Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

To the unwitting consumer, the word "free" suggests, as it's supposed to, "something for nothing." Yet it is a basic high-school concept, often overlooked by those thinking they're about to get some kind of "deal," or even "freebie," that "there is no such thing as a free lunch."

In the Legal world, this most often arises when Lawyers offer a "free consultation." While the consultation is, of course, "free," anyone getting it needs to remember that there is no such thing as a "free lunch."

This article will draw back the curtain on the ever-present use of that marketing tool by so many Lawyers. And if the reader is thinking I'm going to describe myself as a shining exception to that....you're right!

In the interest of fairness, I should point out that I have and will always offer a "free consultation" of sorts. By "of sorts," I specifically mean that I will do a consultation by phone, but do not make Office appointments and drag someone in on the pretense that I want to use a precious time slot just to answer their questions. Think about it for a moment; how does it advance any Lawyer's interest to line up people for "free" Office visits with no expectation of actually being hired? Where is the money going to come from to keep that Office open and pay the staff? It is, instead, the opportunity to turn that "free consultation" into a paid retainer that's really going on, not some kind hearted, altruistic opportunity to provide a cozy environment just to answer someone's questions with no hope or chance of eventually being hired, and paid.

The fact is, a "free consultation," whether it's my free phone consultation or anyone else's free Office consultation, is an opportunity to meet a potential new Client (meaning paying customer). Certainly, no Lawyer intends a free consultation to be time spent with someone who has no intention of hiring them. I'll be honest about that here; the last thing I have time to do is use up an appointment slot to answer questions and explain stuff to someone looking just for free Legal advice. Yet any number of people will admit and say, right up front, that they have another Lawyer and just want t know if he or she is on the right track, or they have no money and can't afford a Lawyer, or give some other indication that they have no ability or intention to become a Client. How many of those do you think I can carry and still pay my bills? I wonder, would these same people call up a plastic surgeon, make an appointment for a "free consultation," and go in, only to explain that they're not interested in any of the services the surgeon provides, but rather want to know what he or she thinks is the best product they an buy over-the-counter to eliminate the lines around theie eyes, or reduce the appearance of wrinkles?

Thus, the "free consultation," at least to the Lawyer, means an opportunity to interact with someone who needs and is interested in hiring an Attorney. So what, you ask, is my beef with this tactic?

Continue reading "Free Michigan Criminal and DUI Case Consultation, and all KInds of Other Free Stuff, too!" »

In my last blog post, I took a detour and wrote about my recent medical experience. Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, my Office remains up and running, and I am essentially "back in the saddle" again.

Normally, I take the last 2 weeks of the year off, anyway. This really amounts to little more than me thinking I'm on some kind of vacation while I work from home. I take and return calls as needed, reschedule Court dates until after vacation...

Some things never change...

I will be returning to the Office, right after the New Year, as I had planned before I got sidelined almost 2 weeks ago. I never imagined how much I could miss being busy with work, but I really do.

I have noted in a recent, previous article how I truly enjoy handling License Restoration cases. It also seems that an important part of my self-identity has also become the guy who shows up in Court on DUI and other matters and makes things better. I once heard it said that a major part of a person's identity is what they do for a living. Whether it was my Dad (when he was "Joe the Mailman") or my Uncle Tom, the Truck Driver, or my Mom, the Secretary, or even Lisa the Therapist, or Tim the Carpenter, society first identifies us by what we do. And whatever you do, when you are on hold from doing it, you feel, in a way, like your own self-identity is also in a state of suspended animation.

So beyond keeping things up and running, there is a tremendous emotional and psychological boost to getting back in the saddle; you feel like your old self again.

My Office is currently setting early to mid-January appointments in Driver's License Restoration cases (I've been booked into the first week of January since about mid-December), and making appointments as needed for any other Criminal matters. I still want to squeak some kind of vacation out of this last week and a half...

