Non-lawyering is Helpful
Non-lawyering is Helpful
There are times when a licensed attorney is the only person you want working on a case. Laws protect those who practice and taking legal advice from somebody other than a bar number holding attorney is not beneficial. But, what about non-lawyering? There is a growing trend that shows non legal help can sometimes take the place of a licensed attorney.
Let’s face it; we live in a litigious society. The court systems are bogged down with cases that range from property lines being crossed to dogs that bark and disturb your neighbors, are these problems always worthy of a law suit that has to be litigated? Sometimes they are but a lot of times they are not.
If you think about all the people that are qualified to work on your case before it ever hits the lawyers desk you might be surprised at who can solve the problem. Paralegals are not allowed to give legal advice but they are the first people you will probably talk to when it comes time to see if you even have a case. They do the initial interview, they gather discovery and many times will conduct a phone interview with both parties to see if the firm is even willing to take the whole matter under advisement.
Paralegals do a lot of the legal work and can recommend, based on the information whether or not a case is even worth pursing or if it has enough merit to be filed in court. Attorneys often rely on Para-professionals to give them all the data they need. So is having a non-lawyer decide your case is really worth it? Yes, the fact that a person who knows all the facts and can present them to a lawyer helps you out in the long run. Now the case may need to be litigated if there is harm or serious laws have been broken but a misunderstanding can be taken care of by a Paralegal or by a mediator.
Mediators are often used in negotiations that don’t require monetary value or if no harm has come to either parties. Often times a mediator sits in the middle, impartial, and hears both sides. Many times after each person hears the other person’s perspective and value about the matter it can be solved with an apology or a written but not binding contract. Arbitration is court binding, mediation is both parties agreeing to work together without compromising their values.
Legal nurse consultants often deal with hospital issues such as: dissatisfied patients who are bringing a law suit against a hospital or a certain doctor. Such matters are very personal and nurses carry the Hippocratic Oath along with them all the time. Nurses who have a Paralegal degree are able to handle legal issues that other nurses cannot. They often talk with attorneys and try to work out solutions so that a law suit is not filed or the issue gets resolved without legal action. Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who can help attorneys read medical records because of their experience. They help to consult and give medical procedures to lawyers so they know what should be considered gross negligence.
Some people think that if you are not qualified as an attorney then you cannot give legal advice, that is true but advise from a person who knows more about the case is more helpful that a frivolous law suit that may get thrown out of court for lack of merit. Non-lawyering is another alternative that many lawyers are using to lighten their case load so they can focus on the important cases.
A. Harrison Barnes is the founder and CEO of CareerMission, the parent company of more than 90 job-search websites, employment services, recruiting firms and student loan companies. CareerMission (originally Juriscape) employs several hundred employees in 14 offices throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. These companies were literally started from Harrison’s garage several years ago after Harrison quit his job. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/nonlawyering-is-helpful-1307271.html
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