Other Law Topics
Discovery can make or break your case. Discovery is the legal process where each party in a civil or criminal proceeding requests information from the other party so that they may have information to prepare their side of the case. This can involve turning over or requesting lists or copies of evidence, truthfully answering questions, revealing a list of potential witnesses and what they are going to testify about, and producing documents valuable to a party’s case. The idea is that there should be no secrets for either party to a proceeding.
For people representing themselves, the rules for discovery may seem quite complex. It is easy to miss deadlines that can cost you your case. It is easy to turn over documents or information requested that may not need to be turned over to the other party. It is possible that the other party may know that they can ask you for information, while you do not know that you can ask them for similar information, which means that they will have an unfair advantage going into a court proceeding. If you do not know what you can or cannot do during discovery, and the other party has experience with the court system or is represented by an attorney, you are at a serious disadvantage, and we may be able to help. Contact us and we can let you know if you need help from our experienced and skilled attorneys.
Mediation is a negotiation between you and the opposing party that is facilitated by a neutral mediator who does not make decisions in the matter, but who works with you and the opposing party to resolve disputes in what is hoped to be a more efficient, cost-effective manner, while minimizing the amount of emotion that goes into a protracted legal battles. Mediation generally is limited to a short time-frame, sometimes less than a day, and it can create a structure to exchange information and craft a resolution to disputes. A skilled mediator may help opposing parties find common ground. Each party may still have their own attorneys present during a mediation, if that is what they wish, while other parties may choose to go through the mediation process without an additional attorney present.
A negotiation is a process of communicating between two parties to reach a compromise or agreement a contract or an issue in dispute. While it is possible for two opposing parties to reach an agreement on difficult issues and conflicts, it is sometimes a seemingly impossible task when each party is trying to “win” at the other’s expense. Also, it is sometimes difficult for someone with a financial or personal interest in an issue to understand just how and when to compromise and how to get concessions from the other party before reaching an agreement.
Our attorneys can help you in negotiations by organizing the information that is involved, by identifying your goals in creating an agreement or resolving issues, by understanding the opposing party’s motivations and by creating a strategy to negotiate based on all of the issues and parties involved. We are experienced at creating positive negotiated settlements and agreements that meet and exceed our clients’ needs. If you believe that you may be in need of negotiation assistance on any legal issue, including contracts, family settlements, family legacies, wrongful discharge, or criminal charges, please contact us to discuss how we may be able to help.
A well-prepared and negotiated settlement agreement can be a more effective way of dealing with issues than actually taking a case through the judicial process where the outcomes are uncertain and may not satisfy either party involved. Settlement agreements can be drafted as a resolution to almost any civil matter, including contract disputes, collections issues, employment disputes, insurance claims, personal injury claims or child custody and support claims, to name a few. While non-represented parties may reach a settlement agreement themselves, documenting that agreement so that the agreement does not violate any state or federal laws or policies and wording the agreement so that it is clear and understandable enough to be properly executed can be quite tricky. Therefore, even if you have gone through an entire process of negotiations with another party without the assistance of an attorney, there are many cases where it could be highly beneficial to have an attorney draft or review the settlement agreement to fully protect your interests and give you the benefits of the agreement that you were expecting. We are here to help you at any stage in your process, and our skilled and experienced attorneys can discuss whether or not it would be beneficial to you to have professional help in finalizing and drafting your agreement.
