The Brogue Hog

If you have been a recent victim of a crime, then there is a very good chance that you’ll be entitled to make a criminal injury compensation claim under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

CICA - Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Great Britain has in place the oldest compensation scheme for people who suffer criminal injuries as victims of crimes, with the first version having been introduced in 1964. Based along the lines of a personal injury compensation claim, the CICA compensates victims of violent crime who have suffered any:

• injury, whether that be physical or mental, as a result of being the victim of a violent crime

• possible loss of earnings that the victim may endure as a result of such criminal injury

• bereavement suffered as a result of a loved one having died as the victim of a violent crime.

Since 1996 the CICA has adopted a fixed tariff criminal injury compensation scheme as set out by parliament in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 for those who are entitled to make a criminal injury claim.

Making A Compensation Claim

If you plan to make a claim to the CICA for criminal injury compensation, then you’ll need to show that you have suffered either physical or mental harm as a result of having been the victim of the violent crime in question.

Note that you need to show that a crime took place, you do not need to show that a conviction resulted from the crime you are claiming took place.

If you have grounds to believe that you have a criminal injury claim, you can obtain a compensation form from a personal injury solicitor, which you then need to compete and return.

The CICA then acknowledges receipt of your form and should process the claim. Keep in mind that this can be a lengthy process and can take anywhere up to 18 months after you have submitted the criminal injury compensation claim.

Also, as the scheme is for victims of violent crimes, the minimum compensation payable under the scheme is £1,000 and the maximum amount of compensation is £250,000.

Moreover, keep in mind that if you have made a claim for compensation under the scheme and are not satisfied with the initial compensation awarded for the criminal injury you suffered, you are entitled to submit a request to have a review of your criminal injury claim within 90 days of your original award being made.

If you still don’t like the award after this review process has been completed, then you can appeal your criminal injury compensation claim to the Panel of the CICA within 30 days of the outcome of the appeal process. If the Panel of the CICA award still does not satisfy you, you then have the right to appeal your claim to the High Court.

Are There Any Alternatives?

If you have been the unfortunate victim of a crime, you should speak to a criminal injury solicitor as soon as you can following the event. In part this is because the criminal injury compensation scheme is only for those who are the victims of a violent crime.

On the other part, you need to make sure you do this so that you can get the advice from your criminal injury solicitor as to any alterative compensation you may want to seek.

Any alternative compensation claim you do instigate will be based on a civil action for personal injury. As a personal injury claim can be expensive, if you believe you may have a case for personal injury compensation but do not have the funds to pay a costly solicitor, you should talk with a no win no fee solicitor to see if there is any chance they will represent you in your claim.

And Finally…

Finally, as well as being the oldest criminal injury compensation authority in the world, with over 80,000 cases a year paying £200 million in compensation, the CICA is also one of the highest rewarding criminal injury claim boards in the world.

It’s easy to seek criminal injury compensation and gain maximum results without the hassle, costs and confusion. Discover the 12 revolutions of criminal injury claims at http://www.100percent-compensation.co.uk/articles/criminal-injury-compensation.html

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill last Thursday to restrict the eminent domain powers of state and local governments. The Bill, which passed by a 376-38 margin, would withhold federal money from state and local governments if they used their eminent domain powers to confiscate private property and sell it to private developers.

The action by the House is in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo vs. City of New London. In that landmark case, which was decided on June 23rd of this year, the Supreme Court held that the City of New London, Connecticut, could take private property from working-class citizens and sell it to a wealthy developer to build a riverfront hotel and office complex.

The ruling sent shock waves throughout the ranks of property owners everywhere and caused politicians at all levels to propose legislation that would restrict the taking of private property. The House bill that passed last Thursday is a direct reaction to the Kelo ruling. But, whether the bill ever becomes law or not, the real concern is a growing trend in this country toward the concentration of power and wealth among a few individuals at the expense of ordinary citizens.

For those not totally familiar with the Kelo case, a brief summary may be helpful. In 1998, the City of New London adopted a development plan for approximately 90 acres of its Fort Trumbull area. The plan included a waterfront conference hotel, a riverwalk, restaurants, shops, 80 new residences, a new U.S. Coast Guard Museum, and a renovated marina - all of which would be immediately adjacent to a $300 million research facility to be built by Pfizer, Inc., the pharmaceutical company.

