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Get The Best Out Of Your Attorney
by Lauren Jenkins
http://www.attorneyviews.com

Almost all of us use the services of an attorney sometimes
during our lives. It's usual procedure to need them if we
have to go to court, perhaps for divorces and if, by bad
luck, we find ourselves the target of a lawsuit. We'll only
actually end up in court if all else fails and the stakes
are too high if we lose.

But not all attorneys give good service for the amount
they charge. Probably one of the most tense times in our
lives, when we need the support of an attorney is if we get
divorced. It's quite possible to spend tens of thousands of
dollars particularly if the financial settlement takes time
to organise and if there are children involved. Remember
that although the attorney is working for you, for most of
them the important relationships in their lives are with
the other attorneys. Very few attorneys will be prepared to
fight a cause that may antagonise a judge or fight
passionately for you if they believe that in so doing they
will upset the judge. You are therefore left with two
choices.

Either you need to find an attorney who will be
prepared to look after you or you do it yourself! Finding
an honest, hard working attorney who will be devoted to
your case is not easy. It takes time and, very often that's
a commodity we don't have at the time. We're often forced
into a corner and take the first attorney that we're
offered. We don't ask the most basic questions like, 'what
are your fees?' or 'what are your success rates?' but we're
just grateful that someone is willing to take our case. At
the end of the day, we're very vulnerable. If it doesn't go
well in court and we're told that it was the best possible
deal we could expect from that particular judge we have no
come-back. We have to pay up to the court and pay up to the
attorney.

But there is an alternative. It's radical and very rarely
done, but there is absolutely nothing to stop you from
defending yourself. There are some simple basics of being
your own attorney in a court that you will obviously need
to know. Let's start at the beginning! A plaintiff files
complaints and a defendant answers these complaints. The
matter will be heard in front of a judge and jury. The
judge will conduct the proceedings and the jury will decide
the verdict. When this is decided the judge will declare
the sentence.

In minor cases the two sides are encouraged to settle
matters out of court. This saves huge amounts of time and
money to all parties. But this is not always possible and
most cases go to court for judgement.

If you do decide to defend yourself you will also need to
know how to conduct yourself and how to address the judge.
In a nutshell this boils down to:
1~Always treating the judge as if he's a higher being. Be
very respectful and never flippant or rude.
2~Because there are just too many cases for the amount of
courts and judges you'll find that judges will always be
stressed and short of time. You therefore will need to be
short and to the point with your arguments. Make sure that
you're fully aware of all the facts and that you can
present them in a coherent and logical manner.
3~Always address the judge as 'your honor'. Without
appearing rude or confrontational make sure that you look
him in the eyes. If there is a particular point that you
don't seem to be getting across you can say 'with all due
respect'. Throughout the case you must show patience and
understanding so that he recognises that you're a sincere
and rational person.
4~Dress carefully. Think what sort of person you will be
wanting to impress and make sure that you don't wear
anything that could make you look flippant or appears
disrespectful.

If you do decide to defend yourself and you come over in
the right way the chances are that you will impress the
judge far more than an expensive attorney, but, just like
life, it's a gamble.

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