Why lawyers can help make sure your action doesn’t become time-barred.
Why lawyers can help make sure your action doesn’t become time-barred.
I am writing this to hopefully assist those looking at legal issues. Whether you retain the Grand Rapids Law Group or other lawyers, or even if you work on your case yourself, please take this message to heart. It is among the most vital, and most overlooked, aspects of legal practice, and I’ve unfortunately seen a couple of cases severely harmed by not paying attention to time periods for filing matters.
Let me start by saying that even the best lawyers will find it impossible vindicate your rights through the legal process if it is barred due to time periods. You can start by reviewing the Michigan Court Rules, where they are split up primarily based on the court you are looking to review) specify time periods for filing and responding to complaints, motions, answers, and appeals. Depending on the action, the relevant time frames usually involve either 7, 14, 21, 28, or 30 days to file or respond, although this list is not complete.
Even with the help of lawyers, fighting a time-barred claim is an uphill battle.
My supervising attorney at my externship, Frederick Boncher, gave me one piece of advice that seems more valuable with each case I handle; he said to take the Court Rules and read and re-read them, because they are the single most important resource in legal practice. This is true for attorneys and people representing themselves alike. There are a great many matters, like motions for summary disposition, motions to dismiss, and appeals, where it is vital that you follow the court rules. This is where I have seen many people, including myself before I decided to go to law school, and other lawyers, lose their case before they even start. The rules are hard when it comes to time limits, and even lawyers have an uphill battle fighting barred actions. If you don’t file an action in time, there is little chance of it ever getting before the court. If you don’t respond to an action by the opposing side’s lawyers, chances are your case will be dismissed, or they will get a default judgment against you, both of which preclude you from vindicating yourself before the court in most circumstances.
This applies to agency decisions as well. One of the hardest calls I had to make was to a client who had waited too long to file an appeal from an administrative agency decision. While the case was strong, since the 30 day time period for filing for appeal had gone, I had to tell a potential client that there was little chance of a court hearing the appeal, and that payment for lawyers would likely be wasted. I had another client that could have had a strong case under a federal statute, but had to file under a different claim, because the statute of limitations time period had run for the first potential claim.
Michigan lawyers can help make sure you don’t run afoul of filing time limits.
While it is certainly possible to handle a case on your own, I would caution people to think hard about how much they can commit to their case, and whether they feel comfortable in having the requisite substantial and procedural knowledge to pursue their legal matter. Lawyers are trained to understand these often minute details, and to be able to determine their impact on a case so that they can advise you. In many simple cases, it may not be necessary to hire a lawyer. But in many cases, especially where the other side has lawyers representing them, it is in your best interests to at least consult local lawyers to make sure that your case is not hampered by not following these often strict guidelines.
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Are hard financial times keeping couples from divorce and divorce attorneys? | divorce attorney
Economic hardship may be keeping some couples find seeking out a divorce attorney.
A recent NPR article discussed the effects of the economic downturn on marriages and the reasons behind the trend. The same reason that many couples may want to divorce is the same reason that is keeping an increasing amount of them together. As the recession hurt families, many of them found themselves increasingly fighting over money, leading to the desire for divorce. However, those money problems also meant that many couples contemplating divorce couldn’t afford it. The basic filing fees for a divorce case can be up to several hundred dollars, even without either party being represented by a divorce lawyer.
As a result, a NPR survey found that more than 20% of all Americans out of work for over a year report having a worse relationship with their partner. A similar article survey noted that for every 1% increase in the unemployment rate, the divorce rate goes down by 1%. Additionally, the CDC reported that 25% of women say they’ve been physically abused by their husbands or boyfriends.
The first two statistics tend to show that many couples have passed the point of wanting to be married, but they can’t afford to. Additionally, the cost of moving out for one party might be too great, meaning that the unhappy couple must then stay living together, even after they’ve passed the point of wanting to stay together. This is likely borne out by the third statistic.
If nothing else, these sobering statistics should be a cautionary tale to anyone thinking of getting married, especially if you are already having financial problems. There is also the danger of couples that are unable to work together to find a solution trying to work out a divorce. A divorce attorney can be crucial to both make sure that their client’s interests are properly represented, as well as potentially mediating with the other party’s representation.
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