Power of Social Networks In Legal Sector

The legal industry is very competitive and that’s why skilled lawyers need to use every possible method of marketing to gain clients. The internet is a powerful tool that is used for advertising and providing information in the legal sector. These days, a law company is expected to have a website that is professionally developed. Additionally, legal firms can take advantage of free social media accounts that can be used as powerful marketing tools. Social networks allow any business to create custom profiles that could appeal to a specific customer base. Law firms can use social media to reach out to potential clients that need legal assistance.

Managing an online reputation should be the goal of a law firm that wants to have a positive image on the world wide web. When people look up a law company online, they might see a lot of different results on search engines. Some of results may not be relevant and some might be incorrect. Therefore, a law company should use multiple social network sites that become favorable with the world’s most popular search engines. When a business is searched online, social network sites associated with the business usually show up on the first page of search engine results. The goal of using social media is to establish a positive and accurate profile for internet users to explore.

Social media is essentially an advertising platform for law companies that can post all of their areas of specialty online. A law firm that handles bankruptcy and foreclosures may want to emphasize such services on social media pages. It is also important to mention if a legal team serves only a particular region. In other words, a social media profile should be linked to a geographic location that can be used to target specific people. For instance, individuals in the state of New York may be struggling to pay off their mortgages in time. Such people might find the profile of an NYC based law firm that handles cases involving foreclosures and debt resolution. Social media sites can be used to initiate communications between local law firms and potential clients. Simple email messages eventually lead to in person meeting to discuss legal services and other matters in more detail.

Online professional networking is also used by law companies that want to build partnerships in the legal world. A law firm may post an official profile that mentions all of the company’s credentials and previous history. Virtual professional networks allow lawyers in a particular community to connect with each other and form long lasting partnerships. Networking sites allow users to post timelines that include information on a company’s previous locations and other significant events. A law company like Rosicki Rosicki uses various social media outlets to build an online presence.

Law companies that use professional networking websites have the chance to “follow” other firms. For example, lawyers that specialize in bankruptcy may want to build relationships with local banks and financial institutions that give out loans. Similarly, attorneys specializing in evictions and tenant protection can build relations with local real estate agencies and boards. Social networks can be linked to other similar social media outlets. For example, one website may be dedicated towards professional networking while another site can be used by a company for blogging.

3 Infamous Bank Robbers Who Got Caught

Bank robberies have a certain nostalgia about them, thanks to the glamorizing of Bonnie and Clyde, but they are still the heist of choice for many criminals today. More intense firearm power has changed the game, of course – both on the side of the wicked and the side of the righteous, including police forces and every day civilians toting a choice scope and mount package – but there is still something familiar and gutsy that you just can’t help but want to read about. Here are three of the most infamous bank robbers who ended up getting nabbed.

1. Patty Hearst. The Patty Hearst story is full of twists and turns. She was kidnapped by a terrorist organization in the 1970s and then later spotted – on camera – helping her kidnappers rob a bank in San Francisco. She was caught and ordered to serve 35 years in prison – but had her sentence lowered to only seven. This was followed by a full pardon by President Clinton in 2001 – the reason given being the psychological affliction known as Stockholm syndrome. Not even the craziest screenwriter could dream this stuff up!

2. “Red” Roundtree. On the surface there is little to distinguish the man known as Red Roundtree from so many other petty criminals and bank robbers…until you learn that he was 86 years old when he began committing robberies. And this non-violent criminal wasn’t just caught – he was caught every single time. Apparently, he was just doing it for the rush.

3. Bonnie Parker. Working in-tandem with her lover Clyde Barrow, the notorious “bad girl” Bonnie Parker was part of a ring that robbed banks and murdered dozens. She and Clyde were “caught” – in the sense that they were finally stopped in 1934, after being gunned down by police.
While there can be little love lost for the bandits who inspire fear in their fellow citizens, their stories have always been – and probably will always be – fascinating to hear about.

How to legally rescind a timeshare contract

How to legally rescind a timeshare contract: From a strictly legal standpoint, there are a number of legal ‘theories’ that can be invoked in order to rescind a given contract, including a timeshare agreement, depending upon the circumstances:

1. Failure of Consideration: This involves a situation in which the fundamental benefit promised does not conform to what is actually rendered. In the timeshare context, this will often involve a lack of accessibility to the resort or resorts that you bought into.

