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TEXT 1 TOP 5 QUALITIES OF A GOOD LAWYER Provided by HG.org To become a lawyer is to become a man/woman of many hats. Law schools will teach you some of the skills you need, but they can't teach character. In order to become a "good" lawyer, you have to naturally have certain qualities. Some of these qualities you've discovered within yourself in your time as a law student, but others may need to be worked on. Many lawyers just appear to be good at what they do on the surface, but you can quickly realize the truth behind them. All lawyers must have certain skills in order to be a successful and, in turn, a good lawyer. So what differentiates a “lawyer” from a “good lawyer”? Here are the top 5 qualities of a good lawyer: responsiveness, analytical skills, good research skills, speaking skills, and listening skills. 5. Analytical Skills – All lawyers should be able to look at any situation and analyze it from all points of view. Criminal defense attorneys have to look at the case from the view of the prosecutor, and vice versa. All lawyers must be able to take in large amounts of information at a time, organize it, and understand it on the spot. When a case is in session, curveballs will likely be thrown and they have to be able to interpret and respond to them appropriately. 4. Responsiveness – This is a skill that not every lawyer has, which a lot of clients find out about quickly. All lawyers should respond to their clients, law partners, secretaries, and anyone else involved in a case. Putting off a conversation or not being readily available as often as possible can result in a failed case because the information the client wants to provide is crucial to the case’s integrity. 3. Research and Investigation Skills – Finding authoritative information on the Web, as well as finding appropriate information in books can be a difficult thing to do in a short period of time. Lawyers will tell you that when they went through law school, there were a lot of research papers. A lawyer’s opinion does not stand up in court, so it must be backed with facts. That’s where the research and investigation comes in. All lawyers should know how to work with investigators, use online resources, research laws, regulations, and judicial opinions to back their case up. Following the research is the presentation and delivery of the information. 2. Speaking Skills – All lawyers must be able to speak clearly and concisely. A lot of lawyers are comfortable in front of a large group of people, but they lack the ability to form a logical thought that gets his/her point across. Another aspect of speaking skills is to understand legal terminology. Legal professionals have to be able to understand and explain the terminology to the client. If you can’t understand your lawyer, then neither can the jury. 1. Listening Skills – In order to properly understand the case, all lawyers must listen to their clients. Without listening skills, the lawyer will miss pertinent information. For the strongest case possible, the lawyer must understand every aspect of the case and look at it from all angles. If you’re a student looking for advice on how to be a good lawyer, start by analyzing yourself. If you find that you don't have 1 or more of these qualities, then consider working on them. You will use each of these every single day. The last thing someone wants is a lawyer who will misrepresent their case! AUTHOR: Ryan Gavin Ryan Gavin is an affiliate of the Law Offices of Blackford & Flohr, LLC. T 2 Legal Education for All (or More Than Just Lawyers) By Carol A. Parker SEPTEMBER 09, 2013, the web site Chronicle. While the need to acquire a working understanding of our laws and regulations seems only to grow, access to legal information is still largely kept at a premium by legal educators, who provide it almost exclusively through the juris doctor degree. Completion of this three-year professional degree is required by nearly every state to sit for attorney licensure examinations. However, the J.D. is less well suited to students who want simply to acquire legal knowledge. This is especially true as J.D. programs move toward a greater emphasis on experiential learning and on turning out practice-ready lawyers. The traditional legal-education business model of producing only J.D. graduates was sustainable only when more entry-level lawyer jobs were created than graduates were produced each year. Unfortunately those jobs are disappearing because of outsourcing, robosourcing, and clients who demand flat fees rather than billable hours. Online vendors now do a thriving business selling legal forms for wills, divorces, and incorporations—siphoning off the bread-and-butter trade of small solo practitioners. Meanwhile, employers want workers who are able to make connections across subjects and to employ different intellectual perspectives. Recent research shows that students with double majors gain a leg up on acquiring the vital skill of integrative thinking. According to a Chronicle report on that research, double-major programs are said to encourage "creative thinking, in which students master multiple disciplinary approaches to generate fresh and original ideas. Students who major in two fields are more apt than their single-majoring peers to think both integratively and creatively." The demonstrated benefits of double majors would apply to interdisciplinary legal studies as well. Including legal studies with the arts, sciences, and other professional programs would enhance development of critical reasoning and analysis skills, the ability to make connections across courses and subjects, and the ability to employ different intellectual