In January of 2000, the city counsel approved the plan and authorized the NLDC, its development agent, to purchase the property or acquire it by eminent domain. Most of the properties were purchases but a few, notably that of Susette Kelo and several others, refused to sell. As a result, the NLDC initiated condemnation proceedings, which gave rise to the Kelo case.

Susette Kelo and the other opponents argued that the City of New London’s attempt to take their property by eminent domain was a violation of their constitutional rights because their property was not being taken for public use. Instead, it was being sold to private developers to build a riverfront hotel, which would be privately owned and operated. The opponents cited the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which reads - in relevant part - as follows:

“. . . ; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” [Emphasis added.]

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the City of New London did not violate the opponent’s rights under the Fifth Amendment’s so-called “taking clause.” The rationale for the decision, according to Justice Steven’s majority opinion, was not whether the property to be condemned by the City of New London would be put to a public use, but whether the City of New London’s development plan - as a whole - served a “public purpose.” In deciding that question, he noted that the Court had a history of construing a “public purpose” broadly and that deference had to be given to a legislature’s determination in that regard. “When the legislature’s purpose is legitimate and its means are not irrational,” the Supreme Court will not second guess the legislature. In this case, the City of New London’s development plan was, according to the Court, “carefully formatted” and the city believed that the development would “provide appreciable benefits to the community, including–but by no means limited to–new jobs and increased tax revenue.”

However one defines the rationale of the Court, it is clear that property rights under the Fifth Amendment were substantially eroded by the Kelo decision. Before the Kelo decision, private property could only be taken for a public use; i.e., for use as a road, a museum, a public office building, etc. Now, following Kelo, a local or state government is able to take private property and transfer it to a private developer as part of a so-called development plan.

The Court made it clear, however, that a local or state government can only give confiscated property to private developers when it is part of a development plan that serves a “public purpose.” The Court did not define “public purpose.” Instead, it said that the term “public purpose” had to be broadly defined and that deference had to be given to a legislature’s determination in that regard. So, not only did the Court give local and state governments the right to take private property and give it to private developers, it also left it up to local and state governments to decide for itself when it was appropriate to do so. In so doing, the Court gave every local and state government the right to take private property without so much as a wink and a nob from the Courts.

But that’s not the end of it. Legislators are, for the most part, good and decent people who generally want to do right by their constituencies. The problem comes from big corporations and wealthy individuals who want more. In the past, their efforts to acquire property were relegated solely to negotiating with property owners, who often demanded a premium for their property or sometimes refused to sell altogether. Now, following Kelo, if their efforts to negotiate with property owners are not successful, they’ll go directly to the politicians to have the property confiscated.

Can we be comforted by the fact that our local and state politicians will not be unduly influenced by big corporations and wealthy individuals? Certainly, the citizens of Connecticut already know how undue influence and corruption can affect their politicians - their former governor and a host of his lieutenants are already in jail or packing their bags because they steered lucrative land deals to private developers. In his dissenting opinion in the Kelo case, Justice Thomas also recognized this inherent danger when he stated that, “It encourages ‘those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms’ to victimize the weak.”

Justice Stevens also recognized the danger inherent in the Court’s decision. In the final paragraph of his opinion he states that, “We emphasize that nothing in our opinion precludes any State from placing further restrictions on its exercise of the takings power.” Of course, if private interest groups will try to influence local and state politicians in order to obtain private property through eminent domain, then it’s not unreasonable to believe that they will also try to influence those same politicians in order to defeat any restrictions on their eminent domain powers.

So, we come back to the bill overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives. The question now is what effect will private interest groups have on the upcoming Senate vote. If they are successful in killing this bill, then we can be fairly sure that local and state politicians, as well as property owners everywhere, will have to brace themselves for a tough ride.

Attorney Michael P. Pancheri is the founder and CEO of the Living Trust Network. You may contact him by email at info@livingtrustnetwork.com. You may also contact him at the Living Trust Network’s web site. Its URL is http://www.livingtrustnetwork.com

Copyright 2005. LivingTrustNetwork, LLC.

