Being an attorney, you are a member of one of the most important professions in society. But of course, you must be able to generate business for yourself to earn a living, especially if you are a new lawyer. You may not be trained in sales, but you do have to sell yourself. This article provides information on generating "attorney leads" for yourself to find new clients. The scope of this article entails using the internet to generate leads. The easiest internet resource to use is Google's Adwords program, where you place ads on Google's search results to draw vistors to your website.
Google Adwords - Generating attorney leads through Google is quite easy, wether you are a family lawyer, intellectual property lawyer (patent, trademark, copyright), corporate lawyer, litigation lawyer, real estate lawyer, criminal lawyer, personal injury lawyer malpractice lawyer, or any other specialization. Google's Adwords program allows you to purchase specific keywords that will place a link to your website in the search results when someone searches those keywords. Of course, you will need to have a website for Google to send visitors to to be able to use this program. If you do not already have a website for your law practice you can hire a website designer to create a professional looking site for under $100. Then you purchase keywords (usual cost is between 5 cents and $2 per click) that you think internet users are searching when they are in need of your services. Some examples of keywords that you can buy are: New York litigation lawyer, Chicago corporate lawyer, Dallas bankruptcy lawyer, Seattle family lawyer, or Toronto business lawyer. Or you can even use general law terms like the following: DUI, structured settlement, insurance, mesothelioma, asbestos, liability, libel, and slander.
Again, this are just one internet resource that provides attorney leads to lawyers. There are plenty of other online and offline resources that you can use to promote yourself and to advertise your services, like business networking meetings and yellow pages ads.
Tino Buntic created http://www.trade-pals.com to provide free B2B and B2C sales leads, including attorney leads, to lawyers and other business professionals in major cities across North America, including Boston, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Montreal, Denver, Phoenix, Vancouver, Detroit, Cleveland, Albany, Miami, Tampa, Calgary, Houston, New Orleans, Hartford, Charlotte, St Louis, Memphis, Kansas City, and Philadelphia. Create a free professional profile to receive sales leads without cold calling, especially if you are an attorney.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tino_Buntic
Monday, September 10, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Looking for legal advice? How to find the right law firm for you
From medical cases through personal injury, real estate, clinical negligence, to employment discrimination and dismissals - there are a huge range of legal firms that specialise in different areas of the law. Like any other industry, rather than opting for a generic "one size fits all" law firm, it's often advisable to select a specialist which has a good track record of dealing with the particular area of law that you need.
But with such as large choice of legal services out there, how does a potential client find the right law firm for them? How and where are lawyers advertising? Well, when it comes to attracting clients, some law firms are using controversial advertising to bring in custom.
An American law firm, specialising in marriage law, has recently generated a lot of attention from their billboard advertisement which featured a picture of a semi-clad buff male and busty female alongside a slogan that read: "Life's Short. Get a Divorce". The response was mixed with many people claiming the advertisements made divorce seem like a casual process, and that it was undignified and offensive and might even encourage people to get divorced.
However, the law firm, Fetman, Garland and Associates Ltd, responded that "Lawyers don't cause divorces. People cause divorces." Others have said that they loved the fresh style of the ads and have pointed out that it's an excellent example of effective advertising as it has captured people's attention and is memorable - exactly what adverts are designed to do. Some have also commented that is has brought humour and light hearted fun to an industry renowned for being a little dull.
Aside from scouring billboards, if you're looking for legal advice, the internet is obviously a good place to start and a simple Google search can throw up some potential firms to contact. There are now also comparison sites in place which match clients with the right law firms for free.
Someone searching for legal advice just needs to input details of their legal needs and the site can find an appropriate legal advisor for their particular situation. Such sites also offer articles on a range of legal areas, profiles on various law firms, legal term glossaries and even an estimation of the costs you can expect to pay.
So, if you ever find yourself in need of legal advice, know that there's plenty of help out there - just jump on the net, do your research and you'll be able to find the right legal help for your situation.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Looking_for_legal_advice_How_to_find_the_right_law_firm_for_you-70488.html
But with such as large choice of legal services out there, how does a potential client find the right law firm for them? How and where are lawyers advertising? Well, when it comes to attracting clients, some law firms are using controversial advertising to bring in custom.
An American law firm, specialising in marriage law, has recently generated a lot of attention from their billboard advertisement which featured a picture of a semi-clad buff male and busty female alongside a slogan that read: "Life's Short. Get a Divorce". The response was mixed with many people claiming the advertisements made divorce seem like a casual process, and that it was undignified and offensive and might even encourage people to get divorced.
