Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I grew up wanting to be a criminal attorney. I changed my mind after my first DUI case. I went to a small unaccredited law school. This meant I could take the bar exam but I would not have the job offers graduates from ABA accredited schools would get. But that was all right. I figured I would break into criminal law somehow.
I simply wanted to graduate. Then I wanted to pass the bar. I would think about getting work as a lawyer later.
The best place, if not the only practical place to get experience as a criminal attorney is either with the district attorney’s office or the office of the public defender. But again, government jobs were handed out to large ABA accredited law school graduates. I did have the opportunity to interview for one position with the public defenders office however. The state had lifted a hiring freeze. For the previous year the state was not even interviewing anyone for government legal jobs regardless of what school you were from. In interviewed and received an 88 out of a 100 on the interview. I knew this was not good enough to get the one and only job opening with all the competition out there.
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Open any phone book to the lawyers section and there will be found literally hundreds of ads with every type of lawyer known to man. These short postings do not truly let an individual know what they are getting when consulting or retaining one of these legal minds. By using the Internet and doing a little research, a personal injury claim lawyer can be chosen with confidence.
When making a personal injury claim, legal counsel is the first and most important step. While there may be many self help guidelines out there, there is no replacing experience. The legal counsel will know exactly what the individual may be entitled to depending on the nature of their claim.
An online search brings to light just as many, if not more, websites of lawyers than the phone book ever could. The major difference is that online, the websites will include not only the type of lawyer they are, but many have bios of themselves and their background. This allows an informed decision to be made when choosing good legal counsel to present their claim in court.
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 9:02 am
When shopping for car insurance, there are a few deciding factors when choosing a policy. There is the initial cost, type of coverage and the deductible amount. Car insurance deductibles can range anywhere form $250 to $1500 depending on the policy and insurance provider.
The deductible is the amount of money that is paid out of pocket by the policy holder in case of accident or damage. Car insurance deductibles are normally found with collision and comprehensive style policies. The lower the amount of the deductible, the higher the monthly premium is that needs to be paid to the insurance company.
While visiting the insurance providers websites and browsing their policies, each one should have different rates for different deductible amounts listed right there. Choosing a policy with a higher deductible amount may be financially easier at the outset of a policy. However, if the vehicle becomes involved in a major accident, the high deductible may be more than is readily available to the average individual.
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Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
The legal system plays a fundamental role in protecting the rights of individuals. Working in the legal profession is often viewed as a lucrative and rewarding career. There are many areas that a layer can specialize in. One area that is both challenging and lucrative is criminal law. A criminal lawyer has the opportunity to work in legal defense, prosecution, and even pursue a career as a trial judge.
Criminal lawyers, or criminal attorneys, advise and represent those who are accused and charged with a criminal act. They present evidence, advocate for their client by arguing on their behalf in court, and also make sure their clients’ rights are not violated. Like other lawyers, criminal lawyers must follow a strict code of conduct and ethics.
There are a number of educational steps one has to take in order to obtain a successful career as a criminal lawyer:
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Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
You’ve seen them everywhere. Those tiny little headset-like units clipped stylishly over the ear. You see businessmen wearing them on the train, young moms walking around the supermarket wearing them, even tweens and teens are taking on this trend. Bluetooth headsets have been around for years now, and they only get more and more popular each year. There are many reasons to own and use this handy gadget. Some of these include the obvious convenience of being able to carry on a cell phone conversation while leaving hands free to perform other tasks. It is also very convenient to be able to answer phone calls without digging through your purse or fumbling in your pocket to find your cell phone. Both of these benefits allow you to be more productive by not having to stop what you are doing to answer or conduct a phone call.
Your Must-have Driving Gear Aside from the conveniences that using Bluetooth offers, there are other very important reasons for why using this technology while driving is a MUST. Unless you are a person that refuses to answer or make cellular phone calls while behind the wheel of an automobile, then Bluetooth wireless technology is must-have driving attire for you. There are two strong supporting reasons why this argument is true. Safety and legality.
