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- Are consultations free?
- What payment arrangements are available?
- What expenses, if any, am I responsible for?
- Do you accept credit cards?
- What needs to be done to retain your firm?
- What do I need to do in preparation for the first
interview?
- How long will my case take to resolve?
- What is alternative dispute resolution?
- What counties do you practice in?
- Where are your offices located?
Consultations for all personal injury and alder
abuse matters are free. There may be a small fee for administrative
expenses for employment related matters, but the charge may be waived at the
attorney's discretion depending on the nature of the matter.
Most personal injury matters are taken on
contingency. This means that the attorney bears all costs and expenses
until the case is resolved. When the case settles, costs and expenses will
be deducted from the settlement or judgment and are in addition to a percentage
recovery that is allocated to attorney's fees.
Employment matters, on the other hand, may be flat
fee, hourly, contingency, or a combination of any of these arrangements.
Compensation to the attorney may be negotiated in advance by the client.
The availability of any one compensation scheme depends on the facts and
circumstances of each case.
Theoretically, the client is responsible for all
costs and expenses associated with the prosecution or defense of their case.
In most personal injury and elder cases that our retained by our firm, however,
costs and expenses are waived if there is no favorable settlement or judgment.
"No recovery, No Fee!"
For employment matters, the client is responsible
for all costs and expenses, unless the parties have negotiated a different
arrangement for payment of these monies.
Yes. Mastercard and Visa.
Simply fill out and submit the form to the right, or
contact us toll-free at 1-800-994-2889. An attorney or a representative
from our office will gather some facts about your particular situation and
schedule an appointment to meet with the attorney. The attorney will spend
approximately an hour with you, gathering additional information, and, with your
cooperation, will assess the merit of the matter. If the attorney is
interested in representing you, he will draw up a contract and ask you to sign
relevant forms. At that point you are represented and your attorney will
handle all other matters that fall within the purview of his representation.
Familiarize yourself with the facts and what you
want to tell the attorney about your case. Try to determine relevant
dates, and gather all paperwork that might be useful to the case. In
personal injury actions, it's helpful to have a copy of the police report, if
any, insurance information, pictures, and a list of all doctors you've seen for
care. In employment matters, gather employment records, payroll stubs,
personnel files, etc.
This is a difficult question without an easy answer.
It, of course, depends on the facts of the case. Sometimes there are
administrative remedies that need to be exhausted before you can file a case,
and this may add a significant time delay to resolution. It also depends
in large part on what court would have jurisdiction over your case, and in what
county and venue it would be filed. If the case needs to be filed in
Federal Court, it will likely take at least twice as long to resolve as if it
were filed in state court. Similarly, Riverside County courts are much
slower than those in San Diego county. The attorney will tell you where
the case needs to be filed.
As a general rule, you can expect your case to take
anywhere between six months and two years to fully resolve. However, if it
is a simple matter it may take far less time, with the amount of time required
increasing with the case's complexity.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a means to resolve the case at
a minimum of time of expense. Litigation is costly, with most cases
requiring retention of experts, various fees, and trial / pre-trial expenses.
As a way to minimize these outlays, a number of avenues are available for
assessing and attempting early disposition of the case. The most common
means of ADR are mediation and arbitration.
Mediation is when the parties and their counsel, if
any, meet with a mediator who attempts informal resolution of the case.
The mediator is neutral, but often has years of experience and may be a retired
judge or practicing attorney. The mediator's job is not to adjudicate the
case, but simply to work with the parties to come to some form of agreement for
settlement.
Arbitration, on the other hand, is more like a
formal judicial proceeding. An arbitrator essentially decided the facts of
the case, based on the evidence presented, and adjudicates the claims.
Arbitration may be binding or non-binding. If it is non-binding and the
parties are unhappy with the outcome, the case can still be pursued through
appropriate legal channels. If it is binding, however, the parties will be
bound to the outcome. Arbitration may be required by applicable agreements
such as employment agreements or agreements for the provision of medical
services.
Our firm has practiced in most counties in the State
of California, including Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San
Bernardino, Imperial, Orange, and Santa Clara.
With our offices in San Diego and Riverside counties, most cases
we represent are located in those and nearby counties such as Orange, Los
Angeles, and San Bernardino.
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County of
San Diego: 8355 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa, CA 91941
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County
of Riverside: 27247 Madison Ave., Suite 100, Temecula, CA 92590
Click here to go to our main
Locations page
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