Need an attorney??

[NCRedding]

I've noticed something both on the boards and IRL. People want to avoid using an attorney. There are threads about "doing my own will", "writing my own contract"; "can I be sued on an old debt"; "is child truancy a felony". As an attorney, it frustrates and confuses me that people think anyone can do my job. The process of becoming a lawyer is tough. It isn't easy to get into law school. Law school is 3 years of arduous study, followed by an expansive test that has failure rates depending upon the state of 25-65%, which indicates that even after studying for three years, it isn't easy.

If you were gashed and bleeding, would you say, "I know how to sew; I'll just stitch myself". If you knock out a tooth, do you not go to a dentist? Do you buy your own insurance, or stocks? Do you do your own taxes? Do you fix your own car, or backed up toilet?

I'm just curious as to why?

 

[BuckNaked]

We used attorneys for our wills because they weren't straightforward "give it all to x" affairs. But if it the wishes/wills are straightforward, I can see why people would be fine with a do-it-yourself will.

Personally, I prefer using an attorney simply because I'm not one.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Attorneys cost $$$ and some affairs just don't require one if they are simple enough.

Sometimes you just have a simple cut and a bandaid will do just fine. Sniffles don't require an ER visit.

But I do understand your point though.

 

[golfgal]

Attorneys cost $$$ and some affairs just don't require one if they are simple enough.

Sometimes you just have a simple cut and a bandaid will do just fine. Sniffles don't require an ER visit.

But I do understand your point though.

Along with not needing to go to the dr for everything, most people have health insurance to help pay for medical costs where as legal fees come 100% out of your pocket. We have used lawyers for drawing up our will, home sales, etc. but not everyone can afford a lawyer.

 

[MushyMushy]

Along with not needing to go to the dr for everything, most people have health insurance to help pay for medical costs where as legal fees come 100% out of your pocket. We have used lawyers for drawing up our will, home sales, etc. but not everyone can afford a lawyer.

That's what I was going to say.

There's legal aid for the very poor, but if you miss their cut off, it's very expensive to hire your own. Earlier in our marriage, DH wanted to adopt DS, but it was going to cost us an arm and a leg -- we couldn't afford it, but didn't qualify for legal aid.

 

[olena]

Hey NCRedding, how bad is it with your friends, relatives or even casual acquaintances calling you up with legal questions? I'm not talking about performing servives, just advice.

 

[DizGeek]

Would an attorney build his own deck? Or cut his own lawn?

If I make out a will and have it notorized and tell my kids where it is if I should die etc. wouldnt that be enough? Of course it would, unless my kids were to fight over it and hire attorneys.

I avoid attorneys at all costs, unless I have to....and the cause of that is usually another attorney!

 

[poohandwendy]

I've noticed something both on the boards and IRL. People want to avoid using an attorney. There are threads about "doing my own will", "writing my own contract"; "can I be sued on an old debt"; "is child truancy a felony". As an attorney, it frustrates and confuses me that people think anyone can do my job. The process of becoming a lawyer is tough. It isn't easy to get into law school. Law school is 3 years of arduous study, followed by an expansive test that has failure rates depending upon the state of 25-65%, which indicates that even after studying for three years, it isn't easy.

If you were gashed and bleeding, would you say, "I know how to sew; I'll just stitch myself". If you knock out a tooth, do you not go to a dentist? Do you buy your own insurance, or stocks? Do you do your own taxes? Do you fix your own car, or backed up toilet?

I'm just curious as to why?

Because people usually want to avoid spending money unnecessarily. In some case, I absolutely agree a professional is necessary. But there are times when it is not necessary.

As to the last part of your post...my DH actualy did sew up a gash on his hand (against my wishes and definitely a dumb move...IMO)

But, yes we buy our own insurance. Yes, we do our own taxes. My DH fixes the cars usually (just changed the alternator on my sts) and the backed up toilets too. The answer to why is because we can, LOL.

