Mike Wells: One lawyer's advice: You may not need us
January 31st, 2022 by admin
The law touches most every controversy or significant disagreement, but that does not mean one has to hire a lawyer to resolve many of them. Most of the relatively minor issues people face can be resolved without venturing into a court of law, but by taking your issues to the court of common sense.
Here are some recommendations:
1. Watch out for a “Jimmy Hoffa” attitude. This labor leader regularly said: “I may have my faults but being wrong ain’t one of them.” If you have that kind of attitude, you are not going to get many disputes resolved reasonably, and you generally miss a good chance to put the dispute behind you.
2. Disputes with your neighbors. These generally involve common boundary-line issues, trees on or near the boundary line, or limbs that overhang on to your neighbor’s property. If you want your next-door neighbor to be a good neighbor, you have to be a good neighbor, too. There are legal responsibilities on both sides. “What if the shoe were on the other foot?” is not a legal rule, but it falls squarely into the court of common sense.
3. If you cannot solve your problem on your own, consider contacting Mediation Services of Forsyth County. (P.O. Box 436, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-0436, 336-724-2870 or email fcmediation@aol.com). This nonprofit can help you solve many relatively minor disputes cheaply and efficiently and hopefully save a friendship/relationship.
4. If you are uncertain about what the law requires about an issue, contact the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) referral service (800-662-7660). For $50, one can schedule a 30-minute conference with a lawyer in your geographical area and who practices in the area of the law concerning your general dispute. Thousands of matters for citizens have been solved or directed appropriately by this very helpful service provided by NCBA.
5. If you have a more significant legal issue and you have a working relationship with a local lawyer, contact your own lawyer and ask for a little courtesy advice, depending on the circumstances. That ought to come with the relationship. If the issue is more complex and the dispute is not in the lane of the law your lawyer’s firm handles, the lawyer can give to you a solid referral to a lawyer who can handle the matter.
6. Do not forget the “assume” rule. If important matters regarding legal obligations are involved, do not assume disagreements, even among friends, will never happen. When unknown issues come up and money is involved, things can change. Even a brief contract that spells out what happens next can solve a lot of problems.
7. Court-ordered mediation. If it is necessary to hire a lawyer and file a legal claim, the court (or controlling agency) will require you to mediate your claim.
Years ago, the North Carolina Bar Association set up a task force of lawyers across the state to study mediations. I was privileged to be asked to serve on this committee, headed by our state’s chief justice, and we traveled all over the country to observe how other states dealt with mediation.
Our recommendations, enacted into law by our legislature, are the framework which provide for this very efficient and highly effective process. The trained mediators who handle these cases resolve more than 80% of the cases. And the amount of stress relieved and money saved by the parties and in courthouse costs over the years cannot be fully calculated.
The best legal problems are the ones you never have. Contact a lawyer if necessary to be sure there are not any real problems that could be lurking. But work to resolve many solvable and relatively minor disputes without a lawyer if you can.
Remember: An informed choice is a smart choice.
Posted in: WS Journal Articles