Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Incredible Lessons I’ve Learned About

what you need to know before selecting a land use and zoning attorney

The pertinent issues surrounding land use and zoning are increasingly higher in this current generation, and they are getting more involved with time, and it is, therefore, prudent to have the best legal representative when you are in a particular scene involving the court of law. Below are some things to put into perspective before hiring a land use and zoning attorney.

The first thing that you need to check to act the legal qualifications of particular land use and zoning attorney. You should avoid attorneys who have a general knowledge when it comes to land use and zoning as you should instead go for individuals who have specialized in land use and zoning law by having extensive studies in the field.

You will need a licensed land-use in the zoning attorney to be able to offer you the legal representation that you need. It in the way of a professional land use and zoning attorney to be able to show their clients that they are rightly qualified for the field of work by showing the government licenses in the websites, and it is therefore prudent that you do your research by going to the site and confirm whether they have the permits required.

You need a land-use entering attorney can be able to be available for you anytime that you require services. The alley stages of considering a specific land-use entering attorney should involve you being able to contact various land use and zoning attorneys that you are finding the one who can be readily available for your questions should be the right one for you. You require flexible land-use and zoning attorney who can be able to adjust their schedules to be able to see what your needs are the moment.

You should also check how reputable a particular land-use and zoning attorney is before hiring their services. Reputation can be an excellent sure that a particular land-use and zoning attorney has the expertise that is required to guarantee the victory of your case as they are dealt with many more other clients to be able to know how effective you to go around your situation. Reputation can also be a good indicator that a specific land-use and zoning attorney has the capital that is required to be able to offer their clients the best services.

You should also go for a land-use and zoning attorney who has been in the field of legal representation for a long time. The an individual who has been in the game for a long time as they know the strings to pull when it comes to adequate representation of land-use and zoning cases.
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Why Aren’t As Bad As You Think

All You Need to Know When Choosing a Criminal Lawyer

You may be filed against a criminal charge as you carry out your days activities. You find that when you are working with a criminal lawyer who has the best qualities, it will be easy for you and this will take you to the next level, and this is very important for you. There is a need to ensure that you choose a procedure that will keep you having the best services and this will help you know the right procedure to solve your case with a criminal defense lawyer. Find out how it is easy to choose a lawyer who will help you in solving criminal charges here.

If in some cases of misfortune you are prisoned due to having weapons or illegal drugs you will need to ensure that you have someone who is well versed so that you feel safe and have a chance to stay close to your family. You find that the lawyer has tactics to convince the court to offer you a lesser term that will help you reduce the punishment that you would be facing. Ensure that you check the certification so that you are assured that you are dealing with a person who is well versed and has all the information that will be responsible for you and the intentions that you have in mind. To ensure that you get the best services, you need to ensure that you consider some things and this is very important for you and your business, this will make you have the best services to keep you working out like a professional.

For the professionals to win cases, it is their skills that defines whether they will attain a that. This way, you will be sure that you have someone who knows what happens here and the chances of winning on your case are very high. In fact, you need to ensure that the lawyer has been solving such cases for more than ten years. Thus, do not risk hiring a lawyer has only done this job for only five years. If a lawyer cannot show you that he/she has been dealing with such cases, then there is no way to believe anything that you will be told. Also, look whether the cases are still pending, or they all have been solved and won.

A dependable lawyer is important because you might have a case anytime and need his/her services. Some customers have had experience with these lawyers, and they would be willing to tell you a lot about the services they have had so that you make up a good choice. If you do not take this chance to ask many questions, then you would not tell what you needed from a lawyer. Again, you should find out whether the professional rectified his mistakes. That is why you need to be cautious with the person you settle with to make sure he/she is knowledgeable.
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Monday, March 25, 2019

When Should You Contact A Criminal Defense Attorney?

Originally Posted on https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/marvintrodriguez.wordpress.com/27

If you’re charged with a crime, it can be a sinking feeling. There can be a flood of feelings, such as what legal consequences you may be facing or even where you should turn.
It’s during these times that finding an attorney with specialized experience can be well worth the cost you’ll end up paying.
When it comes to hiring a criminal defense attorney, most people wait until they find themselves in legal troubles. 
Unfortunately, what most people don’t realize is that it’s a good idea to contact a criminal defense attorney as early as possible.
Former Wyoming prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney Christina L. Williams, Attorney at Law outlines three situations in which it would be highly advisable to retain the counsel of an experienced criminal defense attorney:
When the police want to question you
When you’re served a warrant
When you receive a notice to appear
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
It’s important to remember that police officers are often well-trained in applying pressure to obtain answers while staying within the confines of the law.
It’s no secret that what you say can be used against you in court. However, did you know that police offers are only required to remind you of your right to remain silent while you’re in their custody?
That means that, if an officer is merely talking to you, they do not need to remind you of your right to remain silent.
When it comes to retaining legal counsel, naturally one of the next questions is how much it will cost.
In the following article by Ken LaMance originally posted on Legal Match, he explains in detail what you can anticipate on spending when it comes to hiring a criminal defense attorney.

