What is the name of your state? California.
After much thinking (and worrying) about the situation, I have decided to seek legal counsel. As I posted before, the situation is that an acquaintance is suing a mutual acquaintance and a third party. The third party's attorney contacted me asking me to talk to his private investigators and "answer a few questions".
Since I've never had to see a lawyer before, I'd like to know what to expect from one.
1. Will the information I share with him or her be confidential? What if, for some reason, I am not comfortable with him or her after a few meetings, and decide to change lawyers? Can the former lawyer then decide to "leak" the information I shared with third party's lawyer?
2. How are legal fees determined? Are there flat fees or fee structures followed by ALL attorneys? Since this is a civil litigation that may proceed to jury trial, would the lawyer charge me a fee to retain him or her as my legal representative and then charge me for incidents as and when they occur? As in for instance, for filing a motion to quash a subpeona or actually going to court with me etc? I am very anxious and troubled and while I don't want to talk cost at the first meeting, this is a very important consideration for me as I have a small, limited income.
3. What should I have ready for my first visit to an attorney? And again, will everything I share with the attorney (I plan to puke my brains out and not hide anything) remain confidential even if I change attorneys at a later date?
4. The third party is being represented by a lawyer in a BIG-NOISE-LAW-FIRM. A friend highly recommended another lawyer in the same firm. Now I may be legally clueless but I'm not STUPID. I told him that it sounded like a bad idea to hire a different lawyer who, nevertheless, works for the same law firm as the third party's lawyer. Since I cannot afford a lot of money, I will be seeking the advice and representation of someone who is not such a "big noise". Would my would-be attorney's low profile make a difference to the case, jury, judge etc?
5. Is there a way I can check on my attorney's professional history? Doctors' performance may be tracked through websites that rate / rank their services. Are there similar websites that would help me get to know more about the attorney BEFORE I even visit him or her?
Thank you for any advice / opinions / suggestions. I am very worried and can't really think straight at this time, so any feedback is gratefully welcomed.
After much thinking (and worrying) about the situation, I have decided to seek legal counsel. As I posted before, the situation is that an acquaintance is suing a mutual acquaintance and a third party. The third party's attorney contacted me asking me to talk to his private investigators and "answer a few questions".
Since I've never had to see a lawyer before, I'd like to know what to expect from one.
1. Will the information I share with him or her be confidential? What if, for some reason, I am not comfortable with him or her after a few meetings, and decide to change lawyers? Can the former lawyer then decide to "leak" the information I shared with third party's lawyer?
2. How are legal fees determined? Are there flat fees or fee structures followed by ALL attorneys? Since this is a civil litigation that may proceed to jury trial, would the lawyer charge me a fee to retain him or her as my legal representative and then charge me for incidents as and when they occur? As in for instance, for filing a motion to quash a subpeona or actually going to court with me etc? I am very anxious and troubled and while I don't want to talk cost at the first meeting, this is a very important consideration for me as I have a small, limited income.
3. What should I have ready for my first visit to an attorney? And again, will everything I share with the attorney (I plan to puke my brains out and not hide anything) remain confidential even if I change attorneys at a later date?
4. The third party is being represented by a lawyer in a BIG-NOISE-LAW-FIRM. A friend highly recommended another lawyer in the same firm. Now I may be legally clueless but I'm not STUPID. I told him that it sounded like a bad idea to hire a different lawyer who, nevertheless, works for the same law firm as the third party's lawyer. Since I cannot afford a lot of money, I will be seeking the advice and representation of someone who is not such a "big noise". Would my would-be attorney's low profile make a difference to the case, jury, judge etc?
5. Is there a way I can check on my attorney's professional history? Doctors' performance may be tracked through websites that rate / rank their services. Are there similar websites that would help me get to know more about the attorney BEFORE I even visit him or her?
Thank you for any advice / opinions / suggestions. I am very worried and can't really think straight at this time, so any feedback is gratefully welcomed.