I paid $20,000 for a worthless lawyer and now my son is in prison. I can't afford another attorney. How do I get one that will work on an appeal pro bono that is also good?
Serious answers only, please. Serious question.
2006-08-25 02:42:42 · 8 answers · asked by Chloe 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
There's no easy answer to that. Lawyers, most of them, are not on salary: they can't or won't devote much time to pro bono work.
Unfortunately many people throw money at lawyers, especially criminal defense lawyers, without doing their homework as to what the lawyer will be doing and how his bill will be calculated.
Without knowing the accusation made against the defendant (and this isn't the place to discuss it) and what jurisdiction the court is in, it's not possible to offer much besides sympathy.
If the case is unusual and raises interesting legal points, or if there is a likely miscarriage of justice, a law school's legal clinic is the best place to go for appeal advice.
2006-08-25 02:53:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no one way to get a lawyer to do your appeal, which is what you need to do, now that your son has been convicted. It depends on how the system works where you live, and if your son was convicted in federal court or in state court. I would start looking in the phone book under "legal clinics" or something like that, l;ike "neighborhood legal services". If there is a law school where you live, they also do things like appellate work for no money. These places, if they don't do it, they can at least point you in the direction of people that do.
About getting a lawyer that is good.. most lawyers who do appellate work really want to do it, and if they are doing it for free it mostly means they pretty much have the freedom to do what they want... you can always just ask the lawyer about his/her credentials, its not a secret.
good luck
2006-08-25 11:27:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could go to the local bar association. Most of them have pro bono programs
2006-08-25 10:19:15 · answer #3 · answered by ovrwrkdlawyr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The state will provide an appealate defender. It is just like a public defender, but they work on appeals and not trials. So contact the public defender of the jurisdiction.
2006-08-25 09:45:51 · answer #4 · answered by blah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had to get a pro bono there are some church's that have them,that where I fiund mind
2006-08-25 09:46:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know the feeling, I would do anything for my kid. Without knowing more about the charges againt him its hard to give a good answer. And we dont know where the case was. Keep fighting, and keep loving him.
2006-08-25 10:04:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try your church or ask at your state bar association.
2006-08-25 11:00:18 · answer #7 · answered by skyeblue 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
make your case high profile in the media
2006-08-25 09:46:36 · answer #8 · answered by W E J 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