However, the law firm, Fetman, Garland and Associates Ltd, responded that "Lawyers don't cause divorces. People cause divorces." Others have said that they loved the fresh style of the ads and have pointed out that it's an excellent example of effective advertising as it has captured people's attention and is memorable - exactly what adverts are designed to do. Some have also commented that is has brought humour and light hearted fun to an industry renowned for being a little dull.
Aside from scouring billboards, if you're looking for legal advice, the internet is obviously a good place to start and a simple Google search can throw up some potential firms to contact. There are now also comparison sites in place which match clients with the right law firms for free.
Someone searching for legal advice just needs to input details of their legal needs and the site can find an appropriate legal advisor for their particular situation. Such sites also offer articles on a range of legal areas, profiles on various law firms, legal term glossaries and even an estimation of the costs you can expect to pay.
So, if you ever find yourself in need of legal advice, know that there's plenty of help out there - just jump on the net, do your research and you'll be able to find the right legal help for your situation.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Looking_for_legal_advice_How_to_find_the_right_law_firm_for_you-70488.html
Buy genuine art pieces with the help of an art lawyer
Art has always been a treat to art lovers. Ask any art lover and you will get to know what art means to them. Any person, who creates a piece of art, creates it with all his dedication and love for art. Therefore, any person who buys a piece of art knows how to respect it and give it the due importance. Art has various forms and all these forms of art have been appreciated through ages. In fact, people spend endless amount of money to buy original pieces of art creations. However, with wrong and illegal deeds done all around, today the field of art and architecture has also become a target of illegal things. In this scenario of illegality in the field of art, it is an art lawyer who can actually come across as the right person to solve any sort of an illegal dispute concerning art and architecture.
We all love to decorate our houses with beautiful art pieces and thus we tend to buy them whenever we come across them. In fact, many art lovers buy these art pieces to indulge in their hobby of collection of art pieces. However, at times we barely realize that we have managed to buy ourselves fake art pieces and have paid the amount of the original art piece. Now in this situation of forgery we want to punish the vendor who sold us the fake art piece and at the same time, get our money back from the vendor. If this were the situation some years ago, we would probably have not found any respite from these problems. However, today, with the help of an art lawyer we can easily sue the person who sold us the fake art piece and at the same time, even get back the money from the vendor from whom we bought the art piece. An art lawyer is an experienced law professional who can help a victim who has purchased fake art pieces get justice and even help him to get back the money.
However, in all cases, an art lawyer can also help the vendor selling art pieces to get justice. This can be the case when the vendor sells an art piece and the buyer does not pay him the money. In this situation, the vendor can take the help of an expert art lawyer to sue the buyer and get the money from him. Therefore, an art lawyer can be of help to both the vendor as well as the buyer. There are n numbers of art lawyers in the field of art. All you will have to do is contact an art lawyer who has a good record of accomplishment and can help you to win the case. Once you hire an art lawyer, you can go ahead with the legal procedures of the case and get the justice that you deserve.
Art is one form of an expression that everybody loves to indulge in. Therefore, if you are an ardent art lover and want to buy good and genuine art pieces, you need not worry about forgery. In case of forgery, you can always take the help of an art lawyer. However, you should make sure that the art lawyer you take help from should be well versed with his work and can help you to get appropriate justice.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Buy_genuine_art_pieces_with_the_help_of_an_art_lawyer-71461.html
We all love to decorate our houses with beautiful art pieces and thus we tend to buy them whenever we come across them. In fact, many art lovers buy these art pieces to indulge in their hobby of collection of art pieces. However, at times we barely realize that we have managed to buy ourselves fake art pieces and have paid the amount of the original art piece. Now in this situation of forgery we want to punish the vendor who sold us the fake art piece and at the same time, get our money back from the vendor. If this were the situation some years ago, we would probably have not found any respite from these problems. However, today, with the help of an art lawyer we can easily sue the person who sold us the fake art piece and at the same time, even get back the money from the vendor from whom we bought the art piece. An art lawyer is an experienced law professional who can help a victim who has purchased fake art pieces get justice and even help him to get back the money.
However, in all cases, an art lawyer can also help the vendor selling art pieces to get justice. This can be the case when the vendor sells an art piece and the buyer does not pay him the money. In this situation, the vendor can take the help of an expert art lawyer to sue the buyer and get the money from him. Therefore, an art lawyer can be of help to both the vendor as well as the buyer. There are n numbers of art lawyers in the field of art. All you will have to do is contact an art lawyer who has a good record of accomplishment and can help you to win the case. Once you hire an art lawyer, you can go ahead with the legal procedures of the case and get the justice that you deserve.
