fortdick;1557863 said:
I could care less about being right or wrong. I was wrong on the O.J. trial. But I was glad on that because of the threats of riots if he was convicted.
Then please tell me what you have invested in this case? What is the incentive for you to prejudge him?
That is the beauty of it. I will never be indicted. I don;t do anything wrong. I don't even speed in my car. I don't drink, so no drunk driving in my future. I both respect and fear the law. Vick does neither.
Well then all the easier for you to have an unreasonable point of view.... and a very immature one at that.
I seem to remember when I was in high school, some representative from MADD coming to school and giving a speech about drunk driving. They said the reason so many young people get killed and/or kill other people, even though they hear about people getting killed drunk driving, is because they think, "That will never happen to me." Something about youth and new found freedom makes teenagers feel infallible. You think you're infallible?
Remember, you can indict a ham sandwich. It could be something as little as a 4 year old telling someone you touched them in a bad spot. Bang, you're indicted... You want to be prejudged? Sometimes that hit to your reputation can never be regained.
Oh bullocks! You know the more you win the more you can charge. If you win cases, you get to charge more money. If you were working in some nonprofit thing, then I would applaud your altruism, but the fact is, lawyers don;t practice law for the good feeling it gives them.
Does James Sokolove get paid up front, or does he takes cases on a contingency? Just wondering what you say to all that?
Honestly I can charge whatever I want. I could charge outrageous retainers upfront if I wanted to. Problem is, with me being a newbie, I would never get any clients. Generally, the more experience you get, the more you can charge and actually get clients. Your reputation and experience are the biggest things that determine the market for your services.
Sometimes you gain a positive reputation by winning cases, sure. Sometimes it's by being an honest person and treating clients right. They don't post the winning percentage of attorneys in the paper.
And yes, some lawyers practice solely for money. Some practice because it does give them a good feeling. I finalized an adoption the other day, that's a pretty good feeling, no matter how "soulless" you are.
I'm not surprised you're skeptical. Cops hate lawyers. How's that generality for you?
As far as contingency fees are concerned, those are typically only set up in personal injury cases. Personal injury attorneys can do that because they are basically guaranteed a settlement from someone. But you'll never find an attorney who takes a case on a contingency fee without knowing the facts. they hear the facts, then determine whether it's worth their time to try to get a settlement, then they take a cut. But that cut is predetermined. The percentage of the attorney's take doesn't go up as the settlement amount goes up.
Ever had a client so guilty that you thought he should be in jail for the rest of his life? If so, what advice did you give him? Plea for a reduced sentence? I bet you fought tooth and nail, busting that poor prosecutor's butt, trying to get the scumbag out of prison in half the time he deserved.
No I haven't. I've had clients who I thought should go to jail, and I told him he was looking at jail time. Again, I didn't say, "you should go to jail." I don't give my opinions like that. And of course if I run into a guy like that, I'm going to fight for less time. That's my job. My personal opinion means little.
And that poor prosecutor that went to law school and didn't finish in the upper part of his class and get a job offer from a private firm.
LOL @ poor prosecutors. There are a lot of good prosecutors who will bust your butt just the same. There are also a lot of lazy prosecutors who could get into private practice, but don't for whatever reason, but one big reason is that they don't want to work past 5:00 or on weekends. Another one is they get a good pension plan from the state/county/government.
I didn't finish in the upper part of my class, nor did I get an immediate offer from a private law firm. but I am not opposed to busting my butt, working past 5:00 every day, or on weekends. I hope my bosses have picked up on that.
It is all about winning and losing.
Already addressed... but what is your job about?
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