2. Fraud in the inducement: This involves a situation in which the seller lies as an inducement to obtain your signature on the contract. It requires a material misrepresentation, reasonably relied upon, to the detriment of the buyer. If for example, your timeshare salesman promised that your unit would be a ‘real estate’ investment appreciating in value (a falsehood), and you relied primarily upon that in purchasing the timeshare, fraud in the inducement may be pled as part of a lawsuit seeking rescission. It is important to note that in most common law jurisdictions, written disclaimers in the contract will not avoid a fraud in the inducement count in the lawsuit.

3. Duress. This is just as it sounds intuitively. Perhaps your timeshare salesman kept you for six hours in a small room, you had no transportation away from the facility, thus you were physically entrapped until you signed off on the contract. This actually occurs, believe it or not. It is a defense to the enforcement of any contract, and can be proactively pled as a basis for rescission in an original civil complaint.

4. Statutory rescission: Most states provide for a ‘cooling off’ period immediately after your purchase of the timeshare, often ten days. You should confer with counsel as to the operative period and the laws of which jurisdiction govern the interpretation of the contract. Often the timeshare developer will withhold parts of the contract that include this provision. You should immediately ask for a complete copy of everything that you sign. If it is not provided, and you can somehow prove this, your statutory right of rescission is ‘tolled’, extended in time until this you receive at least this disclosure in the contract. There are other, perhaps less common legal theories of relief in rescinding timeshare contracts and contracts in general.

If you have been led to believe that you have no legal recourse, it is important that you seek the advice of counsel in helping you understand the options available in your particular case. Learn More about the Timeshare Lawyer who has you in mind at www.aaronsonlawgroup.com

Your Legal Rights After a Personal Injury

Are you here because you want to learn more about your rights after suffering a personal injury? These things can come about in many different ways. Perhaps you were involved in a car accident; maybe you were hurt in a slip and fall accident at work. No matter what happened, one thing is for certain: A personal injury can cost you quite a lot. You have to pay for medical treatment, and you may also have to pay for an emergency response team. However, do you have to pay for the full cost of all of this on your own?

People sometimes make the mistake of thinking that they have no choice but to pay, but this is often far from the truth. If the accident was caused by someone else, they need to be held responsible for what happened. Not only could this include legal action in the court system that revolves around fines or jail time, but it could include a civil case that centers around paying you the money that you deserve. You are holding them responsible, financially speaking, for the money that you had to spend because of something that they did.

It is also worth noting that they did not even have to take action to bring about the injury; they may just have failed to do something that led to it. This is usually the case with workplace injuries. Your boss may have failed to provide proper training for you before allowing you to use heavy machinery. He or she may have failed to post signs or put up railings to protect you. Employers have this obligation to their employees. They need to make the workplace safe. If they do not do so, either because they want to save money or because they forget, they are still responsible.

Finally, you should know that you may have the right to go after money that you did not even spend on the medical bills. When you were hurt, it probably made it so that you could not go to work. This leads to lost wages, and you can take legal action to get that money back. After all, you would have had it if the other person had not caused you to be hurt. Depending on how your injuries will impact your ability to work for the rest of your life, you may also be able to look into lost future wages.

How to Know if You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer

 

Image credit: https://flic.kr/p/nqY6PX

If you have experienced an injury as a result of work, a car accident, or other situation where you were harmed through no fault of your own, you may need a personal injury lawyer to protect your rights and assure that you receive fair compensation to cover lost wages, medical bills, and other expenses directly related to the injury.

Physical Injury

The most common incidents of personal injury are physical in nature such as injuries related to car accidents, mishaps dealing with medical or dental procedures, and diseases or sicknesses that are brought on due to the conditions of the work environment.

These injuries may be debilitating or an obtrusive annoyance that keep you from functioning as you normally would otherwise. But whether these are serious or not, if you are unable to receive reasonable compensation from the other party, a personal injury lawyer will fight for your cause.

Emotional Distress

Another element of personal injury claims includes emotional distress suffered at the hands of employers, spouses, or even strangers. Defamation of character is categorized under personal injury, and money may be rewarded to the afflicted party for damages.

If you believe that you were in a hostile work environment or a situation where an individual or firm caused you severe mental anguish, you can take actions to guard yourself by seeking legal counsel.

Going Against Goliath

Those of us who have been in a car accident know how difficult it can be to get a fair settlement from the other driver’s insurance company. They have agents and representatives that will actually try to prove that it was partially your error even when it is evident that the other driver was at complete fault.

Why do insurance firms do this? They make it a priority not to pay the full amount for your rightful claim to damages. The less they pay out, the more they save in their costs.