Art is one form of an expression that everybody loves to indulge in. Therefore, if you are an ardent art lover and want to buy good and genuine art pieces, you need not worry about forgery. In case of forgery, you can always take the help of an art lawyer. However, you should make sure that the art lawyer you take help from should be well versed with his work and can help you to get appropriate justice.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Buy_genuine_art_pieces_with_the_help_of_an_art_lawyer-71461.html
Compensation for a Whiplash or Neck Injury
Being involved in a car accident happens to most people at some point in their life. Whiplash or neck injuries are very common when it comes to car accidents although there seems to be a stigma involved in claiming compensation for whiplash. Any accident involving the neck and shoulders can be painful and should be compensated for. Claiming compensation for an accident that was not your fault is your legal and civil right.
There are many different types of neck injuries and many are found in conjunction with back and shoulder problems. The most devastating cases may leave claimants very severely disabled and these claims may have a value of £86,500. On the lower end of the scale where claimants may only suffer a minor strain and only suffer for a few weeks the amount could be as little as £750.
Severe neck injury which is associated with incomplete paraplegia or with permanent spastic quadriparesis or where the injured person still has no movement in the neck and suffers severe headaches, the amount of damages awarded could be in the region of £86,500. The compensation awarded to someone with injuries which give rise to severe disabilities could be in the region of £38,175 to £76,350.
With injuries which cause severe damage to soft tissues and or ruptured tendons the amount you could be entitled too could be in the region of £32,000. The precise amount would depend the prognosis and the length of time during which the most serious symptoms are more bearable.
Fracture injuries or dislocations which cause severe immediate symptoms and which may necessitate spinal fusion could fetch in the region of £14,500 to £19,100. Fractures can leave markedly impaired function or vulnerability to further trauma and some limitation of activities.
Moderate cases involving whiplash or wrenching type injuries can result in cervical spondylosis, serious limitation of movement with permanent or recurring pain and stiffness with the possible need for further surgery. For this moderate case the amount you would be entitled to would be in the region of £8,150 to £14,500.
The type of injuries which may have exacerbated or accelerated some pre-existing unrelated condition but they may have made a complete recovery. The amount you may be entitled too could be in the region of £4,575 to £8,150. This will also apply to moderate whiplash injuries.
The more minor cases where a full recovery takes place within a couple of years the amount would be in the region of £2,550 to £4,575. For a complete recovery that takes a few weeks or months the amount would be £750 to £2,550.
If any of these describes your injury and you believe the accident was not your fault then you should claim compensation. Over 2 million people in the UK have accidents each year, and very few claim compensation. Seeking compensation for pain and suffering your civil and legal right and claiming compensation is very easy. The financial loss you would be compensated for could be due to loss of earnings or due to damages to your car or any other personal items. For very severe cases people may have to adapt their homes to deal with the injury permanently. Or they may have lost their job and are no longer able to work; stress depression and anxiety are all illnesses that may not have occurred if the accident had never happened. This is why it is ethically right that people should have the opportunity to claim compensation for their injuries however mild or severe they maybe.
No win no fee (Conditional fee agreements) were first introduced in 1995 when legal aid was still available for personal injury cases. The reason it was introduced was to give the people with incomes above legal aid eligibility limits the chance to fund personal injury litigation. People whose income was just about the limit were still finding it difficult to pay for a solicitor. This "no win no fee" agreement eventually became available to fund most civil cases and the consequence of this was that legal aid was abolished 2000. Contrary to popular belief there has not been a compensation boom, in fact the number of claims has dropped since this time.
So if you have damaged your neck and have suffered whiplash you should be seeking out an accident claims solicitor. Ignore the stigma attached, and find yourself a solicitor that offers free impartial advice and one that has years of experience dealing with accident claims.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Compensation_for_a_Whiplash_or_Neck_Injury-71528.html
There are many different types of neck injuries and many are found in conjunction with back and shoulder problems. The most devastating cases may leave claimants very severely disabled and these claims may have a value of £86,500. On the lower end of the scale where claimants may only suffer a minor strain and only suffer for a few weeks the amount could be as little as £750.
Severe neck injury which is associated with incomplete paraplegia or with permanent spastic quadriparesis or where the injured person still has no movement in the neck and suffers severe headaches, the amount of damages awarded could be in the region of £86,500. The compensation awarded to someone with injuries which give rise to severe disabilities could be in the region of £38,175 to £76,350.
With injuries which cause severe damage to soft tissues and or ruptured tendons the amount you could be entitled too could be in the region of £32,000. The precise amount would depend the prognosis and the length of time during which the most serious symptoms are more bearable.
Fracture injuries or dislocations which cause severe immediate symptoms and which may necessitate spinal fusion could fetch in the region of £14,500 to £19,100. Fractures can leave markedly impaired function or vulnerability to further trauma and some limitation of activities.
Moderate cases involving whiplash or wrenching type injuries can result in cervical spondylosis, serious limitation of movement with permanent or recurring pain and stiffness with the possible need for further surgery. For this moderate case the amount you would be entitled to would be in the region of £8,150 to £14,500.
