Manuel Salvacion asked:


Many people think that getting the services of an attorney for the family on a long-term basis means keeping a lawyer on retainer. However, hiring a long-term family attorney has its advantages. For many people, a long-term family attorney is helpful in many ways.

One of the main purposes of getting a family lawyer is to avoid searching frantically for one when the need arises. Another thing, you do not have to deal with a different lawyer each time you have a dispute to settle, whether at work or within the family. Your long-time family lawyer knows your history and can be very knowledgeable about your issues.

Hiring a long-term family attorney from a reputable law firm is a wise decision. You need not worry about the cost of hiring a lawyer for the family. A long-term family attorney can be paid on an hourly basis. There are also lawyers who take cases and work for families on a pro bono basis. In California, for example, lawyers are required to devote certain hours each year to pro bono cases.

You can choose a long-term attorney for the family through the following ways:

• Referral from friends – A friend or a family member is a good source of information on how to find a lawyer to serve as a long-term family attorney. A referral from friends or relatives who worked previously with a lawyer may provide important information on a lawyer’s background and credentials.

• By peer reviews – To know any information about a lawyer, you can refer to lawyers’ ratings review that is an important source of a lawyer’s credibility.

Choosing a lawyer to serve the long-term legal needs of a family is never easy. Hiring a lawyer does not always guarantee that you get the quality of service you desire. However you can ensure that a lawyer can serve your interests and protect your rights by asking yourself the following questions before hiring a long-term family attorney:

1. What level of involvement do I want when dealing with a case? Do I want to be consulted from time to time? Or do I want to be involved fully?

2. What are my priorities? Do I want my lawyer to be more concerned about protecting my business or my family?

3. Am I willing to seek alternative dispute resolutions such as mediation or arbitration rather than pursue a case in court?

4. Is the cost of getting a family lawyer a major issue?

After finally deciding that you need the services of a long-term family attorney, it is time to select your choice. If you have narrowed down your choices of a lawyer to hire, here are questions you should ask a lawyer before settling down.

• What is the lawyer’s fee agreement? Can you make arrangements on a case to case basis or an hourly basis of payment?

• Has the lawyer handled a similar case before? What is his area of expertise?

• How long has the lawyer been in practice? Has he handled trials of family cases before?

• Will the lawyer handle your case personally or are other lawyers getting to be involved?

Selecting a lawyer is the first step toward protecting your family. Hiring a lawyer from a reputable law firm will ensure that you get the long-term legal services you desire for your family.

For your legal concerns regarding your personal injury, Social Security claims, employment disputes and business, contact our reputable Los Angeles law firm today.

Lavana James asked:


 For far too long, drunk driving in South Africa has largely been ignored by the authorities and has claimed literally thousands of lives of both drivers and pedestrians over the years. This season, however, the powers-to-be have beefed up their presence on the roads with positively resounding results – the casualties on South African roads have virtually halved.

 

With new innovative technology that has the ability to trace not only the amount of alcohol consumed but the use of illegal drugs as well, it should only be a matter of time together with concerted efforts by all concerned before the statistics plummet even further.

 

Fifty percent of dead drivers are over the limit

 

Although road users are clearly delighted at the zero tolerance approach to drunk driving, startling statistics reveal that as many as 50% of drivers who die on our roads are indeed above the legal limit (0.05 grams per 100 ml).

 

Figures posted by the Arrive Alive campaign for 2002 and 2003 indicate a marked increase of drivers driving while under the influence of alcohol – from 1.80% to 3.10%. In 2002, it was the North West Province that had the most culprits with as many as 4% driving drunk, but in 2003 Mpumalanga had the dubious honour of topping the list with 4.68%.

 

Road users in South Africa are far more vulnerable to drunk driving at night and the statistics for 2002 and 2003 make a drastic leap between the hours of 18h00 to 24h00 when as many as 5.50% of all drivers were found to be driving drunk in ’02 and 5.08% in 2003.

 

Sadly, the death toll has increased exponentially over the years with its only beneficiaries being the overworked car accident attorneys. A study conducted by the Medical Research Council of South Africa in 2004 indicated that more than half of the 570 drivers killed in accidents were over the legal limit, an unacceptable figure by anyone’s standards.

 

A drunk driver or pedestrian is killed every 2 hours on SA roads

 

To put things into sharp perspective, a drunk driver or pedestrian is killed on South African roads every two hours (figures for 2004 – 2006), with the most victims claimed in the Gauteng province, closely followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

 

A good car accident lawyer will advise you to avoid the local taxis, especially at night, and for very good reason. In 2005 the taxi industry cracked all records by becoming the most dangerous transportation sector, with 7.70% of drivers driving drunk at night. Interestingly enough, the drivers who are least likely to drive while inebriated are truck drivers.