{"id":3911,"date":"2011-08-15T17:29:01","date_gmt":"2011-08-15T21:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=3911"},"modified":"2014-12-24T13:05:55","modified_gmt":"2014-12-24T18:05:55","slug":"before-finding-a-lawyer-a-summary-of-sidebar-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=3911","title":{"rendered":"Preliminary investigation: A summary of Sidebar so far"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Stuff the head<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #333399;\">With all such reading as was never read:<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #333399;\">For thee explain a thing till all men doubt it,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #333399;\">And write about it, Goddess, and about it. \u2013 Alexander Pope, <em>The Dunciad<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Well, OK! As your Goddess, I&#8217;ve brought you this far in your potential lawsuit. Before I continue, let&#8217;s catch up with what we&#8217;ve covered. You\u2019ve:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Considered personal and political reasons for suing, as a philo- and psychological exercise.<\/li>\n<li>Heard about many other people who have sued and learned why they sued.<\/li>\n<li>Also heard about some people who were not suitable plaintiffs.<\/li>\n<li>Done a little self-analysis leading to the determination that you are a suitable plaintiff.<\/li>\n<li>Grasped Benny South Street\u2019s War Chest theory of developing a small lawsuit fund. (And learned how to hijack trucks but never mind that.)<\/li>\n<li>Read about current lawsuits in newspapers and have formed opinions of their worthiness, and have made up some initial research files:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lawsuits\/Lawyers<\/strong> into which you\u2019ve put clippings about cases, and information about lawyers about whom you\u2019ve developed a good opinion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reporters<\/strong> who\u2019ve written well on lawsuits that interest you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Have learned more than necessary about Greenwich Village co-ops and my lawsuit.<\/li>\n<li>Have learned from mistakes I made:\n<ul>\n<li>Always read thoroughly any legal documents you sign and make sure you understand them;<\/li>\n<li>Why legal documents are such lousy reads;<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t go into business or partnership with someone whose background, character and finances you haven\u2019t thoroughly checked out. If there are obstacles that appear in your attempts to investigate the character of a potential partner, don\u2019t be afraid to say &#8220;no.&#8221; Loudly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Have learned a little bit about<strong> snooping<\/strong>, i.e., using cool tech to gather information.<\/li>\n<li>Have <strong>made a record<\/strong> of your potential lawsuit by:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Compiling the information and documents<\/strong> you\u2019ve acquired;<\/li>\n<li>Understanding and <strong>writing a time line<\/strong>;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Organizing your case files<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Gathering your friends as a<strong> support system.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Investigated<\/strong> types of lawsuits.<\/li>\n<li>Learned enough about <strong>statutes of limitations<\/strong> to:\n<ul>\n<li>File a <strong>Notice of Claim<\/strong> against your city, if your lawsuit might name your city as a defendant;<\/li>\n<li>File a complaint with the<strong> Equal Employment Opportunity Commission<\/strong>, if your lawsuit will be against your employer and will involve EEOC issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Joined me in my first meeting with a lawyer I retained to file a personal injury lawsuit and:\n<ul>\n<li>Read through the bad and excellent<strong> legal retainer agreements<\/strong> I printed, along with my annotations; and<\/li>\n<li>Learned about a lawyer\u2019s <strong>costs and expenses<\/strong>, i.e., how he will charge you for the work he\u2019ll do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Learned why the lawyer said certain things, i.e., what was going on in the lawyer\u2019s mind at that initial meeting.<\/li>\n<li>Learned why a lawyer might say you don\u2019t have a case and how to evaluate this unwelcome statement.<\/li>\n<li>Found out about problems you might have <strong>communicating with a lawyer<\/strong> because many lawyers have problems communicating with their clients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Found out how to investigate <strong>what a lawsuit might be worth<\/strong> to you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019ve also dipped my toe (and yours, if you joined me at the pool) into what it\u2019s like going to court and how not to eat while attending depositions.<\/p>\n<p>So now we\u2019re ready to do a little further gumshoeing. Then we\u2019ll talk about finding you a lawyer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stuff the head With all such reading as was never read: For thee explain a thing till all men doubt it, And write about it, Goddess, and about it. \u2013 Alexander Pope, The Dunciad Well, OK! As your Goddess, I&#8217;ve &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=3911\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1175],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-3911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-facts-of-life","tag-understanding-lawsuits"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.10 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A bullet list of what the Sidebar reader has learned so far.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Naomi\"\/>\n\t<meta name=\"keywords\" content=\"personal reasons for suing,political reasons for suing,who sues?,who shouldn\\&#039;t sue,lawsuit fund,how to hijack a truck,understanding 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20:17:35","updated":"2022-09-24 00:44:10","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?cat=1175\" title=\"The Facts of Life\">The Facts of Life<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tPreliminary investigation: A summary of Sidebar so far\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net"},{"label":"The Facts of Life","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?cat=1175"},{"label":"Preliminary investigation: A summary of Sidebar so 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