The type of injuries which may have exacerbated or accelerated some pre-existing unrelated condition but they may have made a complete recovery. The amount you may be entitled too could be in the region of £4,575 to £8,150. This will also apply to moderate whiplash injuries.
The more minor cases where a full recovery takes place within a couple of years the amount would be in the region of £2,550 to £4,575. For a complete recovery that takes a few weeks or months the amount would be £750 to £2,550.
If any of these describes your injury and you believe the accident was not your fault then you should claim compensation. Over 2 million people in the UK have accidents each year, and very few claim compensation. Seeking compensation for pain and suffering your civil and legal right and claiming compensation is very easy. The financial loss you would be compensated for could be due to loss of earnings or due to damages to your car or any other personal items. For very severe cases people may have to adapt their homes to deal with the injury permanently. Or they may have lost their job and are no longer able to work; stress depression and anxiety are all illnesses that may not have occurred if the accident had never happened. This is why it is ethically right that people should have the opportunity to claim compensation for their injuries however mild or severe they maybe.
No win no fee (Conditional fee agreements) were first introduced in 1995 when legal aid was still available for personal injury cases. The reason it was introduced was to give the people with incomes above legal aid eligibility limits the chance to fund personal injury litigation. People whose income was just about the limit were still finding it difficult to pay for a solicitor. This "no win no fee" agreement eventually became available to fund most civil cases and the consequence of this was that legal aid was abolished 2000. Contrary to popular belief there has not been a compensation boom, in fact the number of claims has dropped since this time.
So if you have damaged your neck and have suffered whiplash you should be seeking out an accident claims solicitor. Ignore the stigma attached, and find yourself a solicitor that offers free impartial advice and one that has years of experience dealing with accident claims.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Compensation_for_a_Whiplash_or_Neck_Injury-71528.html
Auto Accident Lawyers Can Benefit by Evidence Other Driver Was on a Cell Phone
Auto accident lawyers can use the evidence that the other driver was on his cell phone in the moments preceding the accident in at least two ways: (1) to establish that the other auto driver was DUI level driving impaired, to aid in establishing liability, particularly in contested
liability cases; and (2) in some cases to gain access to additional insurance coverage, e.g., where the auto accident attorney can establish that the driver was engaged in a business call, "in the
course and scope of his employment.
Driving under the influence of cell phone conversation results in DUI level driving impairment and a four fold increased likelihood that the driver will cause an accident. The attorneys at the California Auto Accident Lawyers Group have reviewed all the extant epidemiological
and controlled experimental literature on cell phone use and driving impairment, and are pleased to share the information, on request.Contrary to popular misconception, it doesn't matter whether the cell phone is handheld or hands-free, the resulting DUI level driving
impairment is the same, and the impairment results in the same 4 fold increased likelihood that the driver will cause an accident. The reason is that that the impairment doesn't derive from holding the phone. The mechanism of impairment results from the cell conversation,
specifically from the diversion of limited conscious attention to the internal-cognitive tasks associated with the give and take of the cell conversation away from the external-visual tasks essential for safe driving.
Auto accident lawyers must come to appreciate that in terms of driving impairment, there is no difference between driving DUI alcohol intoxicated and driving DUI level impaired "under the influence of cell conversation. " Just as evidence that the other driver was DUI level
intoxicated is useful in establishing liability, the time must come where auto accident lawyers see the similar advantages of establishing that the other driver was DUI impaired, under the influence of cell conversation.
Every serious auto accident case should be investigated to determine whether the other driver was on his cell phone in the moments leading up to the accident. In most cases there will not be witnesses, but we urge that document requests can be fashioned to obtain the cell phone
records, to determine whether the driver was on his cell phone at the time of the accident. And then in serious injury accident cases where there is insufficient insurance to fully compensate the attorney's client, the auto accident lawyer can inquire in deposition as to the purpose of the call, to determine whether the call was a business call,in the course and scope of the driver's employment, setting up the respondeat superior case against the employer.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Auto_Accident_Lawyers_Can_Benefit_by_Evidence_Other_Driver_Was_on_a_Cell_Phone-71594.html
liability cases; and (2) in some cases to gain access to additional insurance coverage, e.g., where the auto accident attorney can establish that the driver was engaged in a business call, "in the
course and scope of his employment.
