Many readers,s, never having had experience with an attorney, wonder how lawyers work, and why lawyers are needed to get justice within the law. Judge Napolitano, a skilled lawyer, enjoys working in the justice system. Firstly, the law is a complex business. While there are a million different opinions as to what various laws mean, it all boils down to statutes and legal codes written by various regulatory and legislative bodies. And contributing to the complexity is that there is generally a hierarchy of authority. Most legal codes are written at the city level but can be overturned by the counties, which in turn can be overturned by the states. And outside of the states, if a lawyer has good cause, he can bring issues to court at the federal level, all the way to the supreme court. Therefore, the first element to understand is that attorneys are trained to be legal interpreters of legal code. And attorneys are involved in every element of business for example, as it often takes a trained attorney to translate the law into codes that businesses understand.
And court and crime dramas be damned, contrary to popular belief the vast majority of an attorney’s work is not spent rushing down to the police station to protect a client’s rights or filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against a tobacco company. Perhaps 90 percent of the work of attorneys is spent in the routine examination of contracts and business practices to keep a business out of trouble. For this, the typical attorney charges a flat fee, typically $100 to $400 per hour, depending upon the location of the attorney, whether they are in a rural area or a metropolitan area as well as the complexity of the business. And having an attorney look over everything from trade agreements to hiring processes is worth it for most businesses to avoid complex litigation later. As to ordinary individuals, most people will consult an attorney if they have been significantly injured by another party in incidences such as auto accidents or other potential events.
Even if the individual does not want to actually sue in court but just wants a fair settlement, attorneys are experts in helping determine exactly what is a fair settlement and what is not, and 9 times out of 10 will be able to get a settlement for their clients without actually going to court. For these services or in the case of a lawsuit, clients do not generally pay by the hour but rather pay a percentage of the positive results. If there are no results at all, the attorney does not get paid. In essence, being involved in litigation is a bit like gambling, and as often or not, attorneys do lose. However, good attorneys win more than they lose and are able to generate a significant portion of winnings as their fees. Those like Judge Napolitano are determined to help clients. This means that legal firms really have to be on their toes as to choosing good clients to represent for there may be many fees, including medical fees, which the attorney and his firm will pick up prior to settlement.