As a Fredericksburg lawyer, I try to do my best to serve Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County residents. And as a blogger, I want to also educate people all over the world. For that, I offer some tips on hiring an attorney.

Do you need a lawyer?

Before you hire a plumber, you ask if you need one. The same should apply when hiring an attorney. Some issues can be handled on your own, while others definitely require an attorney’s assistance.

What type of issue do you have?

Lawyers usually specialize. This means that not every attorney handles every type of legal issue. You don’t go to a brain surgeon for help with a foot problem. So you don’t hire a criminal lawyer to help setup your business. You need to find a lawyer who handles the type of issue that you have.

Contact an attorney.

The first main step for you to take is contacting a local attorney who works in the area where you need assistance. You can find local attorneys by searching on Google Maps or picking up the yellow pages. You can also try entering something like “Fredericksburg lawyer” in your favorite search engine. Then just call or email an attorney that looks like a possible fit for you.

Meet with the attorney.

Some lawyers offer a free initial consultation, but others will require at least a modest fee to meet with you in person. When you initially contact the attorney, find out what an initial meeting will cost. This is your chance to do a quick interview of the attorney, see if he/she can handle your issue, and decide if you can afford the fees. The attorney will also evaluate you and your issue, to see if he/she can adequately assist you.

Sign a contract for services.

When you officially hire an attorney, you will typically be asked to sign some type of contract for legal services. This outlines the legal relationship between you and your new attorney, including fees and billing. Be sure to read it carefully and ask any questions that come to mind.

Now it’s time to cooperate with your attorney and get the issue resolved. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

This post is my entry in the Pure Blogging group writing project.

Photo by Fenchurch!

Have you ever used a copyrighted work without a license? Perhaps you posted an image on your blog or pirated music.

Scarily, many businesses do similar things, thinking that it’s not a real threat to their business. I’ve heard people say “What’s the worst that will happen? We’ll be asked to stop.” Not true. The worst that can happen is you’ll be liable for damages, profits, attorneys’ fees, and costs.

Damages and profits

The default remedy for copyright infringement is damages and profits. This means you could have to pay the actual damage that your infringement costs the copyright owner. AND you could have to pay to the copyright owner any profits that you made by doing the infringement.

That alone could be a huge payment, if you have done substantial copyright infringement. But it can be worse.

Statutory damages

The owners of registered copyrights get an extra bit of ammo against infringers. They can opt to get statutory damages against you. This ranges from $750 to $30,000 for garden-variety infringement.

But if the court finds that you willfuly infringed upon a registered copyright, it can raise the damages up to $150,000. I would argue that simply disregarding someone’s copyright is willful infringement.

Attorney’s fees and costs

The court also has discretion to award attorney’s fees and costs in a copyright infringement case. This means that you could end up paying for the copyright owner’s attorney, just because you ignored his copyright.

Go ahead and violate someone’s copyright. What’s the worst that can happen? Big lawsuit, that’s what!

Photo by Stephen Downes

Welcome to my law practice online. Here you can learn about the services I offer, ways to contact me, and billing rates. I will also be writing about legal news and other developments in the Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, and Stafford area.