A personal injury lawyer can go up against these Goliath-type companies and plead your case in court by establishing the facts, assessing what the damages or payment to you should be, and why the insurance company is liable for more than they are offering.

Beware of What You Say to Insurance Adjusters

After you file a claim, you will be called by an insurance claims representative and asked to give an account of the accident for insurance purposes. You may give factual information such as the date, time, and circumstances, but do not volunteer anything else because adjusters can use what you say to help them lower the cost of the settlement to you. They may appear friendly and helpful, but remember that their paycheck is coming from the insurance company and they are advised to keep settlement costs down.

The best plan of action, after you hire a personal injury lawyer, is to keep them informed and not to speak with anyone representing the insurance company until you are advised on the course of action you should take.

Finding a Good Lawyer

Finding a good lawyer can be a piece of cake or it can be a lengthy process. It is up to you to decide how you are going to handle the whole situation.

The Internet is probably the best source out there when it comes being able to find information on anything. Just look around and you will understand what I am talking about here. It seems that everybody gets his information on any topic from the Internet because this is simply how things work these days. If, for example, I want to learn about James Murray Liverpool, I can go directly to his website and learn everything there is to learn about him. It is as easy as that.

I am really glad how the Internet changed everything in terms of being able to obtain information. In the past, things used to be a lot different. Obtaining information wasn’t as easy as it is today and you had to rely on what you heard from your friends and family in terms of finding somebody to represent you in court. While it is still true today and many people still get the information they need this way, it is just so much easier to open your Internet browser and find what you want.

How to Handle Personal Injuries and Accidents

It is always a good idea to know how to handle a personal injury once it already happens to you. You might make yourself familiar with a basic definition of what constitutes a personal injury and what doesn’t. It might also be a smart move to contact a Calgary injury lawyer in case you have any questions on the topic you would like to ask.

Basically, in order to establish an accident injury claim, your case needs to meet certain requirements as described below:

1. If you’ve suffered either a physical, mental or emotional injury, you are a good candidate for a successful accident injury claim, but this is not where it ends. There are several other steps that need to be taken into account when deciding what to do in your case.

2. If the injury you suffered from was caused by the negligence or fault of someone else, you are likely to be successful in your claim. All you need is a good lawyer to represent you. Someone else can mean anything be it a person, company, municipality, etc. As long as you feel like you have been wronged by somebody or an organization, you have ever right to demand compensation for your suffering.

3. One basic condition to fulfill is to establish if the injury inflicted on you has monetary value or not. Basically, you are always entitled to damages for your suffering and pain, but not only. Lost wages as well as loss of housekeeping capacity also qualify as monetary damages that can allow you to demand compensation for your suffering. And there are also out-of-pocket expenses that include medical costs that also fall into this category and need to be taken into account.

In a nutshell, consult with your lawyer and see what he can do for you. He might be able to do more for you than you expected.

Law and Twitter

In this competitive marketplace, lawyers and law firms need to do what they can to be authoritative sources of information and to market themselves efficiently to clientele. This is where social media platforms come in. The advent of social media revolutionized how information is disseminated beyond geographic barriers. At the same time, social media allows for complex interactions to take place between people and experts and leaders. It is the potential of this technology that should make lawyers and law firms jump on the social media bandwagon.

Giving Them Something They Want

Social media accounts attract people, and potential customers, based upon what the account is going to offer people. This offering is more than a superficial list of goods and services a company or professional offers; what most people on social media want is information that makes them want to interact with the account even more.

Authority

In terms of a law firm or a lawyer, people do not want to hear what services the law firm or lawyer provides, but what insights on law their social media account can provide. This is especially true when it comes to the type of law the lawyer or law firm is focused in. For example, if a lawyer or law firm is focused on patent law, the social media account can be saturated with information, opinion, or links to news stories about patents.

Which Platform Works Best?

This question is difficult to answer, as each form of social media has unique advantages and disadvantages. A blog, one of the most common social media platforms, allows a writer, such as the private practice lawyer or a lawyer from a law firm, write their opinion or argument about an emerging trend in law. Micro-blogging platforms may allow the law firm or lawyer social media account to network trending news stories or links to other blog posts. For example, lawyer Joe Tacopina twitter account has a consistent stream of tweets on law-related stories that interest him. Therefore, people who discover his account may follow it to learn more about law stories he finds interesting.