What if the courts in America could be trusted with justice? What if there really was legal justice in our nation? What if there were not totally politically motivated prosecutions and investigations?

What if the Department of Justice admitted when they made a mistake? What if district attorneys cared more about justice than their political careers? What if Attorneys Generals did not hold personal vendettas?

What if police never tampered with evidence? What if FBI agents never gave secrets in trade for sex with Chinese Spies? What if Border Patrol did not allow drug shipments into the United States? What if the IRS never went after someone for thru political motivation?

What if judgeships were not a political event? What if the judicial system did not stink down to its core? What if there was nothing rotten in the system? What if 65% of all policemen did not cheat on their wives?

What if the SEC actually cared about justice more than their image in the media? What if Supreme court justices were not asked to strip down and bring in their third grade report cards?

What if no one falsely accused ever was punished for a crime they did not commit? Ah, but what if. . .that is to say What if There Were Legal Justice in the United States?

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Winning a Social Security Disability case for someone who suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia (CFS/FMS) can be very difficult. However, with proper preparation I am often able to win client’s their Social Security Disability benefits. I approach a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia case using the following five factors:

1) Was the Diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia Made by a Specialist?

I am always very skeptical on my chances of winning when a person comes to me and is not being treated by a specialist in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia. I usually prefer to see that the client is being treated by a Rheumatologist but I have been successful in these type of cases working with an Infectious Disease Specialist and a Neurologist. I feel that the diagnosis of a primary care or internist is not sufficient in this type of case. It is also important, of course, for this doctor to be supportive of his/her patient’s disability case and for me and the client to know this from the beginning of my representation. If a person calls me and does not have a specialist working with him/her, I suggest that they contact a local support group for a referral.

2) Has the Client’s Doctor Eliminated Other Diseases Through Testing Before Diagnosing Him/Her with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia?

I feel that to provide validity to the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia certain medical tests need to be performed so as to rule out other conditions. I usually like to see blood work done that excludes other Rheumatic diseases which may share symptoms with, or mimic, CFS/FMS. In cases of Fibromyalgia I look for a physical exam that finds and documents tender points. In Chronic Fatigue Syndrome cases I also normally like to see that a Tilt Table Test has been done.

3) Are the Client’s Complaints Typical For Someone Who Suffers With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia?

By now I can usually tell by interviewing a prospective client if his/her complaints are typical. The client’s medical records should show documented symptoms. Without this documentation, the diagnoses of CFS/FMS may be subject to disbelief by Social Security.

4) Was the Client Treated With Physical Therapy and/or Pain Medication?

I like to show an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that my client has tried whatever treatment is available for his/her condition. Whether this is a series of physical therapy appointments, narcotic pain medications or even non-traditional treatments like biofeedback or acupuncture. I feel that the severity of my client’s condition will be supported by the fact that he/she has tried everything to find relief.

5) Has the Client Consulted or Been Treated by a Psychiatrist or Therapist?

Because I do not want an ALJ to attempt to say that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia are “mental disorders” I like to show the ALJ that my client is either seeking treatment for depression or anxiety or has had these conditions ruled out by a mental health specialist and are still suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia.

About The Author

Sheri R. Abrams, is an Attorney who practices Social Security Disability Law in Virginia, DC and Maryland. Ms. Abrams graduated from the George Washington University Law School and the Boston University School of Management. For more information please see Ms. Abrams’s web site at http://www.sheriabrams.com.

sheri@sheriabrams.com

When is it wise for you to invest in an attorney? Quite frankly, any time you are faced with a significant legal issue that leaves you baffled about the law is the time you should consider investing in an attorney. An attorney can help you through any number of legal situations and can also help you avoid the pitfalls associated with many legal situations. Finally, an attorney can serve as your legal guide and if you really feel like you need a friend in your corner, then it may be time to hire an attorney.

Lawyers specialize in all sorts of fields. The most commonly known lawyers are divorce and family court lawyers. Both can assist you with child support, child custody, and family court issues that may arise as the result of a divorce. Likewise, criminal lawyers are lawyers that help many individuals when they are faced with unfortunate criminal charges and the like. Yet, there are many other lawyers in the legal field and people often don’t think about lawyers until they are really needed.