Accordingly, if you have a problem and are looking to hire a Lawyer, I'm here, as always. You can either contact my Office, or drop me an email in the contact box on the right side of this page.

Oh, and before I forget....

Happy Holidays!

This article will be a very short overview of where I handle Criminal Cases. It represents another departure from my typical informational article discussing some area or other of Criminal Law. I am posting this one because, quite often, I am asked a question about a case pending in a Court beyond where I handle Criminal Cases, and I want to clarify exactly where that is.

In many of my Blog articles, and on my Website, I often use the terms "Detroit area," Metro-Detroit area," "Metropolitan Detroit Area" and "Tri-County area," and I frequently describe my Practice as being limited to "Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties."

Let me be very clear about where I go, and where I do not.

I have been, and regularly go to, every Court in Macomb County. My office is in Mt. Clemens. Thus, I'll handle Criminal, Drunk Driving (DUI) and Traffic Cases in all Macomb County Courts.

I will, likewise, handle Criminal, DUI and Traffic Cases in all Oakland County Courts.

I go to some, but not all Courts in Wayne County. Here's a list of Courts where I do Practice:

16th (Livonia)
18th (Westland)
19th (Dearborn)
20th (Dearborn Heights)
27th (Wyandotte)
31st (Hamtramck)
32A (Harper Woods)
34th (Romulus)
36th (Detroit), and
All Grosse Pointe Municipal Courts.

This includes, of course, Felonies heard in the Wayne County Circuit Court.

I will also handle Criminal and Drunk Driving Cases in the 72nd District Court in Port Huron.

I have, in the past, pointed out that I am not a fan of those "All Cases, All Courts" Law operations. I frequently observe that, in most cases, a person should hire a Lawyer who is "local" to the Court in which their case is pending.

Neither am I a believer in looking for good Legal Representation on a low-bidder basis. To me, trying to be everything to everybody, or using a cut-rate business model are not signs of quality, or at least not the kind that I'd buy into.

That said, just getting soaked for excessive legal expenses is not a sign of quality, either. I post my Fees right on my website. And why not? What's the big secret? I have no interest in "competing" with anyone else on fees. I'm more than some, less than others, and usually somewhere near the middle of the pack.

Continue reading "Criminal Cases in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties - What Exactly Does That Mean?" »

Whew, it's been a run! Even a well-oiled machine needs a break every now and then, however, and I'm about to take one.

I plan on taking a week off after Easter. And Happy Easter to all who celebrate it.

As a result, there will be no Blog Articles published on April 5, 2010, or April 9, 2010.

Regular twice-weekly articles will start back up on April 12, 2010.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Jeff

I sincerely hope any reader of this Blog would agree that the articles here are informative. When I was first considering doing a Blog, I checked around and was rather put off by what I saw. To me, most Legal Blogs were about some Lawyer restating a recent news story and then adding in his or her take on it.

When I decided to undertake this project, I knew I would set out to write about real world cases and how they're handled. Instead of talking about some obscure legal case the Supreme Court has decided, and which will have no application to anyone I'll ever represent, I wanted to explain and, perhaps demystify, the legal process for the kinds of case that ordinary people (the kind I Represent) regularly face.

Based upon the responses, I have received, I think it has been a resounding success.

But success comes with a price. In this case, that price is time. Having fallen behind from time to time in my 3 times per week publishing schedule, I have been faced with either staying (or at least feeling) way behind, or writing shorter articles. Hey, I know I'm wordy, but in order to explain and "demystify" this stuff, the articles cannot be cut short just to crank them out and make them short.

So, in order to maintain the quality of the information I put out, I have decided to scale back my publishing schedule to 2 times per week instead of 3, usually Mondays and Fridays. I may slip a short 3rd article in my weekly output from time to time, but in looking over the topics I plan on discussing, I know that a pretty large time commitment is involved, and I want these articles to be as good as all others on this Blog.

