While it is probably not an ideal topic to discuss with friends or business acquaintances, if you know of someone who has experienced the bankruptcy process, ask him or her about their attorney. some of the best attorneys are found by word of mouth. inquire as to what the individual liked and didn’t like http://www.reedriordan.com about the attorney. was the process fairly painless? did the firm’s staff treat them with respect? how did the person pay for the services (payments, upfront, after filing, etc.). all of these questions are important because they will help you determine if you the attorney is someone you want to work with.
Kent dills bs, ms, eprorealtor, the michael group – hurst, texas
Family law attorneys who are fighting a child custody battle also scour the internet looking for possible electronic discovery. all that a lawyer needs to find is a few photos of a minor child smoking pot or drinking alcohol posted on a web site and charges of being an unfit parent can be substantiated. let the words of dallas family attorney mary jo mccurley serve as a warning, ‘for a lawyer, it’s almost like a ‘ha’ moment. it’s kind of fun when you see something that you can use as evidence [against] the opposing party.’ online activities are just as serious as those in the ‘real world’ and, to the absolute delight of opposing legal counsel, electronic behavior is recorded and never, ever goes away. lawmakers and courts at all levels of state and federal government have been scrambling to keep up with the ever-increasing series of questions that new technology brings. what evidence can and should be admissible in court? in what form or predicate should the attorney present the evidence? when is the line protecting the right to privacy crossed? through amendments to the federal rules of civil procedure on december 1, 2006, congress enacted the primary guidelines used to answer such questions and others on the federal level. through rule 34(a), congress added electronically stored information (esi) as a category of discoverable information. to ensure that this amendment maintained its relevance as new technologies are invented, esi was defined to be ‘writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, images, and other data or data compilations stored in any medium from which information can be obtained.’ by purposefully using the language, ‘in any medium,’ in the future, the federal courts can require data from technology not even invented yet. if you have had any difficulty keeping up with the new electronic devices that have come on the market in just the last five years (how many versions of the iphone and blackberry are there now?), you can understand why the federal lawmakers left such a wide open door.