Driving under the influence of cell phone conversation results in DUI level driving impairment and a four fold increased likelihood that the driver will cause an accident. The attorneys at the California Auto Accident Lawyers Group have reviewed all the extant epidemiological
and controlled experimental literature on cell phone use and driving impairment, and are pleased to share the information, on request.Contrary to popular misconception, it doesn't matter whether the cell phone is handheld or hands-free, the resulting DUI level driving
impairment is the same, and the impairment results in the same 4 fold increased likelihood that the driver will cause an accident. The reason is that that the impairment doesn't derive from holding the phone. The mechanism of impairment results from the cell conversation,
specifically from the diversion of limited conscious attention to the internal-cognitive tasks associated with the give and take of the cell conversation away from the external-visual tasks essential for safe driving.
Auto accident lawyers must come to appreciate that in terms of driving impairment, there is no difference between driving DUI alcohol intoxicated and driving DUI level impaired "under the influence of cell conversation. " Just as evidence that the other driver was DUI level
intoxicated is useful in establishing liability, the time must come where auto accident lawyers see the similar advantages of establishing that the other driver was DUI impaired, under the influence of cell conversation.
Every serious auto accident case should be investigated to determine whether the other driver was on his cell phone in the moments leading up to the accident. In most cases there will not be witnesses, but we urge that document requests can be fashioned to obtain the cell phone
records, to determine whether the driver was on his cell phone at the time of the accident. And then in serious injury accident cases where there is insufficient insurance to fully compensate the attorney's client, the auto accident lawyer can inquire in deposition as to the purpose of the call, to determine whether the call was a business call,in the course and scope of the driver's employment, setting up the respondeat superior case against the employer.
http://www.articlebin.com/view-Auto_Accident_Lawyers_Can_Benefit_by_Evidence_Other_Driver_Was_on_a_Cell_Phone-71594.html
Friday, September 7, 2007
The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry
The idea that punishment can be therapeutic is not unique to the Rotenberg Center. In fact, this notion is widespread among the hundreds of "emotional growth boarding schools," wilderness camps, and "tough love" antidrug programs that make up the billion-dollar teen residential treatment industry.
This harsh approach to helping troubled teens has a long and disturbing history. No fewer than 50 programs (though not the Rotenberg Center) can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an antidrug cult called Synanon. Founded in 1958, Synanon sold itself as a cure for hardcore heroin addicts who could help each other by "breaking" new initiates with isolation, humiliation, hard labor, and sleep deprivation.
Today, troubled-teen programs use Synanon-like tactics, advertising themselves to parents as solutions for everything from poor study habits to substance misuse. However, there is little evidence that harsh behavior-modification techniques can solve these problems. Studies found that Synanon's "encounter groups" could produce lasting psychological harm and that only 10 to 15 percent of the addicts who participated in them recovered. And as the classic 1971 Stanford prison experiment demonstrated, creating situations in which the severe treatment of powerless people is rewarded inevitably yields abuse. This is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process. Synanon was discredited in the late 1970s and 1980s as its violent record was exposed. (The group is now remembered for an incident in which a member placed a live rattlesnake—rattle removed—in the mailbox of a lawyer who'd successfully sued it.) Yet by the time Synanon shut down in 1991, its model had already been widely copied.
In 1971, the federal government gave a grant to a Florida organization called The Seed, which applied Synanon's methods to teenagers, even those only suspected of trying drugs. In 1974, Congress opened an investigation into such behavior-modification programs, finding that The Seed had used methods "similar to the highly refined brainwashing techniques employed by the North Koreans."
The bad publicity led some supporters of The Seed to create a copycat organization under a different name. Straight Inc. was cofounded by Mel Sembler, a Bush family friend who would become the gop's 2000 finance chair and who heads Lewis "Scooter" Libby's legal defense fund. By the mid-'80s, Straight was operating in seven states. First Lady Nancy Reagan declared it her favorite antidrug program. As with The Seed, abuse was omnipresent—including beatings and kidnapping of adult participants. Facing seven-figure legal judgments, it closed in 1993.
But loopholes in state laws and a lack of federal oversight allowed shuttered programs to simply change their names and reopen, often with the same staff, in the same state—even in the same building. Straight spin-offs like the Pathway Family Center are still in business.
Confrontation and humiliation are also used by religious programs such as Escuela Caribe in the Dominican Republic and myriad "emotional growth boarding schools" affiliated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (wwasp), such as Tranquility Bay in Jamaica. wwasp's president told me that the organization "took a little bit of what Synanon [did]." Lobbying by well-connected supporters such as wwasp founder Robert Lichfield (who, like Sembler, is a fundraiser for Republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney) has kept state regulators at bay and blocked federal regulation entirely.
By the '90s, tough love had spawned military-style boot camps and wilderness programs that thrust kids into extreme survival scenarios. At least three dozen teens have died in these programs, often because staff see medical complaints as malingering. This May, a 15-year-old boy died from a staph infection at a Colorado wilderness program. His family claims his pleas for help were ignored. In his final letter to his mother, he wrote, "They found my weakness and I want to go home."