I realize I may be "whistling in the wind" and flattering myself that anyone really cares, but even for anyone who subsequently finds this Blog because of a search inquiry, there will be an obvious change in the number of articles published each week. And this will either be explained, or not. And if there's one thing I try to do on this Blog, it's explain....

Thanks for reading.

This article is really an interruption in a larger series about Suspended and Revoked Driver's Licenses. The reason I'm doing this is to make sure the reader understands how these Blog articles are categorized, and so that they know that most articles here connect with other articles, or even series of articles, and, if read together, can provide a comprehensive analysis of how certain things work (or at least how I handle them).

Most often, the reader will wind up here because of a search-engine query. Often, the reader will be taken to an article that directly relates to the topic (like DUI, Drug Cases, or License Restorations) they're searching. Sometimes, however, a person might wind up on either the most recent article posted, or some other article, neither of which have nothing to do with what they're looking for.

I'm no web master, so I can't really explain how that happens. I do know, however, that despite whatever article a person may wind up on, even if it doesn't relate to their search, it usually means there is another article on this Blog which does. In other words, if a person has searched for "Delivery of Marijuana Mi" and then winds up on this article, because it's the most recent entry, the search engine didn't exactly fail, it just didn't go to the actual article about "Delivery of Marijuana in Mi." That's what the column on the right side of this Blog is for.

That column, about ¼ of the way down on the right side of this (or any) page, lists all the articles I've posted by Topic. Thus, the person who winds up on this article but was searching for Marijuana Delivery would scroll down and click one of the listings for Marijuana.

Within the framework of those Topics, every article has, at the bottom, a listing of other topics in which that same article can be found. This is how I, as the author, have cross-referenced Topics. This means that a person wanting to learn all they can about one Topic should also click on those other Topic listings, because those other topics also have related information in them.

Also, a number of my articles are written in multi-part series. The way the site works, the newest articles are always listed above the older one. This means that every series of articles is kind of listed in reverse, or newest first, oldest last. Thus, Part 1 of any series is always at the bottom.

Continue reading "How to Read and Use This Blog, the Topics Links and the Cross-References" »

Let me begin this "article" by pointing out that it is a departure from my usual information-style discussion of some aspect or other of the kinds of Criminal, Drunk Driving and License Restoration cases that I handle. I have found that, after reading some of my articles, some people will call my office and ask "How much do you charge?" or "Do you have a payment plan?"

On this Blog, there is a "button" entitled "Fees" which takes the reader directly to my Fee schedule. Ditto for mywebsite. For whatever reason, that button seems to get missed a lot. This "article" will discuss money; how much I charge for certain legal services and how payment is made.

For Driver's License Restorations, I charge $3000. The usual payment plan begins with 1/3 ($1000) down at the first face-to-face meeting, another $1000 paid as the case is prepared, and the final $1000 paid about a week before the actual Hearing.

Most Misdemeanor cases are paid with an initial Retainer or ½ down, with the second ½ due prior to the Court date. Therefore, a typical Macomb, Oakland or Wayne County District Court case with a fee of $1600 would require a $800 payment at the first face-to-face meeting, and the other $800 paid just before the actual Court date.

In Misdemeanor cases which require more than 1 Court appearance (DUI cases always require 2 Court dates), the Retainer is still ½, with the second ½ due prior to the SECOND Court date.

For Felony cases, I usually require ½ down as a Retainer, and break the remaining ½ into 2 separate payments. Thus, if the Fee is $4000, I usually require ½ ($2000) as a Retainer at the first face-to-face meeting. The next payment is $1000, which is paid when (and if) the case goes to the Circuit Court. The final payment of $1000 is due just prior to the last Court date, which is usually the Sentencing.

Sometimes, by special arrangement, I will break the payments into 3 equal installments. Often, I will work out a deal where no further fees will be charged beyond the initial first ½ if the case is finished up in the District Court, rather than being bound over (or "sent up") to the County's Circuit Court.