The first one, safety, is important not only to you as a driver, but also to your passengers and to other drivers, pedestrians and stationary objects such as buildings and trees. When you are driving, it is important to keep your attention focused on the road and what is coming up ahead of you. It is also important to use your peripheral vision to keep an account of everything that is within the surroundings of your automobile. When you are using your cell phone, either to answer or make a call, you generally have to take your eyes off the road for at least a few seconds. Often, what you are doing on your cell phone requires your eyes to be engaged with it for several seconds up to more than a minute. The chances of getting into an accident increase greatly with those seconds your eyes are on your cell phone. Using Bluetooth technology greatly reduces that risk by allowing you to answer and even make calls wirelessly without even looking at your cell phone once. Keep your eyes on the road so you don’t get into an accident and need an auto club membership assistance.
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Unfortunately, with so many cars on the road, sometimes an accident is unavoidable or they unexpectedly occur. During the event of an accident, the function of a lawyer is to protect their client’s interests and represent him or her in a legal matter such as a civil or criminal case. When it comes to an accident such as an auto accident, there are lawyers, often personal injury lawyers that will represent clients who are found at-fault and have to go through a civil litigation or criminal trial. If you are in an accident and found at fault by an insurance company or police investigation, you should hire a lawyer to help you through a trial or claim process in order to ensure that the outcome is one that is fair and just.
After an accident, a lawyer such as a personal injury lawyer will give you an honest and professional assessment of what the outcome of litigation will likely be. If you are in an accident, you must first call your insurance company and explain what happened. You must then decide if you should use an insurance company’s lawyer who may have the insurance company’s interest first, or hire your own lawyer. Your own experienced lawyer will only be working for your interests, and will work on your behalf to limit your liability or even prevent it, depending on the circumstances of the case.
An experienced lawyer will have access to accident deconstructionists and medical experts to help determine how liable you really are, and if there may have been external factors that may have contributed to the accident such as poor lighting, slippery roads, speed limit sign not visible, etc. A lawyer will work to protect your assets if a claim is filed against you as well as recovering the amount that your insurance covers for liability if you are in an accident where you are found at-fault. An experienced attorney will work to make sure that the insurance company does deny paying liability to an injured party. As well, a lawyer will make sure that you are not a victim of accident fraud where one fakes an injury or accident to make money from a fraudulent claim.
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Drinking and driving is not only illegal, but it is dangerous and can result in the loss of lives, even your own. Because of their public visibility, there have been a number of celebrities who have been in the news for being arrested for a DUI. (Driving Under the Influence) Below is a list of celebrities who have been arrested for DUI:
Richie Sambora: Bon Jovi guitarist, Richie Sambora, was arrested for drunk driving in Laguna Beach, California on March 25 2008. His BAC was reportedly .13%. His daughter and another child were in the car at the time of the arrest. Sambora and Prosecutors made a deal that called for Sambora to plead no contest to driving with blood alcohol content above the legal limit. In exchange the district attorney dropped the more serious charge of California DUI. Sambora also was ordered to complete a three month alcohol awareness class and pay court fees.
Stephanie Pratt: One of the star’s of the MTV reality show, ‘The Hills,’ Stephanie Pratt was arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles on October’, 2009. She was pulled over in Hollywood about 3:45 am and booked for suspicion of California DUI. She posted $5000 bond and was released on Sunday.
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Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
When one drives a car, there is always a risk of an accident. A not at fault accident means a driver gets into an accident and is found not at fault for the incident. Many drivers think that if they are in an accident where they are found not at fault, their insurance premiums will not be affected. Unfortunately, this is not always true.
Many responsible drivers found not at fault for an accident may still see their insurance premiums increase. Insurance companies establish their premiums on risk-factor, meaning an insurance premium rate is determined by the risk of a driver getting into an accident. As a result, even if you are found not at fault for an accident, your risk level will be increased by the car insurance company. Each insurance provider will have their own set of policies, but in general, they look at the driver’s risk of getting into an accident and adjust their rates accordingly.
The number of accidents a driver is involved in will affect the insurance premium, even if one is found at no-fault for the accidents. Most insurance companies will conduct their own investigation into an accident to find out who they think was at-fault. There are many insurance companies that state that if a driver has maintained a good driving record, and is involved in an accident where they are found not at fault, they will not raise the driver’s premiums if it is their first not at fault accident. In other cases, particularly if a driver is involved in a number of not at fault accidents, the insurance company will consider that although one is found at no fault so many times, the driver seems to have a driving problem so they will raise insurance premiums.
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