Posts Tagged ‘Legal’

Lastest “legal Aid” News

Entertainment / Lifestyle

Should further investigation be carried out to expose and convict the minister who allegedly raped his maid?

Read more on Malaysian Digest

Local News

The Daily World Hoquiam fire crews responded to a suspicious fire at Fred’s Auto Body on Sunday night after a trash bin fire spread to the nearby shop. Capt. John Bickar said crews responded to the shop on the 400 block of Ontario Street at about 11:30 p.m. to find the building burning. Bickar…

Read more on The Daily World

Southern Lawyers Band Together To Offer Legal Aid to Hurricane Katrina Victims

New Orleans, LA (PRWEB) September 21, 2005

Paul Massa was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduating with his BA and law degree from Tulane University, he settled in to the city that gave the world jazz, jambalaya and Mardi Gras to practice law. And, like every other resident of New Orleans, his world was turned upside down by Hurricane Katrina two weeks ago.

“I lost everything,” Massa says. “From my personal possessions to my office files, there wasn’t a whole lot that I could salvage. The only thing I have left is my experience and my time. Seeing how many people are in need, I can’t let those go to waste too.”

Working from borrowed office space in Atlanta, Paul joined forces with legal consulting firm TacitLogic LLC to create a network of lawyers and law students to provide legal and insurance resources to residents of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina’s destructive forces.

“It’s difficult enough to recover from a tragedy,” Massa says. “But it’s even more difficult when all your documents, all your records have been destroyed, too. I realized that the first thing we could do to help was create an online website where people can start rebuilding their lives…with or without the help of me and other willing attorneys.”

Part of the legal aid effort is a group of affected law students from New Orleans-based Tulane College of Law. Students like Pete Lamb are helping by contributing Pro Bono services, as well as creating a running blog (available at blog.katrinalegal.com now) to provide up-to-date information for those in need.

“I evacuated the Saturday before the storm to Houston, where I was for 10 days,” says Lamb. “I had to figure out what I needed to do and how to do it after I evacuated. With the blog, I’m able to pass on what I learned about insurance, FEMA, the Red Cross, rent issues, clothing and more.”

Residents from affected states can now visit KatrinaLegal.com or call 1-866-Kat-Legal to find a vast array of legal, insurance and aid resources. Among others, these resources include forms and information about flood and non-flood insurance claims; unforeseen expenses from lodging, rental cars, food and clothing; FEMA documents for money due and household issues; identity theft prevention including requesting a new social security number and credit protection; bankruptcy filing; and tax filing, extensions, donations and deductions.

Most importantly, visitors to KatrinaLegal.com will have the opportunity to create a legal and insurance needs Aid Profile on the site that will be reviewed free of charge by Paul’s group of lawyers. Upon reviewing each Aid Profile, an attorney affiliated with KatrinaLegal.com will contact the visitor to offer free advice on how best to resolve their legal and insurance issues. Many visitors will even qualify for Pro Bono assistance based on income levels and needs. Lawyers interested in helping affected residents from these areas can also create an Aid Profile to offer assistance to those in need.

“This tragedy has had a tremendous affect on me,” Massa says. “I can only imagine how difficult it is for others. The best we can do is to work together to rebuild the communities we all still love. It is in this spirit that this group of legal professionals is here to help.”

KatrinaLegal.com is offering aid to all residents of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana, including residents of Mobile and Montgomery, Jackson and Biloxi, New Orleans and Pensacola, among other cities.

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Lastest “legal Aid” News

Fake Indonesian inmate exposes prison corruption

JAKARTA, Indonesia – When Kasiem, a 55-year-old Indonesian woman, was condemned to seven months in prison she decided she would prefer not to serve the sentence. So she hired someone else to go to jail on her behalf.

Read more on ABS-CBNNEWS.com

Fake Indonesian inmate exposes prison corruption

JAKARTA (AFP) – When Kasiem, a 55-year-old Indonesian woman, was condemned to seven months in prison she decided she would prefer not to serve the sentence. So she hired someone else to go to jail on her behalf.

Read more on AFP via Yahoo!Xtra News

Lawyers protest low level of legal aid funding

Lawyers protest low level of legal aid funding

Beginning this month, legal aid lawyers in Abbotsford are withdrawing duty counsel services, to protest the provincial government’s low funding of legal aid.

Read more on Abbotsford News

BREAKING: Rattner Settles With Cuomo For Million

Steve Rattner and Andrew Cuomo have reached a settlement: Rattner will pay $ 10 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s $ 16 million less than Cuomo hoped for when he sued the former founding manager of Quadrangle and former auto czar Steve Rattner for $ 26 million and demanded his immediate lifetime ban from the securities industry a month ago.

Read more on Business Insider

Be Safe From Any Legal Attack! Leaders Without Limits, Inc.