What are the Costs Associated with Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer?

“…the cost for hiring an attorney who advertises a flat fee charge for their representation of you, will inevitably vary depending on your personal circumstances. For instance, if a lawyer charges a flat fee, and the charge is a misdemeanor, then you can expect to pay anywhere between $1,000 to $3,000.

However, if there is a possibility of trial, then you can expect that price to increase to around $3,000 to $5,000. If the charge is a felony, and the lawyer believes they may be able to receive a favorable settlement, then the flat fee arrangement may range anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000. However, if a felony trial seems inevitable, then a flat fee ranging between $5,000 to $8,000 is not uncommon.”
It’s important to note that the costs of legal representation can greatly vary depending on your specific case and what you’re being charged with.
This brings us to the final point of this article: how much should you disclose to a criminal defense attorney.
Owning up to your misdeeds can be difficult. However, being upfront and honest with your criminal defense attorney can have benefits.
As noted in the article, “I’m Guilty: Should I Tell My Attorney?” by Brett A Podolsky, it’s generally considered best practice to provide your defense attorney with as much information as possible. Brett notes that:

Most attorneys agree that knowing the full details of the situation is the best way to defend a client. Even when you have been caught outright committing a crime, if your lawyer knows the truth, he can advise you on your best chances for acquittal or at least a reduced sentence. Otherwise, you may find you have wasted your money by hiring a lawyer because he is unable to defend you effectively based on lack of information.

The same principle applies even in relation to a civil case, for example, a claim against insurance. In one case study, the defendant had claimed several times for the same injuries in a vehicle collision, which he failed to tell his lawyer who found out only after incurring extensive costs for discovery. By that point, the attorney was not very interested in helping the client, partly because of the potential damage to his reputation and partly because the case had become unprofitable for him.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: 
HTTPS://BRETTPODOLSKY.COM/GENERAL-LAW/IM-GUILTY-SHOULD-I-TELL-MY-ATTORNEY 

Conclusion

If you’re charged with any sort of misdemeanor or felony, it’s likely in your best interest to seek legal representation as soon as possible. While there is a variety of way to help select the best criminal defense attorney to fit your needs, remember that time is of the essence. 
Waiting to contact an attorney is perhaps one of the most careless and reckless things you could do when being charged.
For further reading, check out the additional resources below.

Additional Resources

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Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Tech, Personal Information, and the Justice System

Social media has become an integrated part of our lives.
As electronic attacks become more common and many people don’t fully understand how to secure their personally identifiable information (PII). To complicate matters, hackers are becoming more sophisticated.
It’s for this reason that people should be more aware of what kinds of information they put online.
Social media is one of the most common places people feel the need to share what’s going on in their lives without regard to what kinds of sensitive information they may be broadcasting to the world.
If you haven’t seen the “Mayhem” commercial from Allstate Insurance, it’s kind of like this…

Comical as it is, this commercial underscores an important issue with how people are using technology and the dangers it presents for unsuspecting victims of cybercrime.

In the article below from Findlaw, William Vogeler urges people to understand that the problem of sharing personal information is a real issue. Volger offers some advice to help keep your information as safe as possible as our lives become more integrated with technology:
If we learned anything from the Terminator movies, it’s that technology can be really scary. Not only did Arnold Schwarzenegger come back, he became governor. In the real world, it’s even scarier. The Internet of Things means that everything with an electronic pulse can be hacked: your security system, your thermostat, your refrigerator! Not that anybody really wants to know what’s in your refrigerator, but the experts are right cyber-insecurity. Here’s what the smart ones at Harvard Business Review say to do about the inevitable cyber-invasion:
– Selectively digitize data
– Back up critical systems
– Don’t use devices that can’t be updated
– Make software companies accountable
These are all great points and seem simple enough to follow, but are they enough to keep your information safe?
Massive data breaches seem to happen more frequently and it seems consumers are taking the fallout as ones their personal information has become compromised.
For example, Apple announced that they were pulling Facebook’s enterprise license for questionable use of consumer data.

