There are a number of situations where you may need to hire an attorney. The laws in Australia are becoming increasingly complex by the day. In fact, the laws in Australia are known for being particularly quirky and arbitrary. With such mercurial ex post facto laws taking over the country at an alarming rate, it is nice to know of an attorney who you can trust and who you can afford.
When it comes to hiring a great attorney, however, you can’t expect to occupy their expert time and years of experience for nothing. An expert attorney has to sift through limitless judicial decisions called case-law to obtain a nuanced understanding regarding the contours of various principles in law. The case-law is this never-ending mass of judicial decisions that are full of ambiguities, vagueness, and contradictions. Relying on the case-law itself is never a good idea but almost always necessary when trying to demonstrate what is called stare decisis to judges. Stare decisis is the even-handed application of the law as it has traditionally been applied to a number of cases.
The problem is, howbeit, that stare decisis suffers from a paradox of the strongest opinions from the Full High Court often being vague and general principles, while the more precise factually similar scenarios of a case in a small court have less force. In other words, you are always jammed up between the strength of a general ruling and the factual similarities of a weak but more defined ruling. Trying to articulate legal arguments in this platform can be a daunting task that separates the best lawyers from the amateurs. Making matters even more complicated is the court’s general goal of efficiency to clear thick dockets and dispose of matters. If you don’t have the clout backed by the experience that persuades a judge to rely upon your concise statement in a case, you can expect to receive downright disrespectful treatment.
Cost-Saving in Your Case
In order to have the ideal balance of a qualified representative without having to blow your life savings, you should consider some other money-saving options. First of all, you can hire a paralegal for less money to do thorough research on the case-law that may apply to the question at hand. For example, if your case involves third-degree murder, you should request a number of strong judicial decisions that provide the elements and defenses for third-degree murder in your jurisdiction, knowing what types of defenses have worked in the past and what elements may be lacking is critical to the difference between spending a few years in prison or a lifetime.
You can also do the research yourself by visiting your regional law library. Most of these law libraries have professional resources to help you find nuanced precedent that can help in any case. A defense or criminal lawyer can help but becomes more cost-effective if you also seek other resources. When you pick firms like lawyers Newcastle, you have the regional coverage and comprehensive experience to solve a range of legal problems.
Time is a critical factor that accounts for much of the fees that a lawyer charges. However, there are several ways to curtail the time that a lawyer has to spend on your case and by doing so, you might be able to save a considerable part of your legal costs. For example, it is common knowledge that legal matters would involve some emails and documents. Therefore, even before you step out to see a lawyer, you should start assembling all the relevant files and papers and make them ready for your lawyer’s perusal.
If you are unsure about how to organise your documents, the best way to proceed is by printing everything, including emails, and stacking them neatly in a folder in the order of their dates. Often people remember to keep hard copies of financial statements, tax returns, and other paperwork, but forget to be as mindful about their emails. It can be a costly mistake to forward a barrage of emails that you think are relevant to your lawyer when he or she asks for them. The time spent by your lawyer to open each email, go through the contents, and/or download the attachments is a cost that you can easily avoid by arranging them ahead of time and presenting them in an organised manner.
Frequent and undecided phone calls to your lawyer also incur legal bills that can be avoided by simply planning your calls beforehand. An easy way to do this is to put down on paper all the points you need to discuss and questions you want to ask. You should also take notes at the end of the call. This saves you from repeating yourself, reducing the time your lawyer is having to spend with you over the phone. When you make it a habit to write down a gist of your conversations with your lawyer, it is also easier to keep track of the suggestions being made and advices being given. While it is perfectly reasonable to want to cut down your legal costs, settling for a cheaper lawyer might not be in your best interests. Therefore, it is a better advice to seek the assistance of law firms like Prime Lawyers who are experienced and well-versed with the laws in Australia. Being prepared and organised will save you time and allow you to keep your costs in check.