Mark Mayfield's Sacramento Law Blog

If you have an attorney, other lawyers representing other parties in the matter are prohibited from speaking to you. They must first obtain consent from your attorney, who will necessarily ask you how you feel about it. If you are being sued and have an attorney, contact your attorney IMMEDIATELY should someone else try to speak to you about the matter. If you are on probation or charged with a crime the rule also applies.

The California State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct state in Rule 2-100:

(A) While representing a client, a member shall not communicate directly or indirectly about the subject of the representation with a party the member knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the member has the consent of the other lawyer.

(B) For purposes of this rule, a “party” includes:

(1) An officer, director, or managing agent of a corporation or association, and a partner or managing agent of a partnership; or

(2) An association member or an employee of an association, corporation, or partnership, if the subject of the communication is any act or omission of such person in connection with the matter which may be binding upon or imputed to the organization for purposes of civil or criminal liability or whose statement may constitute an admission on the part of the organization.

(C) This rule shall not prohibit:

(1) Communications with a public officer, board, committee, or body; or

(2) Communications initiated by a party seeking advice or representation from an independent lawyer of the party’s choice; or

(3) Communications otherwise authorized by law.

Thus, under (C)(2), it is acceptable for a party (the person represented, not the lawyer) to speak to other counsel if they are seeking advice or representation from another lawyer. But it is NOT acceptable for other counsel to contact a party. If you have other questions about these matters, you may call my office at (916) 363-1211 or the CA State Bar ethics hotline at 800-238-4427, toll free from within California.

Click here to go to the State Bar Ethics page.

Living Trusts are a great way to make sure your wishes are carried out. Probate can be a long process and if you have no will or revocable trust in place your heirs will receive less of what you want to leave them. Worse still, lawyers (!) and court-appointed individuals will receive part of your estate. Fortunately it is easy to prevent this. Preparing a living trust need not be expensive nor time-consuming and it will give you some ‘peace of mind,’ especially if you have young children.

Mark Mayfield is an attorney and has represented hundreds of clients, in a wide variety of matters including probate, trust, civil, criminal, juvenile, and bankruptcy. He is a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association, the California State Bar, and the Sacramento Superior Court Probate Panel. Before choosing law as a career, he worked as a college professor and at libraries.

Mark can advise you on all aspects of your living trust and small estate legal matters. The State Bar of California discourages attorneys from listing individual case results, but for over 15 years he has obtained excellent resolutions in a wide variety of cases. After years of assisting friends and family with their estate & probate matters, he has decided to offer the same high level of service to clients in the greater Sacramento region. Call (916) 363-1211 or email today for a free consultation and to determine if he can assist you with your important family law matters.

Here is an interesting and innovative program: CeaseFire. According to its proponents it is a national public health strategy that has been scientifically proven to reduce shootings and killings. An interdisciplinary model, CeaseFire maintains that violence is a learned behavior that can be prevented using disease control methods. Very interesting.

From their website:

“In June 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., head of the Department of Justice referenced CeaseFire as an example of ‘a rational, data-driven, evidence-based, smart approach to crime – the kind of approach that this Administration is dedicated to pursuing and supporting.’ ”

More cities need to adopt programs to get at the root of urban gang related violence. In Chicago, some credit CeaseFire with a 67% drop in shootings the first year it was implemented.

Check out their website:

ceasefirechicago

The Sacramento Police Department has published their end-of-the-year 2010 crime statistics. Click on this link to check out the numbers:

http://www.sacpd.org/crime/stats/#stat

Overall the numbers show a slight decrease in arrests from the previous year. But I don’t think that means there was less crime!  With all the cuts to the Police, Sheriff, and and Probation Departments by both the City and County, there have been fewer officers to make arrests and I believe that accounts for part of the drop.

Nevertheless, as a general proposition, it is always good news when there are fewer murders, rapes and robberies.

The Department tallied an overall 3% decrease in crime from 2009 to 2010.

First the disclaimers: I am an attorney and obviously I would like potential clients to consider me when looking for a juvenile delinquency attorney in the Sacramento region. I have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours in California Superior Courtrooms. Also, nothing in this article is meant to establish an attorney/client relationship or is intended as specific legal advice.

That out of the way, how should one go about selecting an attorney? I have had a couple of experiences over the past 15 years where I observed attorneys in court who did not appear very competent. Mind you, only a couple over 15 years, but both involved lawyers who charged their client a lot of money. I suppose Caveat Emptor applies but if their clients knew they would have been very unhappy probably would have fired them. Could this have been avoided? How exactly does one find a good attorney when under stress and time pressures?

Lots of lawyer rating sites populate the internet. These can be helpful but recall they are essentially advertising. Basically someone inputs a bunch of firm information and pays some money to be a ‘premium member’ and voila the firm is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED or something to that effect. Be careful with these: I have seen very good attorneys victimized by one unhappy client’s review on well-known sites. Not good. And while I’m discussing websites,  you may wish to steer clear of attorneys whose websites are linked to online gambling sites, celebrity gossip sites or ‘naughty cheerleader’ sites. I’m serious.

Also watch out for Google or Bing ads or listings that contain bunches of glowing endorsements about how an attorney was the ‘greatest’ or the ‘best’ or that they ‘love’ him or her. Yes, they could be legitimate, but let’s be honest, most people don’t love their attorney and they usually want to forget the whole thing once it is over. In any case, multiple anonymous endorsements don’t mean a thing. (Note: I asked a couple of clients last year to consider posting reviews of me and one of them did write a very honest and mostly positive account of my service to them on Avvo.com).

What you want is first-hand recommendations. Asking friends and associates and co-workers for direction is probably the best place to start. If they had a positive experience with a lawyer, even if in a different field of law, you may wish to contact that attorney for a referral. Asking around the courthouse where your case will be heard can also be helpful.

Another source is the good old local ‘yellow pages.’ Yes it is paid advertising but it is a start. Do some online searches using appropriate search terms and wade through the results. After obtaining some names either online or from family/friends/co-workers/yellow pages, here are some questions to ask the attorney when you call or email them:

1. What is your experience in my area of concern? (extremely important)
2. Do you have any references?
3. What are the possible outcomes? Best and worst case.
4. What are the costs going to be? Flat rate or hourly? How do you determine them?
5. How long may this take to be over? Best and worst case.
6. How will you keep me informed?
7. What approach will you take? Aggressive or Compromising? Or something else?
8. Will you personally be working on my case? (very important)
9. Do you have any experience working IN THIS JURISDICTION? (important!– if the attorney knows the court personnel and/or Judges it may provide an advantage. Note that I stated ‘MAY’)
10. Lastly, watch out for questionable promises, guaranteed results, and threats (‘you better hire me or else’). These kind of statements are generally prohibited by state bars and indicate an unethical attorney. And trust me, peers and Judges probably know it.

These questions are a good place to start in selecting an attorney, no matter what your needs are. After getting answers you may wish to check up on them. At a minimum check the attorney’s state bar site entry (here’s mine) to see any discipline or issues that are public. You may wish to see if they are endorsed by the Better Business Bureau. Make sure you speak to the attorney in person or on the phone and verify they actually have an office.

Following the above suggestions will greatly help you in choosing an attorney, no matter what your legal issue is. NOTE: My website has a few ‘recommended law firms’ on the links page that I have found to be among the ‘best of the best.’

Click www.sacramentojuvenilelaw.com/links.html.

Good luck. You might need it.