For instance, there are tax lawyers. Tax lawyers can assist individuals with tax related issues whether they are of a personal or business nature. In fact, small business owners and corporations often speak with tax lawyers to get advice about deductions and information about the proper methods for filing taxes. Moreover, tax lawyers can help people understand the various complex tax laws that may otherwise baffle them. Immigration lawyers assist individuals that want to become a citizen of a certain country. The immigration laws can be just as complicated as tax laws, perhaps more so, and lawyers can help individuals fulfil the requirements they need to in order to become a citizen.

Conversely, there are Worker’s Compensation Lawyers that help clients fight for their rights in worker’s compensation related claims and there are employment lawyers that will help clients battle out their claims for job discrimination and the like. Labor lawyers also help unions fight for the rights of employees and there are a number of lawyers that specialize in the employment area. Along the same lines, for those individuals that have filed a claim to receive social security benefits and have been denied, there are lawyers ready and willing to help you win your case.

Accident and personal injury lawyers help people reclaim their lives after traumatic injuries. Likewise, medical malpractice lawyers help people go after doctors or hospitals for poor medical treatment and/or practices. Some lawyers specialize in the writing of trusts and wills while other lawyers focus solely on the art of finance. Clearly, no matter what the legal situation may be, there is always a lawyer available to help.

Ultimately, the cost of any lawyer will vary from one to the next and are usually based on the time that your case will involve, the amount of work involved, and the lawyers overall expertise. The more experienced a lawyer is, the more expensive that lawyer can become. If you are interested in hiring a lawyer however, many lawyers are willing to give clients a free initial consultation.

I’ve stayed in many French alpine snowboarding areas such as Espace Killy, Isola 2000, Brevent and Grand Massif, but during all the family’s ski holidays Chamonix town without doubt is our most loved town to go for ski holidays Europe.

The cradle of European alpine history and home to the formidable Mont Blanc - at 4807m European Unions’ highest summit - Chamonix town features a brilliant snow track record, a elongated season (Nov-Apr), matchless extreme skiing, and panoramas to die for. So Chamonix Mont Blanc has an far reaching repute as having a few of the most spectacular, thought provoking, and thrilling lift accessed skiing accessible anyplace in the planet.

Chamonix village is enormous and also bedeviling, and that is before we reckon the adjoining ski resorts; for example Superbagneres, Chatel, Le Grand-Bornand, Flegere and Plateau de Beille.

The Monte Bianco skiing lift pass includes 9 local, and 16 departmental snowboarding regions; on terrain upwards of 3841m, more than 210 skiing lifts, and 790 kilometers of skiing pistes - and the bulk of the snowboarding resorts preceding 2010m. It provides for every grade from novices as well as experts. Visit the ski areas page for detailed look at each of the major fields: Avoriaz, Le Tour, Les Gets, Val Cenis, Flaine and Araches-la-Frasse.

Patents are the largest source of technological information. Patent are given to the inventor as a reward for its innovation in the form of the exclusive right of the monopoly for a period of 20 years from the priority date of the invention. Due to advancement in the IT sector and internet, now these valuable documents are in the reach of the general public. Any person skilled in the art can go through various patent databases and after a search can get the patent document of their need. There are different patent databases viz, USPTO, EPO, JPO, etc freely open for the public access. If we go through the patents related to a specific technological area, we will be able to find the lots of information about the life cycle of the technological innovation viz.,

• evolutionary path of a specific technology,
• technological development,
• technological diversification,
• technology merges,
• major players in specific technological area,
• key points of the specific technology,

“The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) revealed that 90% to 95% of all the world’s inventions can be found in patented documents.”

Patent analysis can reveals very valuable informations, which is not available anywhere. After patent search the crucial part is the patent analysis, and one have to be very concise about their objective of the study. The information in the patent documents can be utilized in different form according to the need and mapped accordingly to get the picture of the entire analysis in snapshots.

Patent data can be used for the preparation of technological landscapes. Logistic mathematics and circle mathematics can be very useful in the plotting of the technological landscape. It can reveal the evolutionary trend of a technology, how it is evolved from a basic technology, along with the period of the technological diversification and its nature. These maps will also give the detailed overview of the merging of the different technologies to give rise to break-through technologies. These types of maps will be very useful for the R&D personals to evaluate the position of their research and technology, and also they will find way to more innovate more advanced and valuable technology.