Traffic Tickets are always handled on a ½ down, the other ½ due before Court basis.

There are no payment plans based on monthly or weekly installments, and the 1/3 to ½ down required as an initial Retainer is pretty much set in stone. Throughout my Blogs it has been my goal to be honest and direct. To that end, when someone calls about a Misdemeanor or Felony case and offers to put down a few hundred dollars, with promises of future payments, I must decline. Those arrangements have never worked out satisfactorily. A retired Judge once said, when imposing fines and costs and allowing no time to pay them, that although he believed most people had good and honorable intentions to pay, it was better that they got credit from someone who knew them better than he did, and that's how it works in my Office.

My office accepts Cash, Check, Money Orders, and Visa, MasterCard and Discover.

It seems that the term "Free Consultation" is often misinterpreted as "Free Advice" or "Free Answers." To put this in perspective, let's talk about those Plastic Surgeons who do face lifts, certain enhancements, and other "nip and tuck" procedures. Often, they will advertise on the Radio or in the Phone book, and offer a "Free Consultation." It is clearly understood that they will spend the time with someone looking to perhaps use their services in order to assess what, if anything, they can do for that person.

No one would think to call them, set up an appointment, go in, and say "I don't have any money for a face lift, but I was wondering what you thought about these over-the-counter skin-firming products?" In the same way, who would go into a car dealership, pull into the service area, and meet with a mechanic to describe a "funny sound" their car was making, then tell they guy "I don't have the money to have you fix it, but if you'll tell me what to do, I am going to try it myself."

Yet amongst those who e-mail us everyday, we get any number of those who either outright tell us they don't have any money for a Lawyer, or whose e-mail is obviously seeking advice and direction with no intention of hiring me to do the work. I have tried, until now, to at least provide some help to those who ask for it, but the pressures of economic survival and the limitations of my own time, multiplied by the sheer number of such e-mails and calls, requires me to write this article explaining why I can no longer take the time away from paying Clients to advise those are not, and will not become, paying Clients.

The success of this Blog has been wonderful. I have tried, within the articles I write, to be as explanatory and helpful as possible, and, to be honest, I have yet to run across anything even remotely close to the information-loaded site I have put up. The payoff has been that any number of potential Clients find that I am more informative than any other Lawyer they have encountered. In the end, after a "consultation," they retain my services. This is how I pay for the employees, their benefits, the utilities and this Blog.

In addition to simply putting up a lot of information, I have repeatedly pointed out that my Criminal Practice (with the exception of Driver's License Restoration Cases) is limited to Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties. Even those willing to hire me outside the Metro-Detroit area should know that I do not handle cases anywhere outside of the Tri-County area, with the possible, and limited exception of certain cases in St. Clair, Lapeer, and Livingston Counties. Of Course, I can handle License Restoration cases that have anything to do with the State of Michigan, because I am able to schedule all Hearings in the Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division's Livonia Office. I likewise handle Bankruptcy Matters from Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, St. Clair and Sanilac Counties because all those cases are heard in the Bankruptcy Court in Detroit.

So my purpose in writing this article is so that I have something to attach as a reply to those inquiries which are not seeking a "Consultation," but rather have a question or questions, or otherwise seek some direction in a Case which I will not be getting hired to handle, or to those asking about a case pending outside of the Tri-County area

A little math may help. Say we get 4 or 5 such "free" inquiries per day. And say I spend about 10 to 15 minutes reading, thinking about and responding to each. That totals nearly a little more than an hour a day, and over the course of a week, another 6+ hours of work for which I am not paid. Think of it this way; if your boss asked you to stick around for an extra hour everyday after work to just help out non-customers, and told you that you wouldn't be getting paid to do it, how quickly would you sign up for that program? You do, after all, want to go home, spend time with your family, and maybe help out with homework or whatever else your job as a parent requires.