The sad truth is that most people take few steps to protect what they own. And rarely do they take steps in advance of a problem. When do most people act to protect their hard-earned assets? Usually after the damage has already been done. Hindsight is always 20/20. No one wants to think about things like business or professional failures, lawsuits, financial, social or political disruptions, death, taxes or divorce, to name but a few. David McCauley, President of Leaders Without Limits, Inc. has seen what works – and what doesn’t work – when it comes to protecting assets. Today, Mr. McCauley is on a mission to let people like you know the truth about what you can and can’t do to keep what you own. If you don’t think you are at risk today, think again. A new lawsuit is filed every 20 seconds in America….and your chances of being sued multiplies as the value of your assets increase. Don’t think a frivolous lawsuit can’t happen to you? It happens repeatedly….usually to decent, unsuspecting, and unprotected people. The good news is that protecting your assets is a lot less complicated – and a lot less expensive – than you probably imagine. Mr. McCauley has lectured extensively on asset protection and related matters. If you are interested in more information on asset protection planning, please contact Leaders Without Limits, Inc at 916.652.8122 or www.LeadersWithoutLimits.biz David McCauley is happy to provide his opinion on asset protection, business and lifestyle …

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Lastest “legal Aid” News

Opinion: B.C. legal system is ‘a ticking time bomb’

Vancouver’s Main Street courthouse this morning undoubtedly will be the zoo it was over the holidays — one day, only five judges were sitting while 10 courtrooms appeared empty and dockets overflowed.

Read more on Vancouver Sun

W&M law prof among 15 backing mom in custody case

A law professor from the College of William & Mary is among 15 of his peers who signed an amicus brief submitted to a California appeals court supporting Stacey Doss’ custody case against birth father Benjamin Mills Jr. of Dayton, Ohio.

Read more on The Virginia Gazette

Keneally targeted for power contempt

KRISTINA KENEALLY is being accused of possible contempt of Parliament as the opposition escalates its attack on the government over an inquiry into the controversial $ 5.3 billion power sale.

Read more on Straight Furrow

Quality legal aid is hard to find as lawyers and solicitors aren’t up to the job

Quality legal aid is hard to find as lawyers and solicitors aren’t up to the job

Quality legal support is challenging to find as legal representatives are not up to the job

Legal help doesn’t simply suggest use of a solicitor, lawyer or legal adviser. It is about having the ability to uphold legitimate legal rights. Although the solicitor, lawyer or legal representative can be the issue themselves.

The point had been outlined by the Young Legal Aid Lawyers organisation in a paper earlier this month which indicated that the level of quality in the legal segment is in fact not up to the work and lawyers are far below the standard required.

This is specifically relevant for the most vulnerable of clients, for instance a homeless woman who lost her chance to appeal against the town’s authority’s refusal to house her shortly after her adviser failed to supply proof of her serious mental health conditions.

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) respect quality as the forefront associated with how they work. Unfortunately things are not looking bright for the LSC as they are dealing with a rising number of judicial reviews.

Which begs this question; if the Legal Commission is not up to the task then what chances do vulnerable clients have within the courtroom as soon as they need all of the assistance they can get?

The quality of legal service and advice is a huge problem for the whole field and indeed the profession and with the Legal Services Act 3 years ago, of which wants to open up and manage legal support; it should promote competition inside the sector and provides a path for complaints, which also enables a shift in dynamics within the legal field.

The Young Legal Aid Lawyers, who’ve acknowledged aspects wherein quality is being scaled back. A single section for example which they contest is that fixed service fees with regard to solicitors specifically has a bearing on the quality of legal service being offered.

The addition of fixed fees back in 07 have been referred to as a major risk to the sector. This specific risk was badly misjudged and was not and is not in the interest of lawyers or even their clients.

An example of a fixed fee circumstance had been the one I have pointed out earlier concerning the homeless woman who had been rejected housing as the woman’s adviser did not present evidence of her serious mental health issues.

The fixed fee adviser may possibly work for 3 hours for each situation. Nevertheless as outlined by the Young Legal Aid Lawyers the case can easily extend to six hours. It appears as they are not thinking about helping the client but working for the least number of hours for a larger fee that’s fixed regardless of the end result.

Generally if the fees don’t change the quality will stay the same that is a danger that the LSC faces.

The Young Legal Aid Lawyers additionally emphasize paralegalisation where “one partner supervises around 10 solicitors who in turn supervise 40 paralegals.” The concept for this is that efficiency is increased and delivered via economies of scale.

The issue is that young lawyers happen to be at the bottom of this stack and for that reason have not had sufficient experience to know what is wrong in certain cases. “New lawyers can’t be blamed for being unaware of things they don’t know”. Authors write.

The actual debate centred around legal help is cornered into a fight for survival for lawyers and legal reps. This really is reasonable as they don’t want to be at the bottom of this scale and be held responsible with regard to things they don’t understand or have no practical experience of. The danger is that quality for the the majority of vulnerable of legal clientele will be affected by cutbacks facing the legal industry.

New Legal Expense Plans.