Proper Interaction

One of the things that a lawyer and a law firm needs to be prepared for with social media are the interactions they will receive on the platform. Comments, messages, shares, and other forms of communication flourish social media, allowing people who are interested in what it is being posted have a say in the conversation. This can be a difficult since a lawyer or a law firm may not have the public relations acumen to react to comments or messages that could be highly critical or ask very deep questions related to the social media posts. Many law firms tend to be private in their public relations so their brand toward clientele is not soured. However, investing in social media in the first place should help a law firm or a lawyer escape their comfortable confides and begin to interact within a larger community. If people tend to be too critical to the point of posting offensive material, most social media platforms have programming that can flag the commenter as being inappropriate. Also, one does not need to reply to every message given to the social media account. Keep in mind that the more the people behind the account seem responsive to comments or messages, the more likely the general community will appreciate and respect the account and, hence, the law firm or lawyer’s brand.

Conclusion

Social media can help lawyers or law firms escape their shell and interact heavily within a community of people who have a vested interest in the type of law the firm or lawyer finds interesting. Using social media effectively can help with the firm or lawyer’s brand awareness and help make them into authoritative businesses related to law. All of this can help with the firm or the lawyer’s networking and reach toward new customers.

The different job roles of a solicitor

If you’re thinking of becoming a solicitor or you’re looking to enlist the services of a solicitor to help you with a case or legal issue, you may wonder exactly what they are qualified to do. A solicitor will have studied incredibly hard to receive their qualification and many have a particular area of law they want to specialise in once qualified.

Here are some of the different job roles of a solicitor:

Voluntary work

Some solicitors choose to use some of their spare time representing people who cannot afford good legal representation themselves. This is something a lot of solicitors do as a way of ‘giving back’ to the community using their wealth of expertise and broad skill set.

Representing the rights of people

Some solicitors specialize in compensation claims and cases which relate to human rights. A lot more people qualified in law have found themselves working within the compensation industry. This is because law is a very difficult industry to get into and the expanding compensation culture has meant more jobs for qualified solicitors struggling to get a foot on the ladder. This particular sector is more geared towards people who have been badly treated by private or public services.

Personal

A large proportion of solicitors work within the personal sector. Local solicitors will focus on a broad range of services rather than city based commercial firms which tend to specialise in big money services like corporate transactions and corporate disputes. For example if you live in Sheffield, a solicitor in Sheffield is more than likely going to have personal law expertise than commercial expertise because those skills are most relevant and in demand locally.

Personal law services include things like; will services and probate, property services, divorce and prenuptial agreements and personal injury claims.

Commercial

This is where a lot of the big money is in law, especially if you can represent large corporations worth multi millions.

Commercial solicitors are also critical for the healthy growth of small businesses who need help setting up correctly and protecting themselves from any future issues before they may arise. It is crucial small businesses are set up legally because they simply could not afford an expensive claim both financially and in relation to their fragile brand image.

Commercial lawyers also help with the sale of a business which can be tricky and complicated depending on the financial affairs of the company and it’s structure.

Public Solicitor

Some solicitors are employed by the state to represent criminals who cannot afford representation. They will more often than not work on small scale cases such as petty crime, probation breaches and community orders.

Office of the Official Solicitor

This is a governing body run by the state which represents people who lack the mental capacity to run their own personal affairs. These people will also live without a relative or willing person known to them who is willing or able to represent them in this way.

Wrongful Dismissal Case Study: Carmen Segarra vs. the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

According to statistics from the the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), lawsuits filed for the purpose of seeking wrongful dismissal compensation have been on the rise since the economic downturn of 2008. Even as we emerge from the rigors of the Great Recession, wrongful dismissal cases remain staggeringly high throughout the country.

While business owners want you to believe that the rise of wrongful dismissal lawsuits is just a matter of cash-strapped Americans grasping at ways to make a quick buck, the fact of the matter is that wrongful dismissal remains a big problem across the United States.

Case Study: Carmen Segarra Files a Wrongful Dismissal Complaint Against the Fed
Take the 2013 case of Carmen Segarra v. the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for example: according to the Project on Government Oversite (POGO), Ms. Segarra sought the aid of wrongful dismissal lawyers after the Fed fired her. In an interview with Pro Publica, Ms. Segarra claims that after uncovering evidence that the Fed was running “shady” deals with Goldman Sachs and a separate Spanish bank, while maintaining no policies for resolving conflicts between the Fed and its clients, she was fired. In other words, Ms. Segarra blew the whistle on what she viewed as a breach of the Federal Reserve’s charge to uphold the laws of the U.S. and make good on the trust placed into it by the American people.

