(April 30, 2018 at 3:49 pm)Cathooloo Wrote:(April 30, 2018 at 2:26 pm)Khemikal Wrote: It's never a good idea to represent ourselves.
Welll... I'm gonna have to take issue with your 'never' characterization. It's a cost-benefit or expected value analysis like any other. Attorney man tells me I have a coin flip's chance of winning a $50K case, and he's going to charge me $30K to do it, Mr. Attorney Man can go pound sand.
Except, it hardly ever happens that way. Typically, a potential client will contact a lawyer. The lawyer will then decide if the potential client has a case worth pursuing. If so, then the lawyer will attempt to get the best settlement possible from the other party. Why? Because going to court is the last thing any competent lawyer wants to do. It's expensive for the client, and chances of success are far less likely because you're relying on the opinions of others. Sometimes it's a judge, other times it's a jury, but usually the result is less than what a settlement would garner.
No lawyer will tell you up front "It's going to cost you $X" simply because they don't know. They'll tell you their hourly rate, sure, but the final cost is dependent on what the other side is willing to do, and how far/stubborn the client is. And the lawyer will always give their client a choice when it gets to the tipping point - do you want to take the offered settlement? Do you want to proceed with court? Do you want to go it alone?
