The offices of Douglas M. Gierhart can serve all of your legal needs from A to Z. Doug has extensive experience in most areas of the law. Doug has over 27 years of legal experience in adoption, bankruptcy, criminal, collections, divorce, guardianship, personal injury, probate, social security, wills and estate planning, and worker's compensation. So whatever your need, come see us!
Q:
What do I need to know about my attorney before I hire him or her?
A:
An attorney is in the business to try to get your business. Attorneys market themselves to get you to feel comfortable about their expertise in the practice of law. One area that you can check is an attorney’s peer review rating. Peer review rating is done by a third party who asks other attorneys and judges about their experience with a particular attorney. Not all attorneys are peer review rated. You can check if an attorney is peer review rated at Martindale Hubble’s website. Another issue is to determine in what areas of law your attorney practices. Some cases have overlapping issues of law. Some attorneys practice exclusively in one area of law. In Oklahoma, there are no specialization areas, though some attorneys are nationally board certified in particular areas of practice. Another area to look at before selecting your attorney is experience. Because lawyers learn different nuances or special areas within the law, the more experienced attorney, the better. As an example the attorney with 10 years of experience in filing more bankruptcy cases and concentrating in only in the area of bankruptcy is usually a better choice than the new attorney who usually does criminal cases but will do it cheaper. Finally, ask about the attorney’s case load. You need to be satisfied that the lawyer you are looking at hiring to take on the case can give your case it deserved attention. Every law office has cycles where it may be extremely busy or in a lull. Just because it is in one of these cycles doesn’t mean that the lawyer cannot take the case. Some cases are more able to be handled by support staff, like the paralegal, legal assistant or secretary.
Q:
Do I have the right to fire my attorney if I don’t like them or they don’t seem to be doing what I have hired them to do?
A:
Your attorney is really your employee. You have the right to hire them and, therefore, you have every right to fire them. Your attorney should return your phone calls, emails or texts. However, remember your expectations may be unrealistic so your attorney should try to make you understand whether your expectations are realistic. Examples of this would be - you cannot expect to get a large settlement in car wreck case if you didn’t have large damages because the value of your case depends on your damages. Another example is you are not going to get a large settlement in a divorce if you didn’t acquire a lot during your marriage because your settlement depends on the assets acquired during the marriage or the ability of someone to pay alimony and the need for alimony.
If you have given your attorney something for the development of your case, you are entitled to have those returned to you at the end of the representation. However, you do not necessarily get anything in the file at your attorney’s office. Also this file is not your file it is, in actuality, your attorney’s file. Your attorney has made conclusions as to the facts of the case, made investigation as to the truthfulness and accuracy of the evidence, conducted legal research, and done many other things in most cases that are a part of his file. These things are not yours to have as they are considered attorney work product.
Q:
Is what I tell my attorney private and confidential? How will I know my attorney isn’t judging me for what I have to speak to him about?
A: What you say to your attorney is private and confidential. Your attorney is trained to evaluate your case and how the facts apply to the law in your case. A lawyer is your voice when you go to court. If you don’t tell him or her all of the facts, your case will not be fully told to the judge or jury. A lawyer is not going to judge you personally. He or she will help you understand if you are thinking through the facts of the entire case and is there to help assist to get the best result in your case. However, your attorney cannot change the facts of a case but can only present them in the light most favorable to your case.
Q:
Should I sign a contract or fee agreement for legal services with my attorney?
A:
A good attorney will want you to sign a fee agreement or contract for legal services. You should want a contract also as it insures everyone knows what is expected in the situation. For instance, will you pay for telephone calls? What expenses will you be expected to reimburse your attorney? When do you expect your attorney to get started? What if I can’t continue to pay the attorney fees? All of these questions should be addressed between you and your attorney and set out in the fee agreement.
Q:
What is the difference between a flat fee, retainer fee and contingency fee?
A:
Attorneys’ services can be paid in a variety of different ways. Some types of cases an attorney will agree to do on what is called a flat rate. In other words, you will pay a set fee for the attorney’s services, regardless of the time expended by the attorney. Examples of these might be an uncontested divorce, some probates, bankruptcy or criminal cases.
Some other cases are set up with fee arrangements that are called contingency fees. These fee agreements are where the attorney agrees to only take a percentage of whatever they can recover. Some attorneys advertise these cases as “No recovery, no fee” cases. In these cases, the attorney is taking a risk that the case could potentially make money but also the attorney could lose money. These types of fees allow a client to pursue going to court when they might not be able to pay an attorney up front to represent them.
A retainer fee is a fee that is paid by a client to an attorney to begin working on a case. It gets its name by virtue that by paying this fee the attorney is “retained” to represent the client in his or her case. The retainer fee is a pre-payment to the attorney to allow him or her to work on an hourly rate case. Typical cases where a retainer fee is paid is in divorce cases, adoptions, some probates and civil cases.