Violation of Wrongful Dismissal Law or Good Business?
To some, most notably the defendants at the Fed, the firing of Segarra represents a smart business move. After all, Segarra was speaking against the company and being an insubordinate employee when she refused to drop the issue. As far as the Fed is concerned, they acted in a legal, reasonable way to protect their interests.

However, as far as federal employee laws are concerned, the Fed may be in the wrong. As the Department of Labor writes, the Occupational Safety and Health Commission (OSHA) maintains blanket protections for whistleblowers under 17 federal statutes. In the case of Ms. Segarra, it could be argued that under the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Liability Act and Title VIII of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Segarra was well within her rights to report the issues to her bosses and all relevant authorities. Further, in doing so, Segarra should have incurred no penalties, least of all being wrongfully terminated.

As with anything in the American justice system, the outcome of the case of Segarra v. the Fed cannot be determined based on outside opinion. The case will have to be decided in a court of law, as is guaranteed under U.S. law. However, it seems pretty clear that Segarra’s is a case of wrongful dismissal.

 

What to Do When Somebody Assaults You: Domestic Assault Lawyer Can Help

After being assaulted, all you might have a recollection of are the vivid images of the events that took place. I know that if you have been assaulted in any way you are probably traumatized, but I want you to know that there is somebody you can contact to help you. I am thinking here about a sexual assault lawyer in Toronto.

What can be defined as an assault? In a nutshell, an assault is nothing else but a forceful exhibition of torture that is inflicted by the tormentor. Physical assaults can take different forms, sexual assaults being one of them.

It is best to consult an assault lawyer to estimate whether you stand a chance with your case or not. A qualified lawyer will always tell you whether it is worth your time to pursue your case or not. In some rare cases, it might be advisable to forget about the whole event and simply move on. In other cases, it might be best to act and act swiftly, but decisively and with confidence.

What can an assault lawyer do for a person who suffered as the result of an assault? It seems that there is a lot that can be done here. For example, an assault lawyer, among many other things, will first run a number of checks including various checks on the accused. It is advisable for a lawyer to make sure that the accused will have enough money to cover the suffering of the assaulted. If you are given the green light and are ready to proceed, the lawyer will represent you in court trying to scoop up as much financial compensation as it becomes possible for your suffering. You are likely to receive more in compensation if due to the assault you were absent at work, lost your work, lost your future earning power, or even for your physical suffering. The cost of medical treatment will be included here as well.

An assault lawyer can also be contacted if a person is already accused of assaulting someone else. If this is the case, a qualified lawyer will always advise whether that person should plead guilty or not, as well as the odds of him winning the case. A person accused of assault should make sure that he contacts a person who specializes in assault cases and not in other areas of law such as family law for example. A lawyer who specializes in assaults, or at least for whom assaults are one of the few things he deals with, is more likely to win any case than somebody who never has anything to do with assaults.

If a person is already arrested for assaulting someone, a lawyer can still do a lot of him or her. A lawyer will do all in his power to reduce the term of punishment and the severity of it. Some people don’t realize it, but being behind bars does not have to mean that you will stay there forever, or that you have to serve the full duration of the punishment.

Do I Need a Visa to the United States?

There are many developed countries out that whose citizens don’t need to obtain a visa when they want to travel to the United States for business or to visit their relatives, or to simply spend a vacation in the US. United Kingdom and Ireland are among those countries, which means that the Irish and the British simply need to fill out their US ESTA application instead of applying for a visa in an American embassy.

Without any need for visa, traveling to the US has never been easier. Those who are British or Irish citizens can already start booking their American holidays and enjoy the thought that soon they are going to set foot on American soil without too much paperwork related to obtaining a visa.

Obtaining a visa usually means a lot of hassle for those who want to get one. There are some countries in the world that aren’t very lucky while obtaining a visa. Nearly 50% of visa applications of the citizens of El Salvador end in rejection, which means that only every second person from this country eventually gets his dream visa and can travel to the US free.

The British and the Irish should consider themselves lucky that they don’t need to go through all those complications related to getting a visa. This should be a huge relief for them, and it should mean that traveling for business and pleasure has become a lot easier. As a matter of fact, many of them should take advantage of the opportunity to book their dream holidays in California and Florida if this is something they would like to do in their spare time. Traveling to the US can mean a lot of fun, and knowing that you don’t need a visa to be able to travel there makes it even more fun and more enjoyable.