FAQs
General
Your initial consultation, for one time-block, is free! Once that has passed, the amount charged is contingent upon the type of case. Please see below for further details, or contact us.
Communication between the attorney and his client is paramount, especially in regards to having the client understand the nature of his or her case and the court proceedings surrounding it. While I am often in court in the mornings, I always attempt to contact any client that calls my office or emails me within 24 hours. If an immediate answer to the question is not necessary, email is the preferred method of communication. You can find all possible avenues of contact listed here.
“Always dedicated” is not just a nice slogan to put on the site – it is the truth! We are completely and personally dedicated to your case and ensuring the best outcome. Thus, aside from clerical matters such as making appointments, you will always be dealing with the attorney directly. It is part of our mission statement to always give individual and personal attention to every case, no matter its type.
In New York, all clients have certain rights when dealing with attorneys. Aside from the well-known “Attorney-Client Privilege”, which ensures that anything you tell us will be kept private, there are a number of other rights that you, as the client, possess. We make sure that you are fully informed about each and every one of them. For a full list, please see this Client Bill of Rights.
Yes, you can. Many of our clients have come to us already having retained another attorney. The process is simple and painless for you. If you decide to retain our services instead of another, once the appropriate document is signed, we will do all the legal work necessary to switch your attorney.
We handle a variety of different cases, including but not limited to Personal Injury, General Litigation, Traffic Law, DWI/DUI Defense, General Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense, Probate, Wills, Trust & Estate, Commercial Transactions, and Real Estate Transactions and Leasing. If you are unsure whether your case falls within these parameters, please call us.
Case-Specific
All personal injury is no recovery, no fee. Upon winning the case, I work off of a one-thirds contingency fee. Litigation other than personal injury is charged by an hourly rate, the amount of which depends upon the type of case and the complexity of the matter. Feel free to contact us to get an estimated quote.
PERSONAL INJURY: It depends on the complexity of the matter, but generally the lawyers do not control the court calendar. In any civil court, the schedule of discovery and proceedings are determined by the court and not by the individual lawyers. However, certain special preferences prescribed by law may be available, depending on exigent circumstances of the party. If you feel as though this applies to you, do not hesitate to inquire further.CRIMINAL DEFENSE: Like Personal Injury, the length depends upon the complexity of the matter, and the schedule of events preceeding a trial or decision is not controlled by the attorney. In criminal cases, however, it is the prosecution that typically dictates the speed of the case moving forward.
Ninety-five percent of civil cases are settled out of court, before trial. Similarly, in ninety-five percent of criminal cases, a plea bargain is struck and accepted. However, this is offered by the prosecution, not the defense, so the time-table of one being offered or its contents are at the prosecution’s discretion. No matter what, however, the office will always prepare for any case as if we are going to trial.
It is made by you! We make sure that you will always have complete knowledge of the case strategy and its strengths and weaknesses. As this is your case, any final determination (such as going to trial or settling) is made by you, the client; not the attorney.
In New York, injuries caused by accidents that result from negligence in the use of a motor vehicle must meet a certain treshold to be considered for serious litigation. The victim must either show that they have incurred an economic loss exceeding $50,000 or establish that they have suffered a “serious injury.” In New York State, a serious injury is a personal injury that meets at least one (or more) of the following criteria:
Death;
Dismemberment;
Significant disfigurement;
Fracture;
Loss of a fetus;
Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system;
Significant limitation of use of a body function or system;
Medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person’s usual and customary daily activities for not less than 90 days during the 180 days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.
If you are unsure of whether your injury meets this threshold, please schedule a consult and we will discuss it.
In a large majority of cases, once you have been convicted of a criminal charge, you have the right to challenge that finding by filing an appeal with a higher court or an Appellate court. Typically, for an appeal to be successful, we must show that the lower court made an error – did they admit evidence they shouldn’t have? Was your counsel ineffective by definition of the law? There are many possible bases for an appeal, and it is very important that you utilize your full resources.
Contact us now for a free consultation 631-396-0255