(PRWEB) September 5, 2004

The aim of Direct Legal Aid Membership is to reduce fees for its clients, take the worry out of individuals self search for experienced and competant legal representation, and to give it Membership the opportunity to deal and find solution to legal issues as they arise, sooner rather then later.

Ola Solanke: Direct Legal Aid’s CEO has created 7 distinct Membership Plan ranging from the Home Business Plan, Family Plan, and Employment Contract Review Plan. Ola Solanke: this new type of membership plan is affordable to most no matter what you earn. Ola’ says it is important that everyone knows, or should know that the recent changes in the way government in the UK has changed beyond recognistion and therefore many who were once eligible for Legal Aid are no longer entitled under the new legal policy adopted by the government. He adds with the demise of companys who charge huge indemnity contingences insurance on a No win’ No fee, basis, Direct Legal Aid has created a truly all purpose Legal Membership Plan for everyone for their Peace of Mind.

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Legal Internships – Top 10 Mistakes Made by Legal Interns

Legal Internships – Top 10 Mistakes Made by Legal Interns

There is no dearth of people trying their hardest to get into law colleges and the bigger ones at that in a desperate attempt to fast track their careers in law. It is true that getting in at a bigger law college will obviously be more beneficial in the long run, not only for the name that the college possesses but also for the fact that a bigger college will attract the bigger names when it comes to placement.

A very common concept of law colleges is to make students apply for legal internships. The procedure is simple. You fill in an application, you are interviewed and if you are chosen, you intern. Now the thing about legal internships is that they are all about getting a taste of the legal industry and what it expects from you. It is all the same whether it is a corporate legal internship or anything else. The important thing is once you are in you should not make mistakes at the workplaces. Some mistakes can ruin your chances of taking advantage of the internship altogether. Here are the top ten mistakes that legal interns make.

1. Getting into the wrong firm: There are those who do their internships from any firm that will have them. This can be a big problem for them as they must spend time understanding the requirements of each firm and the job profile of the position of intern as they may differ from firm to firm.

2. Inefficiency: Once most interns get an internship they don’t generally work hard enough. Those who do get fantastic letters of recommendation from the firm and those who don’t get anything.

3. Lack of Persistence: Legal aid internships are all about patience and persistence. Some people just give up on a job half way and say it’s impossible. Such attitude will either not get you an internship or it will just cause you to lose out to others who are persistent.

4. Ego: You must keep your ego in your pocket and work well and listen to orders if you must succeed at a firm.

5. Letting go of chances abroad: legal internships abroad are something you must never let go off unless you have no choice. They are paid legal internships and augur better for your resume.

6. Working and Neglecting education: You are nowhere without good grades. You cannot let one suffer to care for the other. It is essential that you keep your scores high.

7. Not socializing: Law is as much about contacts as it is about skill. If you do not socialize in the social circle of the firm you work for, you stand to lose out on a lot.

8. Overworking: Don’t burn yourself out. Work hard but don’t go over the top to impress anyone. It may backfire.

9. Preferring Money over experience: Many of the better companies will hardly pay you high but offer you better experience instead. We should prefer them to higher wage, low on reputation firms.

10. Not keeping in touch with bosses after internship period: It is highly essential you do.

Free Legal Advice for Flood Victims

(PRWEB) January 25, 2006

A Carlisle solicitors firm is offering free legal advice for the city’s flood victims.

Burnetts Solicitors is providing a free, hour-long legal session for people who are frustrated by the very firms they have paid for help – namely their builders and insurance companies.

Like hundreds of other local householders, Burnetts Managing Partner, Tom Leach was only able to move back into his home near Warwick Road at the end of December. He is not surprised that Communities Reunited is reporting that flood victims are suffering high levels of stress caused by builders.

Tom said, “I have been very lucky with my builder, but I can understand the upset and stress some of my neighbours have felt. I’m sure some are wondering what they can do to have shoddy work rectified or to push along the insurance company. Our intention is that they will be able to get some much needed reassurance about their legal position.”

Expert advice will be provided by Alex McKnight an Associate Solicitor who specialises in litigation. In his previous post, Alex spent more than five years advising the insurance companies.

He said, “Burnetts is already acting for one family whose claim is being held up by zealous loss-adjusters. Having seen this process from both sides, I’m in a strong position to help clients move forward and I’m confident we can be a real help.”

The one hour’s free legal advice to available to anyone who is still suffering as a result of last year’s floods. For further information or to book an appointment, call Alex McKnight on 01228 552222.

For further media information or photography, contact Marketing Manager, Angela Huck on 01228 55 22 36.

Note to Editor:

Alex, 33 was recently promoted to Associate Solicitor. He studied law in Manchester and qualified in 1998 before joining Beachcroft Wansbroughs, Leeds where he was a commercial litigator acting for public authorities, insurance companies and the Catholic Church. He joined Burnetts in 2004.

Burnetts is a leading law firm based in Carlisle, with 18 partners and more than 120 staff. Burnetts provide legal services to a broad range of clients across the north of England and southern Scotland.

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