Q: What Do I Need a Lawyer For?
A: If you have a situation where your freedom, family, or property is on the line, you need to have an advocate who understands both the law, the facts, and the stakes. Whether you understand the law or not, the law applies to you and your situation and you will be harmed by remaining ignorant. While you can 'do it yourself', you almost always end up losing time, money, and effort in doing so. | Q: How Can I Afford a Lawyer?
A: Legal services are often more affordable than potential clients think. A critical issue to consider is what not having a lawyer will cost you. In criminal law, not having a lawyer could mean more jail time, fines, and damage to your reputation. While a lawyer costs a substantial amount of money, consider how much money you can't earn while you are in jail and how much money the government will take from you in fines. In family law, not having a lawyer could mean lost property, assets, increased support payments out of your pocket or diminished support payments into your pocket, lost access to children, and even the obligation to pay the other side's attorney's fees. If a family law attorney works towards a mediated or negotiated settlement, your cost can be substantially reduced. Finally, in immigration law, consider the income difference between being in the United States legally and either not being in the United States at all or being in the country illegally. In the end, competent effective representation almost always results in having more money in your pocket. Also, understand that a lawyer is required to only charge you a reasonable fee for the services provided. If you are paying by the hour and I resolve your case with less hours than you paid for, you will receive the remainder back. Whenever possible, I seek attorney's fees for my clients from the other side so that the cost to you is minimized. Finally, I have a firm policy of not charging clients for email responses. I believe that you should have an open and free dialogue with me about your case and that money shouldn't stand in the way. | Q: What Will It Cost to Hire You?
A: It depends on the type and complexity of the case. I don't have a set price schedule because every case is different. In general, criminal cases are billed on a flat-fee basis, with payment due at the time of engagement, family law cases are billed per hour, at the rate of $275/hour, and immigration law is billed on a flat-fee basis, with payment divided into stages as the case progresses from preparation through final approval. I very occassionally take on other sorts of cases on either an hourly or contingency fee basis. | Q: What Makes You the Right Family Law Attorney for Me?
A: I am a parent and single father. I am a military veteran. I have worked over five hundred dissolutions involving values of up to $10,000,000. I have handled dozens of step-parent adoptions. I am an expert in domestic violence law and overcoming the prejudices inherent in the system (both to trivialize real violence and to treat all allegations as if they were fact). Most importantly, I care about getting your family through your transitions. I am very empathetic and understanding of human frailty. After all, I am human too and far from perfect. | Q: What Makes You the Right Immigration Attorney for Me?
A: I have worked immigration issues from all sides over my years of practice. I have prosecuted immigration offenses and know intimately the process and procedure of immigration enforcement. I have defended clients through removals (deportation hearings) and seen the Immigration Service concede defeat before even hearing from the judge. I have helped businesses obtain vitally needed employees by navigating the long and complex process of labor certification. More importantly, I believe in immigration. Immigration has made our nation the strongest and richest in the world. Other nations have more abundant natural resources. Other nations have more land. Other nations have better schools and smarter people. No other nation integrates so many different cultures and ideas and talents into itself, thereby assimilating the best the world has to offer into itself. My own family came to America in a time when there were no immigration laws and struggled through discrimination and terrible working conditions so that I and my children could enjoy the prosperity and liberty of today. I do not believe that this process should stop. America is a dream and it is a dream all can share. | Q: What Makes You the Right Criminal Defense Attorney for Me?
A: I have tried and won cases at all levels of state and federal court. I know the mind of the prosecutor and can show your case to best advantage. I am an experienced advocate, capable of negotiating the best possible deal for you, or failing that, trying your case to a successful outcome. I understand that everyone deserves to have their side of the story told. No one is all good or all bad and the criminal justice system acts if anyone labeled 'defendant' is the source of all evil in the world. I know that the only person who believes they aren't guilty of something is a hypocrite; more importantly, I know that being legally punished to the fullest extent of the law almost never makes the world a better place for anyone. |
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