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/how_a_cult_spawned_the_tough_love_teen_industry.html
This harsh approach to helping troubled teens has a long and disturbing history. No fewer than 50 programs (though not the Rotenberg Center) can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an antidrug cult called Synanon. Founded in 1958, Synanon sold itself as a cure for hardcore heroin addicts who could help each other by "breaking" new initiates with isolation, humiliation, hard labor, and sleep deprivation.
Today, troubled-teen programs use Synanon-like tactics, advertising themselves to parents as solutions for everything from poor study habits to substance misuse. However, there is little evidence that harsh behavior-modification techniques can solve these problems. Studies found that Synanon's "encounter groups" could produce lasting psychological harm and that only 10 to 15 percent of the addicts who participated in them recovered. And as the classic 1971 Stanford prison experiment demonstrated, creating situations in which the severe treatment of powerless people is rewarded inevitably yields abuse. This is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process. Synanon was discredited in the late 1970s and 1980s as its violent record was exposed. (The group is now remembered for an incident in which a member placed a live rattlesnake—rattle removed—in the mailbox of a lawyer who'd successfully sued it.) Yet by the time Synanon shut down in 1991, its model had already been widely copied.
In 1971, the federal government gave a grant to a Florida organization called The Seed, which applied Synanon's methods to teenagers, even those only suspected of trying drugs. In 1974, Congress opened an investigation into such behavior-modification programs, finding that The Seed had used methods "similar to the highly refined brainwashing techniques employed by the North Koreans."
The bad publicity led some supporters of The Seed to create a copycat organization under a different name. Straight Inc. was cofounded by Mel Sembler, a Bush family friend who would become the gop's 2000 finance chair and who heads Lewis "Scooter" Libby's legal defense fund. By the mid-'80s, Straight was operating in seven states. First Lady Nancy Reagan declared it her favorite antidrug program. As with The Seed, abuse was omnipresent—including beatings and kidnapping of adult participants. Facing seven-figure legal judgments, it closed in 1993.
But loopholes in state laws and a lack of federal oversight allowed shuttered programs to simply change their names and reopen, often with the same staff, in the same state—even in the same building. Straight spin-offs like the Pathway Family Center are still in business.
Confrontation and humiliation are also used by religious programs such as Escuela Caribe in the Dominican Republic and myriad "emotional growth boarding schools" affiliated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (wwasp), such as Tranquility Bay in Jamaica. wwasp's president told me that the organization "took a little bit of what Synanon [did]." Lobbying by well-connected supporters such as wwasp founder Robert Lichfield (who, like Sembler, is a fundraiser for Republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney) has kept state regulators at bay and blocked federal regulation entirely.
By the '90s, tough love had spawned military-style boot camps and wilderness programs that thrust kids into extreme survival scenarios. At least three dozen teens have died in these programs, often because staff see medical complaints as malingering. This May, a 15-year-old boy died from a staph infection at a Colorado wilderness program. His family claims his pleas for help were ignored. In his final letter to his mother, he wrote, "They found my weakness and I want to go home."
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/how_a_cult_spawned_the_tough_love_teen_industry.html
Buyer Beware: What You Need To Know About Lawyer Advertising
You need to know a few things about lawyer advertising. For example, if you look through the yellow pages you'll see that the ads placed by attorneys all say essentially the same thing. Very few of them actually give good useful information to make it easier for you to choose a good lawyer for your case. Although the yellow pages are a good place to get names of attorneys, you need to be aware of the following points when it comes to lawyer advertising:
**There is no rule which requires that the lawyer have a minimum amount of experience handling the case which the lawyer wants to advertise.
**Although the bar association has rules that govern lawyer advertising, it usually does not actively investigate, restrict or determine whether each lawyer who advertises is a specialist or has experience with the type of case being advertised. This means a lawyer can advertise that she is a "divorce lawyer" or "personal injury attorney"¨ when that lawyer may have limited experience or knowledge of that area of the law.
**There are virtually no restrictions on the different types of law that the lawyer wants to advertise. Therefore, you should be extremely careful about choosing an attorney based solely on that attorney's advertising claim, whether the ad is in the phone book or on television.
**Any attorney can buy a big slick ad in the yellow pages. The phone book company typically does not verify the claims that are being made in the ad. In many cases the phone book company does not even verify that the person is a licensed attorney in good standing! Use caution.
**A lawyer who advertises does not mean that that lawyer will be handling your case. Some lawyers simply run advertisements and then refer outmost or all of the clients to other lawyers to do the work in exchange for a referral fee. Such a lawyer essentially acts like a referral broker. Be especially cautious of ads placed by out of state attorneys. Because of state licensing requirements, these attorneys will usually have to refer the case to a lawyer who is licensed to practice law in Washington.
