Lawyers Know How to Get Your Money From You

Read More About Legal

For the past four years, this 60 year old woman has been making monthly payments to an attorney. She was awarded $101 per month in a disability case. The lawyer now takes a large percentage of the payout. In the same state, a disabled miner has been paying his lawyer a monthly fee for over ten years now. The disabled miner won a whopping $134 a month pension with the help of this attorney, who is collecting a portion of that payment every month.

These are legal fees imposed on people who are fighting to get money to live, and cannot afford another monthly bill based on their battle. One case showed a couple who received welfare. The husband was bedridden because of his cancer. But the poor are the only ones affected by large legal fees. Middle class litigants also feel the burden of paying exorbitant legal fees from their own pockets.

One book about lawyers states that the American middle class is the hardest hit by lawyers fees because they not only have the money, they also have no power when it comes to state legislatures. The middle class is also the one what spawns the majority of new lawyers. The book?s author wonders what this says about us psychologically.

Typically, attorneys charge an hourly fee. According to lawyers, plumbers and doctors get paid for their work, so why shouldn't they? No one would argue that lawyers work for free. But, how long is it ethical to charge a percentage of an award? Lifetime payments from clients are not unusual for divorces, injury suits, will probates and real estate investment.

Widows and orphans have been robbed of their monies the lawyers were entrusted to protect. Rather than actually steal the money, other lawyers just charge outrageous amounts for their services. Charging over sixty percent of a six figure estate in five year?s time, a couple of legal partners got lots of money. The man who owned the estate had been ruled incapable of managing his money by the court. The lawyers were made to pay the funds back in this particular case. One lawyer, not widely accepted by his peers, sued the other lawyers to get the money back. He was the only one who would take the case.

News stations and newspapers do not help the legal fee problem, and actually almost encourage the shady dealings by behaving as if the court system is not a news source. Local courts make information on how much the guardians and lawyers are paid easily available. Yet, it isn?t generally reported. Some of the problem could also be contributed by the bar association itself. They strongly encourage attorney-client privilege and outwardly object to interference by third parties. They also keep on the defensive about anything negative that may be said in the media about the legal profession.

Though legal fees are usually determined by hours spent on the case, sometimes lawyers will only take a percentage of the award as payment. One bar association lawyer wants minimum fee agreements imposed on all cases. This is known as the contingent fee, which is a percentage of the case winnings. Expect to be charged somewhere from twenty-five through fifty percent of the award.

This fee is purely an American invention, very much like poker. A lawyer is not allowed to take a fee only if he wins for the client in England and almost all of Europe. Injured workers were first helped in the US in 1848 with contingency fees. These workers had no money to hire legal counsel, so the contingency fee arrangement was created so the workers could begin a civil lawsuit.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Visit this site for further information on car accident lawyers melbourne. For resources on tac claim check out this site.

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Legal Articles Via RSS!

Additional Articles From - Home | Legal

Our other websites
All about SEO
Beauty Tips Forum

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email to Friends
	Ezine Ready

Submit Articles
Member Login
Link Us
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Sitemap

New Stuff
About Us
Developer
Good shopping portal
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service