Of course, my "Consultations" are still free, but the term "Consultation" needs to be understood in terms of an exchange of information to see if my services and someone's legal needs are a good match, and if those services will be retained in order to benefit the person and help their Legal situation.

In a departure from my usual instructional-style Blog post, I feel compelled to address an issue that is quite literally causing my phone to ring off the hook. While I am both somewhat surprised and extremely pleased with the unexpectedly large response to and readership of this Blog, my staff has been inundated with phone calls from around the Country seeking all kinds of advice and citing the "free consultation" notation on both my Blog and Website. Sometimes the caller may be in Michigan, but asks about a case pending somewhere I do not go. Other times, the caller may want to ask questions about an area of law that I do not handle.

I wish I could help, or at least give some worthwhile direction to everyone who needs a little information, but my office simply cannot help in matters that fall outside the scope of what I do and where I do it. My experience and Practice is limited to handling Michigan cases. Even then, I limit my Practice (and thus my advice) to the Metropolitan Detroit and outlying areas for everything except License Restoration matters.

A recent caller from Connecticut wanted to ask about his Foreclosure and Re-Financing options. I have no idea how Foreclosures and Re-Financing are done outside of Michigan, and am in no position to even begin to advise or direct anyone from a different state, beyond telling them to contact an Attorney there who handles the kind of matter for which they need advice.

Another caller wanted to know what he should do about a recent Traffic Ticket. It turns out that he was calling from another state about a ticket he received in that state. Again, I have no clue about how things are properly handled in any state other than Michigan, and even here, my Practice is more or less limited to the Metro-Detroit. Throughout the articles on this Blog, I often use the terms "Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties," "Tri-County area," "Metro-Detroit area" or "Metropolitan-Detroit area." I'll define exactly what that means below.

Let me clarify specifically what help I can provide beyond the general information to our (apparently) growing readership that's in this Blog:

1. Michigan Driver's License Matters: Anything that requires either a Restoration or Clearance of a Michigan Driver's License, no matter where the person lives. In other words, if you need help with a Michigan License, it doesn't matter where you live, whether in, or even outside of, Michigan itself.

2. Michigan Criminal, Drunk Driving and Traffic Ticket Cases: I handle Criminal, Drunk Driving, and Traffic Ticket Cases that are brought or are pending in any Court in Macomb County and any Court in Oakland County.

In Wayne County, I'll only handle cases which are brought in the following District Courts:

16th (Livonia)
18th (Westland)
19th (Dearborn)
20th (Dearborn Heights)
27th (Wyandotte)
31st (Hamtramck)
32A (Harper Woods)
34th (Romulus)
36th (Detroit), and
All Grosse Pointe Municipal Courts.

This includes, of course, Felonies that are or will be heard in the Wayne County Circuit Court.

I will also handle Criminal and Drunk Driving Cases in the 72nd District Court in Marine City.

Given that I base my advice and answers upon experience, and because my experience is primarily in Macomb, Oakland and those limited parts of Wayne Counties, I am unable and unwilling to advise or direct someone with a case outside of those geographic areas to do anything other than contact an experienced Lawyer who would be considered "local" there.

3. Michigan Bankruptcy Cases: My office files Bankruptcy for people who live in Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, St. Clair and Sanilac Counties. Anyone who lives in one of those Counties will have their case heard in Detroit. If you do not live in one of these Counties, then your case will not be heard in Detroit, and I only handle cases that are heard in Detroit. Because different locations can operate a bit differently, I do not advise anyone whose case would be heard outside of the area where I practice. Those individuals should contact a "local" Attorney.

There are no words to express how gratified I am that anyone finds anything I say to be worthwhile. Nevertheless, I have tried to be clear in my various Blog posts, as well as on my site, about the geographic scope of my experience and Practice. I think one of the reasons I can be as detailed as I am is precisely because I limit what I do and where I do it. I have pointed out that part of the very experience I sell is the knowledge one gains from doing something again and again in the same places and with the same people.