Apple’s Empty Grandstanding About Privacy

The speech is worth revisiting in light of an emerging fight between Apple and Facebook. Earlier this week, TechCrunch reported that Facebook had been paying people, including teens 13 to 17 years old, to install a “research” app that extracted huge volumes of personal data from their iPhones—direct messages, photos, emails, and more. Facebook uses this information partly to improve its data profiles for advertisement, but also as a business-intelligence tool to help paint a picture of competitor behavior.
After the story broke, Facebook said it would shut down the iOS version of the program. That wasn’t enough for Apple, which canceled Facebook’s ability to distribute custom iPhone apps for internal use by Facebook employees. That might look like a severe punishment that will send a strong message to Facebook, and to other companies. But it’s mostly a slap on the wrist. It gives Apple moral cover while doing little to change the data economy the company claims to oppose.
Though this was done publicly, it seems that was a bit more of a show than taking actual action against Facebook for privacy. It seems Apple’s actions might just be temporary “scolding.” It may be cynical to think things could very easily go back to the way they previously were with personal privacy in the crosshairs of big data.
Beyond people’s information being leaked, there’s an even bigger issue when it comes to criminal defense.
What happens when we start relying on tech to the point we view it as infallible. What happens to the justice system?
William Vogeler of FindLaw makes an interesting assertion, suggestions that technology could even be compromised, resulting in wrongful convictions. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
TechDirt points out the fly in the ointment of machine-learning. The algorithms use statistics to find patterns in data.
“So if you feed it historical crime data, it will pick out the patterns associated with crime,” TechDirt says. “But those patterns are statistical correlations — nowhere near the same as causations.”
It’s the old adage: garbage in, garbage out. But that should be applied to machines, not people.
We still need cops and judges to do their jobs, even with human errors.
Relying on machine learning is truly a double-edged sword. On one hand, it could help law enforcement catch criminals more effectively. However, on the other hand, do we really want to live in a police-state?
How many personal freedoms are we willing to give up in order to rest easy thinking we’re safe and secure?

Additional resources:


via Marvin Rodriguez Blog https://marvintrodriguez.wordpress.com/2019/01/31/technology-and-justice/
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What are White Collar Crimes?

We often hear about “white collar” crimes, but what exactly does that mean?
For most people, white collar crimes are typically thought of as relating to the financial sector or higher-class jobs. What may be shocking to learn is that these types of crimes could also be committed by someone in a more limited position, such mid-level management, office staff, clerical role, or even as an intern.
In fact, most white collar crimes often go unnoticed. For example, using a company credit card to pay for non-business related expenses, such as a meal or gas, could be considered a white-collar crime.
In almost every instance, a white-collar crime results in some type of monetary or financial gain.

Dallas-based criminal defense firm Broden and Mickelson outline the 7 most common types of white collar crimes:

  1. Fraud
  2. Embezzlement
  3. Bribery
  4. Money Laundering
  5. Insider Trading
  6. Cyber Crime
  7. Forgery
While this list touches on the most common forms of white collar crime, it’s certainly not all-inclusive.

White-Collar Crimes: Facts and Statistical Data

In an article titled, “35 Surprising White Collar Crimes Statistics”, Brandon Gaille points out some shocking statistics about white-collar crime:
Median business losses caused by executives are 16 times those of their employees.
The most costly abuses tend to occur not in large organizations, but in companies with less than 100 employees.
The average company loses more than $9 per day per employee to fraud and abuse.
The average company in the United States loses about 6% of its total annual revenue to white collar crime that is committed by its own employees.
Losses caused by managers are 4x the amount, on average, of those caused by employees.
Men commit nearly 75% of the offenses and cost the company about 4x the amount in white-collar crime costs than women who commit a crime.
The typical perpetrator is a college-educated white male who is working in some form of real estate.
A higher proportion of white-collar offenders are female compared to other offender types.
While this is just a small excerpt of his findings, it’s well worth your time to read the full article here.