I do not think people avoid using attys because they think your job is easy, or that law school isn't tough. But attys are VERY expensive and people don't want to spend alot of money for something they may be able to handle themselves.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I think people don't realize that an attorney can be used at a reasonable price. I advised my brother the other day to call his closing attorney about a homeowner's association issue. Some things can be cleared up on the phone with no charge or a nominal fee. Our sister is an attorney in another state and I do run things by her before contacting our attorney.

Lori

 

[NCRedding]

DisGeek: If you make out your own will, and just have it notarized, in most states, you will have no will--there are other legal requirements for a validity of the will. I had an estate one time where the decedent made his own will, because he didn't want to spend the $100 his attorney asked. He got creative with the wording, so that when I went to the clerk of court, she didn't understand what the man meant, so we had to go to court to get a declaratory judgment to interpret the will. It cost the estate over $1500 in extra fees.

Olena: I am amazed at the number of people who will stop me with "just a quick question" or even better "a simple question". Then, if I can't give a "simple answer" because it is a more complex problem than they realize, they think I am being difficult.

 

[DizGeek]

DisGeek: If you make out your own will, and just have it notarized, in most states, you will have no will--there are other legal requirements for a validity of the will.

Thats why I also said "etc".

Again, if the will is contested by one of the siblings, then it may be an issue. Otherwise, who will know? When my parents passed away, we read the will and followed the directions. No problems.

 

[DizGeek]

As to the last part of your post...my DH actualy did sew up a gash on his hand (against my wishes and definitely a dumb move...IMO)

I once super-glued a gash!

 

[rayelias]

In the cases of litigation, I view attorneys as the "nuclear option."

It's nice to know you have them available, but you really don't want to use one because when you do, the other side's going to use theirs, and then no one wins (except the attorneys who make $$$ of the fees).

(disclaimer (which I probably wouldn't have to post if the following weren't somewhat accurate) : these are not necessarily MY opinions on attorneys, rather my thoughts on why attorneys have the reputation they do.)

One of the reasons, IMHO, that attorneys in general get a bad rap are because the general public rarely uses them on a regular basis. But, our exposure to attorneys is on TV. First, you have the "ambulance chasers" who, in the guise of getting you big bucks by suing, wind up with 30-40% of any wins (plus legal fees). Or, you have the "win at any cost" criminal defendant attorneys who will do anything to get their client's off - guilty or not (think OJ). Third, a inordinate percentage of national politicians are attorneys - and who trusts politicians? Then, you have the attorneys who try to "bend the law" to get around the intent of the law... (eg, "It depends on what the definition of 'is' is.") And, many times, in order to justify their fees, contract attorneys will nit-pick and make insignificant modifications to a contract that do nothing. I've seen this many times in real estate deals, when a word may be changed from "which" to "that", or "it's to its"... grammatical stuff that has nothing to do with the legality of the contract. Another major exposure the general public has to attorneys are the "class action" lawsuits - you know the ones that wind up costing a business $500,000,000.00 and the attorney gets 30% and the rest gets divided up to $2.38 per claimant. Who wins there? Certainly not the ones who were wronged.

The US is the most litigious society in the world. It winds up costing businesses billions of extra dollars a year because of that.

The cost of health insurance is so high because of attorneys. The cost of auto insurance is so high because of attorneys.

Plus, every time you pick up the phone to ask a simple question... $150.

Here's a good example... I re-read the posts about a will and people wanting to save a couple hundred bucks by doing it themselves. You know, a will is pretty simple - in most cases it should not require a lawyer. Yet the lawyers, who MAKE the laws (politicians), pass laws requiring lawyers to have to draw certain contracts. How's that for smarmy? Anyhow, back to my example... my parents recently went to get their will drawn up. Nothing too fancy - they have a house, a vacation house, and some money in the bank. There are 3 siblings. $4,000.00 to draw up a will to state that X gets X%, Y gets Y% and Z gets Z%. What?!? I can buy a will maker program for $29.99 at Best Buy that'll do the same thing - but it may not be "legal" in the eyes of the legal system because it wasn't "attorney drawn."