**A lawyer who purchases full page ads in the yellow pages, or pays for slick T.V. commercials, does not necessarily mean that the lawyer is super successful. Some lawyers who pay for such advertising operate a "volume practice" for the purpose of making just a little money on the numerous cases that are generated from the ad. Many times a "volume practice" attorney tries to settle all or most of the cases to earn the most amount of money in the least amount of time. The only time you may see this lawyer is if his face appears in the ad!
**Some lawyers who run big ads to fill their "volume practices" will rarely even work on a case. These lawyers farm out every aspect of the case to a paralegal or legal assistant. The only time the lawyer may even look at your case is after it has settled and the lawyer wants to collect his fee!
**Be cautious of lawyer ads that create unjustified expectations. For example, if the lawyer advertises that he can obtain "Fast Settlements in 30 Days" he probably never goes to trial and settles cases for far less than what they are actually worth. In most cases, good settlements take time and effort.
**Sometimes the lawyer's advertising can negatively affect your own case. If your case goes to trial and jurors recognize your lawyer from his advertising, it may undermine your lawyer's credibility during trial. Do you want jurors to remember your lawyer as the one who can get BIG MONEY DAMAGES or FAST SETTLEMENTS $$$ for pain and suffering?? Jurors watch television, too, you know.
Lawyer TV Ads: A word to the wise Did you know that there are companies that offer prewritten and pre-shot TV commercials for personal injury attorneys? You've probably seen one. Sometimes a famous actor is used (like Robert Vaughan, William Shatner or Eric Estrada). Other times an attractive man or woman is shown speaking behind a desk or holding a legal book or doing something else to act like a lawyer. The person says something like, ¡§If you've been in an accident, get the money you deserve. Speak to an attorney for free. Call 1-800-XXXXXXX.¡¨ What you need to know is that many times your call is routed to a call center that randomly sends your call to the next attorney ¡§in line.¡¨ The next one "in line" is an attorney who has actually paid a hefty fee to be on the ¡§list.¡¨ Any attorney with enough money can pay to be on the list, including attorneys who have never tried a case in court. Many times the attorney who has paid the fee is not necessarily the most experienced lawyer for your case. Now I'm not saying that all attorneys who use TV advertising are inexperienced. But you should not rely on TV advertising alone when choosing a lawyer. Just a word to the wise.
Case Study: T.V. Personal Injury Lawyer Fails Client
Here's a sad story about a lawyer who advertised on T.V. in Rochester, New York. The attorney, Jim Schapiro, ran aggressive T.V. commercials which promised to obtain large financial settlements for victims, referred to himself as "the meanest, nastiest S.O.B. in town" and claimed to have aggressive courtroom prowess. Schapiro, who called himself "The Hammer" had law offices in the states of New York and Florida.
In 2002, one of Schapiro's clients, Christopher Wagner, sued Schapiro for malpractice. Mr. Wagner had been injured in a car accident and had responded to one of Mr. Schapiro's television ads. Mr. Wagner alleged that he had incurred medical bills of $182,000 but that Schapiro's firm advised him to accept a settlement of only $65,000 from the driver and then promised that he could get more money by filing suit against the state of New York. It turned out that the state had no liability for the accident and Schapiro never pursued Mr. Wagner's case further.
In a video deposition, Jim Schapiro testified that he had never tried a personal injury case in court and that he had been living in Florida for the last seven years. Mr. Wagner's attorney also discovered that Schapiro's Rochester law firm staffed just one lawyer who had only tried four cases. A New York jury found that Schapiro had engaged in misleading and deceptive advertising and that he committed malpractice. Schapiro was ordered to pay $1.5 million to Wagner.
Consequently, in 2004 Schapiro was suspended for practicing law for one year by the State of New York. In 2005, Schapiro was then suspended from practicing law in Florida for one year. In 2004, four additional clients sued Schapiro alleging that he had engaged in misleading advertising and had committed malpractice. Thereafter Schapiro stopped practicing law and instead now writes books for injury victims.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Buyer-Beware--What-You-Need-To-Know-About-Lawyer-Advertising/283902
**There is no rule which requires that the lawyer have a minimum amount of experience handling the case which the lawyer wants to advertise.
**Although the bar association has rules that govern lawyer advertising, it usually does not actively investigate, restrict or determine whether each lawyer who advertises is a specialist or has experience with the type of case being advertised. This means a lawyer can advertise that she is a "divorce lawyer" or "personal injury attorney"¨ when that lawyer may have limited experience or knowledge of that area of the law.
**There are virtually no restrictions on the different types of law that the lawyer wants to advertise. Therefore, you should be extremely careful about choosing an attorney based solely on that attorney's advertising claim, whether the ad is in the phone book or on television.