What to do if you’re charged with a white-collar crime

What to do if you’re charged with a white collar crime

For most people, being charged with a white collar crime can be gut-wrenching. This is especially the case in more minor forms of theft.
If charged, the first thing nearly any attorney will advise is to seek counsel. This is absolutely imperative, as an experienced attorney can help you better understand your rights.
HG.org, a legal resource guide some very critical information:
A defense attorney will not directly impede the investigative efforts of law enforcement. However, individuals who are represented by counsel are far less likely to unknowingly waive constitutional legal protections, or relent to the demands of investigators when there is no need to do so. And while plea bargaining typically occurs following an arrest, a skilled criminal defense lawyer will act proactively, engaging the prosecuting attorneys early in the process. Read the full resource here –https://www.hg.org/white-collar-crime.html
Simply stated, a criminal defense attorney may be able to help you better understand what information you should (and more importantly, should not) divulge.

Conclusion

By clearly understanding the definition of white collar crime is one of the first steps in identifying the problem. Being aware of the issue can help prevent and deter behaviors that could result in more serious charges.

Additional resources:


via Marvin Rodriguez Blog https://marvintrodriguez.wordpress.com/2019/02/01/what-are-white-collar-crimes/ 
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Could Your Attorney Work Remotely?

Video chat has undeniably changed the way we do business.
Businesses employ top-talent in a global arena, doctors can diagnose and prescribe medication from your smartphone, and now your attorney can work from home…
It’s crazy to think that this has become the new normal.
FindLaw columnist William Vogeler explores why some law firms are pioneering the idea of working remotely.
Lawyers, Is Remote Work More Than a Trend?
The American Lawyer says virtual firms with up to 180 partners are breaking the mold. BigLaw attorneys are going virtual because they like the idea of practicing from home.
“Here, I can really work on matters pretty much at any level I choose to without it becoming cost prohibitive,” said Jamal Edwards, who used to work at the 300-lawyer firm of Honigman Miller in Detroit.
These days, an attorney can work from a beach with a smart device and a good internet connection. You may have to show up for mandatory appearances, however, so leave the flip-flops at home. Read more…
According to Carol Kinsey Goman, a contributing author at Forbes, there are several reasons why businesses should thoughtfully consider the impact of virtual vs. face-to-face meetings. In her interview with Michael Massari, Caesars Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of National Meetings and Events, they assert there’s inherent value in personal interaction:
No matter what industry you work in, we are all in the people business. Regardless of how tech-savvy you may be, face-to-face meetings are still the most effective way to capture the attention of participants, engage them in the conversation, and drive productive collaboration. If we don’t continue to nurture strong and positive personal relationships with our clients and coworkers, we won’t build trust, understanding, or a sense of a shared mission – all of which are critical elements to successful partnerships and business success.


For many attorneys, it’s that sense of partnership that fosters trust, something critical for effective communication within a case.
While video chats are considerably more effective than a phone call, there’s still a lack of the personal interaction that is can help foster teamwork among team members.

That said, personal interaction can still be done in remote groups, it’s just a little more challenging.

Tips to effectively run a virtual meeting

Other Considerations For Attorneys Working Remotely

Aside from the obvious challenges of personal communication, what are the other risks of working remotely?
Well, for businesses like attorneys or doctors, confidential information should be considered. Inherently, smartphones can be used to capture sensitive data. Obviously, this has raised concerns about the use of these types of devices within the business workplace.

Should your business consider adopting an at-work cell phone policy?

Jeff Griffin of the JP Griffin Group seems to think so. He believes that adopting a policy on how cell phones should be used at work before issues arise is essential for any business culture to thrive:

How Cell Phone Use at Work is Shaping Company Policies

Many employers don’t create a policy regarding cell phone use at work until they realize they have a problem, which can be weeks, months, or even years into a downward spiral of problems. Like it or not, it’s necessary to have a cell phone use policy at this point. It doesn’t have to be incredibly long or detailed, but it should incorporate the unique nature of your business (such as security or safety concerns)…
There’s nothing wrong with laying out a policy clearly telling your employees how you’d like them to use their cell phones during work hours. Perhaps limiting phone calls to emergency-only is a reasonable solution. You could ask employees to keep their phones in desk drawers on vibrate. If you’re in a setting that involves heavy interaction with the public (like retail or service), you could ask employees to keep their phones in their lockers.
Making sure that employees understand the expectations and risks of using a mobile device at work. This is especially true for any attorneys working remotely.
Whenever handling personally identifiable information (PII), considering security is of utmost importance.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a doctor, attorney, or business professional, the flexibility of working remotely certainly has a certain appeal. When doing so, it’s important to keep communication, privacy, and security at the forefront of the conversation.

Additional resources:


via Marvin Rodriguez Blog https://marvintrodriguez.wordpress.com/2019/02/07/%ef%bb%bfcould-your-attorney-work-remotely/
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