In the today’s global context firms need to know what technologies can competitors choke easily, and may be attempting to. They also need to know the spaces in technologies where competition is intense, and the areas where competitors are concentrating their IP development and their R&D efforts. They need to be able to track patent acquisition and development strategies and chart out the competitive landscape. To evaluate technology before making any investment decision, firms need to know the pace of patenting activity in the technology, which patents embody fundamental ideas in the technology and how vulnerable the firm’s technologies are to patent infringements. This will give them much needed information in deciding between technology development and technology acquisition.

The ability to extract relevant information from patent literature is a crucial success factor for anyone involved in technological innovation. The technology mapping technique’s that can be used to transform patent information into knowledge that can influence decision-making.

Patents are an important source of technological intelligence that companies can use to gain strategic advantage. Technology Intelligence is a can be used for gathering, analyzing, forecasting, and managing external technology related information, including patent information. Computational patent mapping is a methodology for the development and application of a technology knowledgebase for technology and competitive intelligence. The primary deliverables of patent mapping is in the form of knowledge visualization through landscape and maps. These maps provide valuable intelligence on technology evolution/revolution, nature of various types of pioneering; big; pure; and emerging players, state-of-the-art assessment, etc.

These types of technological maps will prove to be a valuable multiplier in R&D and commercialization activities, in various ways including the following:

• Developing further insights in response to strategic requirements and policy formulation in the organization

• Forecasting and identifying technological activities and trends in the industry

• Aiding in the visualization of alternative development and growth paths available to the organization

• Enabling pre-emptive recognition and action on potential licensing opportunities

• Identifying prospective partners and clients

• Identify technology discontinuities and areas of opportunities in their chosen technologies

• Monitor and evaluate the technological process of competitors and potential competitors

• Support decisions on foray and investment into particular technologies and sub-technologies

• Surveillance of technological progress of competitors as well as to alert oneself to new entrants to the field

• Spotting of white spaces or opportunity areas within a dense technological domain

• Creative tool to simulate new ideas and create new IP

• Complementing corporate IP filing strategies

• Support technology proposals for large scale national and international level projects

• Support investment and technology due diligence on companies

Patent mapping can be an integral part of IP management. It can uncover valuable information hidden in patents and can provide useful indicators for technical trends, market trends, competitors changes and technological profile and innovation potential of a company. Patent maps are visual representations of patent information that has been mined and aggregated or clustered to highlight specific features. There is a high degree of flexibility in visualization, which may be in the form of time-series or as spatial maps. We provide a more market and technology oriented analysis of the complete set of patent portfolio assets via our patent mapping services. Patent mapping can be used to ascertain the quality of patents with respect to prevailing technology and the extent to which patents affect the technology. This is a valuable input in technology sourcing/development and R&D decisions. Patent mapping can be indispensable for both firms that have an under-utilized patent profile and are looking to license/assign it at the most favorable terms, as well as to firms that are looking at developing patent portfolio strength in a particular technological field.

Mere subject specialization is not enough for this, but analytical thinking and innovations are very essential. Today lots of software resources are available for mapping the patent data, but almost all are confined to bibliographic informations. The machine work cannot be compared with that of human intelligence. Patent mapping requires many skills. First and foremost among these is an ability to understand the complex scientific ideas protected by the patents themselves. Although it is possible to create a patent map by analyzing the relationships between patents without understanding the subject matter, such a map is often useless and needs to be refined by someone who understands the intricacies of the particular scientific discipline that is the basis of the invention. Thus, I expect that the need for people with scientific (and engineering) expertise in the field of patent mapping is on the increase. That’s why today lots of KPO firm are looking for the right individual and there is a huge demand today, which will certainly increase in the near future.