**Any attorney can buy a big slick ad in the yellow pages. The phone book company typically does not verify the claims that are being made in the ad. In many cases the phone book company does not even verify that the person is a licensed attorney in good standing! Use caution.
**A lawyer who advertises does not mean that that lawyer will be handling your case. Some lawyers simply run advertisements and then refer outmost or all of the clients to other lawyers to do the work in exchange for a referral fee. Such a lawyer essentially acts like a referral broker. Be especially cautious of ads placed by out of state attorneys. Because of state licensing requirements, these attorneys will usually have to refer the case to a lawyer who is licensed to practice law in Washington.
**A lawyer who purchases full page ads in the yellow pages, or pays for slick T.V. commercials, does not necessarily mean that the lawyer is super successful. Some lawyers who pay for such advertising operate a "volume practice" for the purpose of making just a little money on the numerous cases that are generated from the ad. Many times a "volume practice" attorney tries to settle all or most of the cases to earn the most amount of money in the least amount of time. The only time you may see this lawyer is if his face appears in the ad!
**Some lawyers who run big ads to fill their "volume practices" will rarely even work on a case. These lawyers farm out every aspect of the case to a paralegal or legal assistant. The only time the lawyer may even look at your case is after it has settled and the lawyer wants to collect his fee!
**Be cautious of lawyer ads that create unjustified expectations. For example, if the lawyer advertises that he can obtain "Fast Settlements in 30 Days" he probably never goes to trial and settles cases for far less than what they are actually worth. In most cases, good settlements take time and effort.
**Sometimes the lawyer's advertising can negatively affect your own case. If your case goes to trial and jurors recognize your lawyer from his advertising, it may undermine your lawyer's credibility during trial. Do you want jurors to remember your lawyer as the one who can get BIG MONEY DAMAGES or FAST SETTLEMENTS $$$ for pain and suffering?? Jurors watch television, too, you know.
Lawyer TV Ads: A word to the wise Did you know that there are companies that offer prewritten and pre-shot TV commercials for personal injury attorneys? You've probably seen one. Sometimes a famous actor is used (like Robert Vaughan, William Shatner or Eric Estrada). Other times an attractive man or woman is shown speaking behind a desk or holding a legal book or doing something else to act like a lawyer. The person says something like, ¡§If you've been in an accident, get the money you deserve. Speak to an attorney for free. Call 1-800-XXXXXXX.¡¨ What you need to know is that many times your call is routed to a call center that randomly sends your call to the next attorney ¡§in line.¡¨ The next one "in line" is an attorney who has actually paid a hefty fee to be on the ¡§list.¡¨ Any attorney with enough money can pay to be on the list, including attorneys who have never tried a case in court. Many times the attorney who has paid the fee is not necessarily the most experienced lawyer for your case. Now I'm not saying that all attorneys who use TV advertising are inexperienced. But you should not rely on TV advertising alone when choosing a lawyer. Just a word to the wise.
Case Study: T.V. Personal Injury Lawyer Fails Client
Here's a sad story about a lawyer who advertised on T.V. in Rochester, New York. The attorney, Jim Schapiro, ran aggressive T.V. commercials which promised to obtain large financial settlements for victims, referred to himself as "the meanest, nastiest S.O.B. in town" and claimed to have aggressive courtroom prowess. Schapiro, who called himself "The Hammer" had law offices in the states of New York and Florida.
In 2002, one of Schapiro's clients, Christopher Wagner, sued Schapiro for malpractice. Mr. Wagner had been injured in a car accident and had responded to one of Mr. Schapiro's television ads. Mr. Wagner alleged that he had incurred medical bills of $182,000 but that Schapiro's firm advised him to accept a settlement of only $65,000 from the driver and then promised that he could get more money by filing suit against the state of New York. It turned out that the state had no liability for the accident and Schapiro never pursued Mr. Wagner's case further.
In a video deposition, Jim Schapiro testified that he had never tried a personal injury case in court and that he had been living in Florida for the last seven years. Mr. Wagner's attorney also discovered that Schapiro's Rochester law firm staffed just one lawyer who had only tried four cases. A New York jury found that Schapiro had engaged in misleading and deceptive advertising and that he committed malpractice. Schapiro was ordered to pay $1.5 million to Wagner.
Consequently, in 2004 Schapiro was suspended for practicing law for one year by the State of New York. In 2005, Schapiro was then suspended from practicing law in Florida for one year. In 2004, four additional clients sued Schapiro alleging that he had engaged in misleading advertising and had committed malpractice. Thereafter Schapiro stopped practicing law and instead now writes books for injury victims.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Buyer-Beware--What-You-Need-To-Know-About-Lawyer-Advertising/283902
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