perspectives. An interdisciplinary approach would provide graduates of these new programs with greater access to the job markets of interdisciplinary partners—something that traditional joint degrees based on combining the J.D. program with master's degrees from other disciplines rarely do. New approaches could include professional certificates as well as master's-level degrees. Interdisciplinary programs would also set the stage for pipeline-to-graduate-degree programs based on baccalaureate studies, such as three-plus-two or four-plus-one programs. When law professors and their colleagues from other disciplines start to offer professional-level interdisciplinary degrees, not only will the excess capacity that now exists within the legal academy be put to better use, but academic partners in these new degrees will benefit from gaining access to legal information to enrich their curricular offerings. Most important, the students and their future employers will be better served. There are no accreditation barriers to taking this approach. Law schools may offer programs other than the J.D. degree under current law-accreditation standards as long as the programs do not detract from the ability to maintain J.D.-program accreditation standards. Although interdisciplinary scholarship has taken root in law faculties, programs of legal study still remain largely doctrinaire and traditionally organized. Only a small percentage of American law schools offer master's-level legal-studies degrees, which are typically equivalent to taking two semesters' worth of law-school courses. These non-J.D. graduate degrees are aimed at students seeking knowledge about law, but combining such programs with subject matter drawn from other disciplines to create discrete programs remains rare. A couple of examples can be found at Yale and Arizona State, which offer programs that combine legal studies with areas as diverse as journalism, environmental studies, psychology, sustainability, and public health. The time is ripe for finding new modes of cooperation, so reach out to your faculty colleagues in law. Do not squander the opportunity provided by the crisis in legal education to inspire meaningful change. Creating exciting programs that combine legal information with the arts, sciences, and other professional programs will help reframe what legal education means. Carol A. Parker is a professor of law and associate dean for finance and administration at the University of New Mexico School of Law. T 3 QUESTIONS TO ASK A SMALL BUSINESS LAWYER BEFORE HIRING  Provided by HG.orgSmall business lawyers play a vital role in the formation and retention of a business. They are also a source of trust and expertise for small businesses that must rely on their work and advice. Here are several questions to ask a small business lawyer before deciding to hire him or her. What Kind of Experience Do You Have with My Industry? While lawyers may have experience with working with other commercial clients, you may have aspects of your business that are unique to your own industry. For example, intellectual property may play an important role in your business, and you will want someone with experience in that arena. You may have other important aspects of your business that you want your attorney to have experience working with, such as service contracts or franchise agreements. Ask prospective lawyers if they have a client in the same or similar industry as yours. Also, ask if you can talk to these clients to get a referral for the lawyer. Would There Be a Conflict of Interest? Determine quickly whether there would be a potential conflict of interest before delving too deeply into the conversation. Look for if the lawyer represents competitors, former business partners or former employees. A conflict may arise in these types of situations that may be best to avoid. What Is Your Communication Style? Different lawyers handle client communications in a different manner. For example, some prefer to give clients undivided attention and schedule an office meeting if the client wants to talk. Other lawyers prefer to communicate via email or by phone. Be aware that even if you communicate with a lawyer via a phone call, email or text, your lawyer will likely bill you for these communications as he or she is taking time to provide you with legal advice or services. See if the lawyer’s communication style corresponds with your own. Additionally, ask potential lawyers how long it usually takes to get back to clients. It may be several days before you hear from a lawyer, and you do not want this to come as a surprise. How Do You Handle Conflicts? Some lawyers spend a good deal of time litigating issues, while others may prefer mediation to help resolve disputes. Assess your own needs and that of your business. Litigious lawyers may be more difficult to get to conform if your desire is to settle a particular case. However, lawyers who have little litigation experience may not be taken seriously by an opponent who is aware of this fact. Who Will Handle My Work? It is common for attorneys to delegate work to paralegals or legal clerks. However, be sure that you are getting what you are paying for. Someone who delegates an extensive amount of legal work to someone else may be consuming additional time to explain it to the delegate. Additionally, this individual may take more time to complete the work if he or she is not experienced or knowledgeable about the legal issue. How Do You Bill? Make sure that you have a clear understanding of how your lawyer bills before retaining his or her services. Some attorneys do not charge for an initial consultation while others do. Additionally, lawyers may use increments of