013 17:03
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Arcturas posted:I'm also not entirely sure why you're grumpy about Amazon's response on the overdraft fees. The rep you spoke to said that she couldn't handle it, but that she'd forward it to the people who do. And her e-mail confirmed that it's been sent on to the billing department, who are responsible for those issues. How long has it been? If it's less than 48 hours, you might want to let it sit for a bit. If it's been more than that, call them back and make them transfer you to the billing team. It has been less than 48 hours. I understand that I will, at some point, have to let this matter sit for some form of time. I am attempting to amass as much knowledge and prepare for as many scenarios as possible on my quest back to status quo.
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Sep 19, 2013 17:03
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etanmaet posted:Banks rarely do that anymore. And by rarely, I mean not ever at all over the phone. It's really gonna vary from bank to bank, but it certainly can't hurt to ask, especially if you don't have a history of overdrafts. Banks want to keep you as their customer. Speaking of banks and their overdraft fees, an actual question. I received a notice in the mail the other day that my bank was taking part in a class action settlement about its overdraft fee charging practices, and I might be entitled to some of that eventual settlement as a member of the class (because I had more than one overdraft fee charged to me in a day). If I had those overdraft fees reversed, how likely is it that I'm still a member of the class (and will thus eventually get the lofty lofty rewards of as much as thirty cents, or whatever it ends up being)?
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Sep 19, 2013 17:06
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Cruseydr posted:I am not a banker, but I got Bank of America to waive a overdraft fee 2 months ago when a merchant billed my wrong account. Over the phone too! the milk machine posted:Yeah, Wells Fargo did that for me several months ago, and my wife accomplished the same from BB&T a year ago or so. Call your bank. Whoa.. The last time I called regarding overdraft fees that customer service person told me flat out "I can not help you with overdraft fees over the phone. No one in my department can. You have to go to a branch." That might have been because my account was so new.
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Sep 19, 2013 17:06
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etanmaet posted:Whoa.. The last time I called regarding overdraft fees that customer service person told me flat out "I can not help you with overdraft fees over the phone. No one in my department can. You have to go to a branch." It might just be your specific bank's policy, too. Going to a branch couldn't hurt either, of course.
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Sep 19, 2013 17:09
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patentmagus posted:Actually, it's fun to sue companies as big as Amazon. The only real issue is doing your homework. Check those terms and conditions and make sure that there is actually a case. You and I have different definitions of "fun." The amazon prime T&Cs limit amazon's liability to the prime membership fee. Good luck paying a lawyer to work around that just to recover overdraft fees.
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Sep 19, 2013 17:13
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patentmagus posted:Actually, it's fun to sue companies as big as Amazon. The only real issue is doing your homework. Check those terms and conditions and make sure that there is actually a case. It sounds as though you're being facetious. I'm not sure who wouldn't be pursuing a quick resolution in my position, but yes, I would like this to be over more quickly than lengthy. I am not seeking drama, but being of aware of how it goes when your debit card and check book tells folks you have money when you don't is what's motivating me to act. Even just a 24 hour window of a negative balance can flub things up.
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Sep 19, 2013 17:14
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I have a hypothetical question about traffic warrants in Austin, TX (Travis County) Let's say that I am a total idiot and forgot about a speeding violation and failure to maintain insurance in November 2010, and received notice of a warrant out for my arrest. I called the the court clerk, and she told me they'll lift the warrants and give me a court date if I come in and post a bond for the amount of the fine. She also said they will still dismiss the insurance citation if I show proof (which I will) that I had insurance at the time of the citation. No problem, I'm going to do all those things ASAP. But I do have some questions: 1) Is there any chance of getting a defensive driving deal to have the ticket dismissed, or should I abandon any hope of that, plead guilty, and pay it? 2) Would a lawyer that specializes in traffic tickets be more likely to get me defensive driving, or should I just ask the judge myself? 3) My registration is expired. I'd really rather not drive to an area where cops are likely to be (the courthouse) with a big ol' sticker on my car saying "Hey state troopers, please pull me over". I don't want to be arrested over this on my way to the courthouse to clear the warrant, but I don't want to be arrested at the tax office for trying to renew my registration either. Will the warrant prevent me from renewing my vehicle registration? Could I be arrested over these warrants at the tax office for even trying to renew my registration? Any information you could give me would be appreciated, because if this ridiculous hypothetical were true, then I would be doing some serious (but well-deserved) worrying over what kind of trouble I've gotten myself into over my incompetence at handling my affairs!  Edit: Austin is of course in Travis county. I corrected the above and now everyone knows I am even dumber than my story indicates VitalSigns fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 21:01
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VitalSigns posted:3) My registration is expired. I'd really rather not drive to an area where cops are likely to be (the courthouse) with a big ol' sticker on my car saying "Hey state troopers, please pull me over". I don't want to be arrested over this on my way to the courthouse to clear the warrant, but I don't want to be arrested at the tax office for trying to renew my registration either. Will the warrant prevent me from renewing my vehicle registration? Could I be arrested over these warrants at the tax office for even trying to renew my registration?
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Sep 23, 2013 21:08
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Thanatosian posted:Assuming your hypothetical registration wasn't more than six months out of date and that you were a resident of Tarrant County, you would be able to renew your registration online. In fact, it looks like registrations in most of Texas can be renewed online. Let's assume I suck at everything and it's more than six months out of date so I'd have to do it in person at the tax office 
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Sep 23, 2013 21:16
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VitalSigns posted:Let's assume I suck at everything and it's more than six months out of date so I'd have to do it in person at the tax office Perhaps have someone drive you over to the courthouse and then the tax office? Perhaps call a cab if no one can provide you with a ride? Or ride the bus? That way, car's expired registration is out of the equation.