Vinod Kumar Singh
Knowledge Scientist
Email-vinod.patent@gmail.com
Mobile-91+9393000913

Marriage is a beautiful journey; it began with the chimes of the church bells, the memorable church service, the flowers, the reception and more than it all your beautiful or handsome love. That was truly a wonderful day wasn’t it, the day that began your life’s walk together, the day that marked the beginning of a completely new life, a companionship that is truly special. Is there any better way of telling your lover that he or she is loved than presenting them with some unique anniversary gifts, as it is, from your day of marriage and the wedding planner tasks that went with it, you didn’t have much time to deal that.

As your anniversary is approaching, your mind is searching for something unique to present to your love…we are generally tired of monotony hence would like to try something truly special and different. There are several unique anniversary gifts available, you can try some personalized ones with your name or photo engraved and vice versa. I like celebrating the whole month with a special goodie each day with a love note and the anniversary day comes with a huge gift that’s extra special.

You can even hide these at special places in the house and have a memorable treasure hunt. For her, you may try soft toys, jewelry is the favorite, purses, exotic dresses, a beautiful bouquet or even sexy lingerie…she would love it. For him, perfumes, shaving sets, designer shirts, watches, ties…the list is endless. Careful planning would ensure you have a wonderful anniversary.

More about gifts, and wedding favors ideas and tips at the sites.

What are inventions? Well, basically an invention is when someone comes up with an idea or an object that has never been thought of before. Typically this idea or object will help other people in some way. For example, electricity was an invention when it was first discovered. People invented new ways to use it and to bring it into our homes. People have even invented new ways of producing electricity.

We use inventions every day of our lives in so many different ways. Some are very basic ways such as the shoes on our feet. Some are more technical ways but all began as someone’s invention.

Do You Have an Invention?

So what do you do if you have an invention or an idea for an invention? The first thing you are going to want to do is to apply for a patent. This is very important for different reasons. One is that the patent office will be able to tell you if someone else already has a patent on that or if there is a patent in the works even if you have not seen the item on the market yet.

Another reason to get a patent is to protect your idea. Just because you told yourself, your mom, your spouse or your best friend doesn’t mean you have proof that you had the idea first. You need to register it first so you can claim it as intellectual property and you can be sure all rights remain to you.

If someone steals your idea and you do not have a patent, it will be very hard to prove that you are the original one to come up with the invention. You are better off playing it safe and calling the patent office.

Anyone who has hired an attorney for legal representation is entitled to frequent communication and status reports. Every client deserves to know where the case is headed and get an update on the attorney’s progress, or lack of it. If you are thinking about retaining a lawyer, or already have one, here are a few pointers about what to expect from or initiate with your legal counselor.

1. Clients should receive status reports on case developments. Any action that your attorney takes on your behalf should be discussed with you beforehand and afterward. You need to know how the case is being processed, and the means your attorney is using to accomplish client goals. Pleadings, hearings, pre-trials, and trial preparation, along with required due-dates, are just some of the matters that clients need to know about. If your attorney does not inform you of these things in a timely manner, ask for periodic updates so you can keep abreast of case developments.

2. You should receive a return call from your attorney when you leave a message. Most legal representatives hire competent secretaries or assistants to handle phone calls and relay messages from clients. Assuming that your lawyer is in town and not involved in a major trial, he or she ought to be able to return your call within a day or two. If you are calling and leaving several messages that seldom bring a response, your attorney is not doing a good job. If there is a head of the firm, you might want to get in touch with that person to explain your dissatisfaction.

3. Most people can be reached in a variety of ways, including cell phone, fax, landline, email, and post. Tell your attorney which method you prefer, and provide one or more alternate means of contact in case the first should fail for some reason. Ask for the same information from your lawyer so that if you need to get in touch, you will be able to do so in more than one way.

4. Use a message system. Either set up a voice mail recorder on your home phone or utilize one at work or on your cell phone. Ask your lawyer that if he or she is unavailable, whether you can leave messages with the secretary or in a voice message box. Sometimes direct contact is impossible, but messages can relay information on a temporary basis.

5. Expect routine communication. If you are not hearing from your attorney on a monthly basis, at least, while he or she is managing an active case for you, request monthly updates in writing or by phone. You can even offer to call in for them if that will make the lawyer’s job easier. The important thing is that you stay connected so the two of you can do a better job of working for a positive outcome to your legal case. If your lawyer does not contact you, be sure and get in touch with him or her.