I think many people view the attorneys as "used car salesmen" with better suits.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I've noticed something both on the boards and IRL. People want to avoid using an attorney. There are threads about "doing my own will", "writing my own contract"; "can I be sued on an old debt"; "is child truancy a felony". As an attorney, it frustrates and confuses me that people think anyone can do my job. The process of becoming a lawyer is tough. It isn't easy to get into law school. Law school is 3 years of arduous study, followed by an expansive test that has failure rates depending upon the state of 25-65%, which indicates that even after studying for three years, it isn't easy.

If you were gashed and bleeding, would you say, "I know how to sew; I'll just stitch myself". If you knock out a tooth, do you not go to a dentist? Do you buy your own insurance, or stocks? Do you do your own taxes? Do you fix your own car, or backed up toilet?

I'm just curious as to why?

If it makes you feel any better, I'm a pastor and experience the same thing -and often feel the same sense of consternation. Sounds like the process of training and being examined/qualified is very similar -at least for my denomination.

I think we live in the same county. If I need a lawyer I will call you!

 

[hiwaygal]

I would have to agree with most of the posters that lawyers are just too expensive.

I don't mean to belittle your degree and experience, but someone once pointed out to me that everything a lawyer "knows" (laws, statutes, codes, etc.) are all a matter of public record. People could do just about anything themselves (with respect to issues of law, etc.) IF they wanted to spend the time doing the research. Most people don't or can't spend that kind of time, so they get a lawyer.

Having said that, I'm not afraid to contact a lawyer and at least have a "free initial consultation" (which, so far, I have found to be pretty useless) then determine if I really need his/her services or if I can manage it on my own, or if the whole problem is really worth the "minimum" cost of an attorney.

 

[olena]

DisGeek:
Olena: I am amazed at the number of people who will stop me with "just a quick question" or even better "a simple question". Then, if I can't give a "simple answer" because it is a more complex problem than they realize, they think I am being difficult.

I can imagine. The law is complex and is getting murkier all the time.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I once super-glued a gash!

Actually Drs really do this. My broken tooth bond is held by super-glue and our pets' vet used super-glue to close a flap, from surgery that did not completely close, after the stitches disolved.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I've noticed something both on the boards and IRL. People want to avoid using an attorney. There are threads about "doing my own will", "writing my own contract"; "can I be sued on an old debt"; "is child truancy a felony". As an attorney, it frustrates and confuses me that people think anyone can do my job. The process of becoming a lawyer is tough. It isn't easy to get into law school. Law school is 3 years of arduous study, followed by an expansive test that has failure rates depending upon the state of 25-65%, which indicates that even after studying for three years, it isn't easy.

If you were gashed and bleeding, would you say, "I know how to sew; I'll just stitch myself". If you knock out a tooth, do you not go to a dentist? Do you buy your own insurance, or stocks? Do you do your own taxes? Do you fix your own car, or backed up toilet?

I'm just curious as to why?

We do use an attorney. But we also do fix our own toilet, do most car repairs, some medical stuff (I hurt a joint on a finger. I splinted it. About a week later I happened to see my Dr. and he asked about the finger. I told him and took of the splint. He said you did exactly what I would have done.)

I tend to be a person who assesses a situation, does what I am capable of and then I call the expert.

 

[SillyMe]

Being a single mom, I certainly cannot afford an attorney. Years ago, my ex owed me almost $8,000 in child support. Domestic Relations did nothing for me and now my dd is 15 yo and he still owes me about $3,000. I couldn't find an attorney to help me because I couldn't afford the fees.

 

[pearlieq]

I called about 6 normal law firms looking for quotes on drafting simple wills/powers of attorney. Half wouldn't quote me a price, and the other half wanted at least $500. We don't have anything fancy going on. Why the heck would I pay $500 for a 15 minute meeting with a lawyer, who will then farm out the actual work to her paralegal and have it reviewed by the junior associate?

We were charged $375 by the lawyer we used for our last real estate trasaction. Again, we talked for a total of 10 minutes over the phone, and his paralegal emailed me a spreadsheet of the closing costs. That was it.

At least around here, legal advice is very costly, and I'm not convinved you get much for your money for a lot of routine items. Plus, where does a lawyer get off charging $300 an hour when a paralegal, making 40k, does most of the work?