four, ten or fifteen minutes, according to the laws of the jurisdictions where they practice, so even if an attorney invests minimal time in a task, you may be paying for more time. Determine how other expenses such as research, paralegal fees and expenses related to communications are handled. Some attorneys may charge a flat rate for a particular service, such as forming an LLC. Others may charge straight time by the hour. Some may charge a hybrid of the first two options. Check with your lawyer if there are any ways that you can save on legal expenses, such as by acquiring certain documents yourself. T 4 "Ban the Box" Laws: The Ban on Criminal History Questions on Job Applications Provided by HG.orgНачало формыКонец формы A number of states have passed laws that prohibit employers from asking applicants about any criminal history. This strategy is an attempt to help people rebuild their lives after acquiring a criminal history that may adversely affect their lives. Box Questions. The term “ban the box” refers to a question on an application that asks an applicant to mark “yes” or “no” in response to a question about whether the individual has been convicted of a crime. The concern over questions of this nature is that employers will simply put any applications that have “yes” responses in a reject pile without giving any further consideration for these individuals. Ban the Box Laws. At the time of publication, 12 states had statewide laws that ban asking such blanket questions. Additional cities and counties may have these laws even when a statewide law is not in place. In addition, state human rights laws may implicate information about this process and using a person’s criminal history against him or her to deny employment opportunities. States that have some type of law on this subject often prohibit employers from having any type of question on their applications that asks about any prior arrests or convictions. Employers that violate the law may be subject to criminal and civil action. Employers must take care to ensure that their company is complying with the relevant rules. Some states have laws that allow a fine of more than $1,000 per each day that the employer does not comply with the relevant law. Purpose Behind Ban the Box Laws. Such laws have the potential to have a significant impact on applicants. For many individuals, it is a daunting task to find employment after being convicted of a crime and having to label oneself as a criminal. For years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has attempted to complete an overhaul of the employment system’s treatment of individuals with a criminal record. Such laws represent a tremendous victory for this agency and others. They represent ending discrimination against people who have committed a criminal offense, often many years before and one that has no significance on their ability to complete the job required. For many individuals, not being able to find a job after conviction often results in offenders going back to their old way of life and committing crimes in order to get the money that they need to survive. There is a high rate of recidivism among offenders. Limitations on These Laws. Although these laws create a tremendous stride in attempting to help individuals move on with their lives after making a mistake that might adversely affect their life after being released, the laws may not fully address the problems. These laws do have limitations. For example, many states define an employer in a very narrow way, such as by stating that the law only applies to companies that have 15 or more employees within a certain geographical scope. This allows smaller employers to still ask such questions even if larger employers are subject to the restraints of the law. Additionally, most of these laws may prohibit employers from asking such questions on the application but may permit disclosure if the employer brings the individual in for an interview. Employers may be able to seek information about applicants’ criminal history in other contexts, also. For example, state or federal law may permit asking about criminal convictions for certain types of positions. Jobs in law enforcement or that require a separate license from a state licensing board may also not have to comply with the general rules of the ban the box law. In these types of situations, the employer may be required to provide information about specific disqualifying offenses in writing to applicants. Additionally, if a fidelity bond or other bond is required for the job and the applicant’s criminal record would otherwise prevent him or her from being able to obtain a bond of this nature, the rules usually do not apply. In these types of situations, employers can generally ask about former convictions. Even if the law does apply, the laws may not provide a private right of action and may only permit the state’s department of labor to enforce the law, which may not provide them with the ability to really benefit from the law when there are employers who do not follow the law. Legal Assistance. Individuals may wish to contact a lawyer to learn about their rights and to learn about options that might be available in their case. T 5 First Amendment Provided by HG.orgThe First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is arguably one of the most important laws in America. It prohibits the enactment of any laws respecting the establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing upon the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibiting citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted into the U.S. Constitution as a part of the first ten amendments, known as the “Bill of Rights” in 1791. |