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Sep 23, 2013 21:48
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girlwithgloves posted:Perhaps have someone drive you over to the courthouse and then the tax office? Perhaps call a cab if no one can provide you with a ride? Or ride the bus? That way, car's expired registration is out of the equation. I can find an alternate way to get there if I have to. But the easiest way would just be to renew my registration before I go, so I was hoping someone would know whether I can do that without getting arrested for this warrant at the tax office. I do appreciate your trying to help 
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Sep 23, 2013 22:55
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VitalSigns posted:I can find an alternate way to get there if I have to. But the easiest way would just be to renew my registration before I go, so I was hoping someone would know whether I can do that without getting arrested for this warrant at the tax office. I do appreciate your trying to help You're just one bit of bad luck from getting a free ride downtown. Don't tempt fate. girlwithgloves posted:Perhaps have someone drive you over to the courthouse and then the tax office? Perhaps call a cab if no one can provide you with a ride? Or ride the bus? That way, car's expired registration is out of the equation. This is the smart way to handle your situation. Arrest warrant first, then car rego. Plus, you don't harvest another ticket while getting out of your current scofflaw situation.
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Sep 24, 2013 00:44
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patentmagus posted:You're just one bit of bad luck from getting a free ride downtown. Don't tempt fate. These are convincing arguments. The cost of a rental car is similar to the cost of another ticket and insignificant compared to the cost of getting fired if I miss work over an arrest for Failure to Appear. Driving around with expired tags in a county in which I now know I have a warrant is borderline insane. I am picking up a rental first thing in the morning and leaving my car in the driveway until I have paperwork showing that the warrants are cleared. Edit: Oh no, my license is probably suspended, isn't it? Would I even be able to rent a car? Would I get in even more trouble if I did? Argh if I get through this I am never getting myself into this purely hypothetical situation again. VitalSigns fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Sep 24, 2013 |
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Sep 24, 2013 02:23
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If Travis County is anything like Harris County, and it is, you won't be arrested when you renew your registration, and your license isn't suspended because of the warrant. I had pretty much the exact same situation last year. With a traffic warrant against me, I was able to renew my registration in person as well as get my license renewed.
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Sep 24, 2013 04:23
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Blowing off a ticket is a great way to dig a nice, deep hole.
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Sep 24, 2013 05:55
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Javid posted:Blowing off a ticket is a great way to dig a nice, deep hole. I know a guy digging out of a $300 no insurance ticket he got in 1982. He has been to jail for several year long stretches for the crime of "Driving with a revoked license" several times over because he cannot afford the six gazillion dollars in penalties and fines he has accrued.
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Sep 24, 2013 06:57
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VitalSigns posted:I have a hypothetical question about traffic warrants in Austin, TX (Travis County) I've never had a warrant out on me in Travis County (or anywhere else, for that matter!), but I did once get two traffic citations in the same year. The first one was the usual affair: pay a small fee, pay for a defensive driving course, and the ticket was basically erased. The second one I went to traffic court, hoping for leniency as I didn't want my insurance to shoot up. (These were both in Austin, by the way, back in my juggling a full course load and two part-time jobs for pennies days.) What happened in my case was that an ADA (I think, though he possibly could have been a county attorney) met with me and offered me what apparently was the standard deal: pay the ticket amount and do defensive driving, but as long as I didn't have another ticket within one year, the ticket would disappear just like my previous one. Now yours is a bit more serious in that you let it get this far, so don't take this as an example of what will go down. But do know that it is at least possible you'll be offered (or can ask for) a diverted sentence. VitalSigns posted:3) My registration is expired. I'd really rather not drive to an area where cops are likely to be (the courthouse) with a big ol' sticker on my car saying "Hey state troopers, please pull me over". I don't want to be arrested over this on my way to the courthouse to clear the warrant, but I don't want to be arrested at the tax office for trying to renew my registration either. Will the warrant prevent me from renewing my vehicle registration? Could I be arrested over these warrants at the tax office for even trying to renew my registration? Check with the DMV to see if your license has been suspended, first of all. I doubt you'll be arrested if you show up to renew your registration, but if you really to play it safe, have someone drive you to the court first, post the bond, and get your court date. Then make sure to get your registration and license in order and for gently caress's sake, don't miss the court date or forget to bring the evidence against the insurance citation.
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Sep 24, 2013 07:44
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BigHead posted:I know a guy digging out of a $300 no insurance ticket he got in 1982. He has been to jail for several year long stretches for the crime of "Driving with a revoked license" several times over because he cannot afford the six gazillion dollars in penalties and fines he has accrued. A guy I know managed to trade up from his original cell phone while driving ticket; he's now facing a year license suspension, thousands in fines, and disqualification from the military branch he wanted to get into. Short of going to court and making GBS threads on the floor, there is pretty much no way to do worse with a traffic ticket than just ignoring it.
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Sep 24, 2013 07:54
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Javid posted:Short of going to court and making GBS threads on the floor, there is pretty much no way to do worse with a traffic ticket Well thanks for torpedoing my backup legal strategy! 
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Sep 24, 2013 14:16
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Javid posted:Short of going to court and making GBS threads on the floor, there is pretty much no way to do worse with a traffic ticket than just ignoring it. Has anyone ever tried the "I'm a dog you can't prosecute me" legal defence strategy?
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Sep 24, 2013 14:48
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EAT THE EGGS RICOLA posted:Has anyone ever tried the "I'm a dog you can't prosecute me" legal defence strategy? Basically. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_citizen_movement
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Sep 24, 2013 15:08
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