Source: http://www.upstatenewyorkfamilylawyerblog.com/category/general-information
Timestamp: 2016-02-08 01:49:31
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General Information Archives — Upstate New York Family Lawyer Blog
Articles Posted in General Information	Published on: June 3, 2014
And now, we come to the third document that my potential clients read – the retainer agreement. This is the newly-streamlined version and it only runs six pages. One can easily read it within five minutes. Over time, I’ve found that potential clients were much more concerned about the various costs of legal representation than anything else. Makes sense.
And, over time, I’ve come to realize that the best way to give my clients the biggest bang for their collective bucks is to do something that might, on its face, seem counter-intuitive: I’ve decided to cap most of my legal fees. Not all, but most.
Think about it: how tough can it be to represent someone in Family Court? I’ve been an attorney for almost 22 years and I’ve been a family law practitioner for over 12 years. I think I now have enough experience that I can achieve a settlement for my clients, on reasonable terms, for a guaranteed maximum fee. And, in the event that the legal matter is incapable of settling on terms that my client thinks are reasonable, then I will charge a specific amount for each and every day, or part thereof, of trial.
My billing rate is extremely reasonable – and now my retainers are as well. Take a look …
Posted in: General Information	Published on: June 3, 2014	Updated:
#614 The Statement of Client’s Rights and Responsibilities
The next thing any potential client reads, upon entering my office, is a simple three page document called the “Statement of Client’s Rights and Responsibilities”. It is so important that it is provided to the potential client prior to any discussions regarding the retainer agreement.
This document is, like the Statement of Client’s Rights, quite commonsensical and self-evident. Still, I always find it helpful to reacquaint myself with this document from time to time, to keep it fresh in my mind.
Posted in: General Information	Published on: June 2, 2014	Updated:
#613 The Statement of Client’s Rights
The first thing any potential client reads, upon entering my office, is a simple one page, ten clause document called the “Statement of Client’s Rights”. It is so important that it is both framed and posted on my law office’s wall and it is placed on coffee tables throughout the office as well. I also make a point of handing it out to each and every person who enters my office.
Why is this document posted on the wall of my law office? Simple: I am required by the Rules of Court to do so. Specifically, Part 1210 of the Rules of Court spells this out in detail:
“Every attorney with an office located in the State of New York shall insure that there is posted in that office, in a manner visible to clients of the attorney, a statement of client’s rights in the form set forth below. Attorneys in offices that provide legal services without fee may delete from the statement those provisions dealing with fees. The statement shall contain the following …”
#601 Website Under Reconstruction
Every now and again, changes have to be made and that’s certainly the case with this website. While it is generally structured the way I want it to be, some serious modifications are in order, especially with regard to the listings for my practice areas.
I practice almost exclusively in Family Court, Supreme Court, and the Appellate Division, working on family law matters, matrimonial law matters, and a variety of appeals. My primary market is the county in which I reside, Saratoga County, together with the more populous counties of the Capital District, namely Schenectady County, Albany County, and Rensselaer County.
While fellow attorneys might understand what practicing in these areas entails, most non-attorneys really don’t have any idea. And, I find that my website pages for Practice Areas is somewhat deficient in that it fails to fully convey all of the many aspects of the law in which I am regularly involved.
And I need to change that with a simple click of the mouse.
Posted in: General Information	Published on: May 15, 2014	Updated:
#405 And Now For Something Completely Different …
A man with three buttocks! The over-40s in the audience will certainly catch that Pythonesque reference. “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” was an amazing thing to discover as a kid and it almost certainly guaranteed my geek status in college when I could quote large chunks of dialogue from memory from various bizarre skits and movies (read: “The Witch Scene” from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”). In fact, if memory serves, one of the requirements for my getting into a fraternity at M.I.T. was to engage in a spontaneous reenactment of The Witch Scene in Boston Common, in full view of the public. The brothers’ hope was one of public humiliation. Instead, it was one of public acclamation, since, as we all know, Bostonians are some hep dudes. I got bettah!
Posted in: General Information	Published on: August 20, 2013	Updated:
#201 Retainer Agreement, Part 25 of 25
Articles 71 through 75:
And here we come to the end of it at last. This last series of articles accomplishes two important functions: it specifically spells out what the client is retaining the attorney to do for the client and it makes clear to both the client and the attorney when and how the attorney-client relationship is concluded with regard to the litigation at hand.
And, really, this is what any decent retainer agreement is always about: when do services commence?; what are those services?; how much do those services cost?; what is the objective of those services?; and when do the services end?
Posted in: General Information	Published on: July 14, 2012	Updated:
#199 Retainer Agreement, Part 24 of 25
Articles 68 through 70:
The remainder of the retainer agreement includes what is known in the profession as “boilerplate”. This is merely contractual language that is commonly found in many or most retainer agreements simply because it so perfectly captures specific aspects of the contractual arrangement between an attorney and his client.
Posted in: General Information	Published on: July 12, 2012	Updated:
#197 Retainer Agreement, Part 23 of 25
Articles 64 through 67:
Here are four more articles which deal with matters that are patently obvious to fellow attorneys but may not even occur to clients. These articles basically deal with the inevitable obstacles one encounters in litigation. Those obstacles can be quite annoying when they turn out to be specific individuals with a reputation for being “difficult”. And, for the client, “difficult” almost always translates into “expensive”.
Posted in: General Information	Published on: July 10, 2012	Updated:
#194 Retainer Agreement, Part 22 of 25
Articles 61 through 63:
Just like the previous blog post in this series, these articles are included to apprise the client of the possibility of “hidden” fees when the judge decides that it might be a good idea to order the client to do something as a part of the ongoing litigation.
If there are allegations (or worse: testimony) that the client has a bit of a temper – and very young children are involved – then it is not at all surprising to have the judge order the client to register for, attend, successfully complete, and follow the recommendations of an anger management class.
The same holds true if the judge suspects that the client has any sort of substance abuse addiction – even if it’s something as “harmless” as regular marijuana use or drinking as little as a can of beer a day. Anything potentially harmful substances that smacks of regular use is a red flag – again, especially if young children are involved in the litigation. This should not be surprising at all, given that children are so vulnerable and judges will do everything that they can to protect children.
However, because many clients have been taken by surprise by these sorts of things, I’ve decided to include these items in my retainer agreement.
Posted in: General Information	Published on: July 3, 2012	Updated:
#192 Retainer Agreement, Part 21 of 25
Articles 58 through 60:
One thing in particular that clients (and attorneys) hate, more than anything else, is surprises. Attorneys build their reputations on being able to divine likely outcomes to cases given a certain set of facts, laws, and personalities. Being thrown a curve ball which results in the destruction of your case is the stuff of nightmares.
With clients, they don’t like “hidden” or unanticipated fees. So, why not be as candid as possible about the likelihood of auxiliary fees in the litigation. Expert fees is a big issue in matrimonial matters. However, there are also fees in Family Court matters as well. Two such fees are psychological evaluations (which often start at $750.00!) and parenting classes (which are much less expensive but often much harder to schedule).
These fees are often mandatory if the judge issues an order directing psychological evaluations and/or parenting classes. If the client fails to pay the fee to take the evaluation or the class, then the client would then be in violation of a court order – with the possibility of the judge sending the client to jail for contempt of court. While judges strongly prefer not to do this, I have actually seen it done on rare occasions, usually where the party has repeatedly failed to obey a court order.
Jail has a wonderful way of making people get their priorities straight.
Posted in: General Information	Published on: July 2, 2012	Updated: