How much legal fees would I be charged?
How Lawyers Charge Fee? Most often than not when a client walks into a lawyer’s office he would first of all ask the lawyer how much he should pay the lawyer for a certain work to be done even without first giving an opportunity for the lawyer to assess the legal problem the client was facing. A lawyer may not be able to off-hand quote a fee without a proper understanding of the legal problem that the client is facing. Therefore, a lawyer will not be able to quote a proper fee when client ask by phone. The best thing is to see the lawyer personally and shopping around by phone for lawyers will not do justice to the client and lawyer. Before quoting a fee for a particular work asked by the client the lawyer has to consider a number of factors such as: (1) The nature of legal problem the client is facing, whether it is about debt matters, personal injury claims, land disputes, hire –purchase, criminal charges etc., (2) The value of the matter in dispute; (3) The length of time needed and effort taken to resolve the legal problem faced by the client; (4) Whether there […] read more
ADMINISTERING JUSTICE – STATE AND CITIZENS
An Article by Voon Lee Shan The state owes a duty to the citizens to protect their lives, liberty and property in reciprocal for allegiance of citizens to the state. If the state through her officers who are custodians and trustees of our law can act anyhow and or at their whims and fancies, then the institution of good governance and democracy will collapse and will throw the country in chaos and anarchy. Any malicious, scandalous and vilified act caused to a citizen and his family can also happen to officers and their families, friends and relatives of officers who got the guts to clothe themselves with tigers’ hides to abuse their powers to the detriment of country and citizens. The swords can also be near to their throats too if they act irresponsibly to bring country to chaos and anarchy. To government officers who got the guts to clothe themselves with tiger’s hides and abuse their powers to the detriment of country and citizens, the swords can also be near to their throats too if they act irresponsibly to bring this country to chaos and anarchy. As loyal citizens and officers of the state we may wish to know […] read more
Problem with spouse? Child Abuse by Spouse?
PROBLEM WITH SPOUSE? WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE BY SPOUSE? It is often in divorce or child custody matter, one side or the other may raise allegations of criminal child abuse and allegations are made, the lawyer’s task will be to find out, “On which side of the law is my client?” In such a situation, unless an emergency arises the lawyer normally will wish to talk with his client before his client wishes to see the police. Here, the lawyer may need to give active listening to the client before advising what should be done. However, there is a need to act fast as suspected crimes need to be reported to the police in soonest possible so that police can be dispatched to the scene of crime or home to collect and to preserve evidence before evidence could be destroyed. A client who is falsely accused may face the loss of parental rights or dealings with the child and when accused of child abuse, it is proper that the client need to take proactive defence to rebut the criminal accusations. The accusations of child abuse are nothing, but, a strategy to gain sympathy of […] read more Common Problems in Litigation – No Sure Win Case!
A client walks in and tells his lawyer that he was told he has a strong case or defence. To the client after being told by many people that his is a sure win case and there should not be any reason why he may not win. There are times we can hear in town of talks in town that certain lawyers told their clients that their clients’ case is a “guarantee win case!” Wow! This sounds great and the clients also felt happy! This is something like “money back guarantee” package offered by certain lawyers. What is certain here is that the lawyer who gives the guarantee is either inexperienced or rather is boastful of his trade. For experienced and seasoned lawyers in court or lawyers who are familiar with litigations, they may not wish to speculate the chances of winning at all. The most these lawyers will say is that, “I shall give my best, the rest I shall leave it to the court.” In litigations, clients may lose their case for many reasons. The more common reasons are: Failure of lawyer in preparing case adequately before trial; Client’s failure or inability to finance the suit or pay […] read more Preparing for Divorce – What you should look out?
Preparing for Divorce No one wants a divorce and any ending of a happy marriage will sure leave a deep scar in a married couple. By preparing for a divorce, your life is about to change. It is about your future, your life. The bad thing about divorce is that it is a business transaction and is a costly affair in which you may need solid legal and financial information to navigate the process. Emotions should not play a role in your ability to make solid business decisions and when emotion creeps in, your lawyer will have difficult tasks to advise you. So it is important that you pay careful attention to the preparation of your case because distribution of marital property, custodial agreements for your children, child support, and maintenance will all be tabled to court. In a divorce case, there are three levels of preparation – emotional, financial and legal. Before you initiate a divorce: 1. Get your documents in order. When you know divorce is inescapable, you need to start your preparation for the fight. You need to get all the ammunitions and supplies ready. How and Why? You may think it is absolutely unnecessary but you […] read more How Bad Lawyering Can Result in wrongful Convictions
While the Constitution guarantees an accused person the right to be defended by a lawyer in a criminal case, there is no guarantee that the lawyer will be effective, thorough and competent. The majority of accused persons, especially those charged with very serious crimes, such as murder and drugs trafficking coming up with tens of thousands of ringgit necessary to hire a well known competent lawyer is simply out of reach. For those who are facing capital punishment, they will then be left with court appointed lawyers whose competency and workload varies widely. These appointed lawyers may not have the competency and experience to handle serious crime cases and accused persons can be left with an almost overburdened and poorly paid, often inexperienced and sometimes incompetent lawyers. Some experienced lawyers may be appointed but, may at times due to overload of work not be performing well because of the poor fee he may receive from the government. As a result, accused persons may run the risk of wrong convictions. At times, an accused person may be persuaded by his incompetent lawyer to plead guilty in the hope of getting a lighter sentence. What will happen in such a case is […] read more 