Legal Placement Services: Frequently Asked Questions

Businesses are outsourcing the staffing process to trained professionals with greater frequency. There are many reasons for this, but in essence, companies want to eliminate mistakes in the hiring process and in some industries it is difficult to even locate top talent. One industry that is experiencing a skills gap (a disconnect between the skills the company needs and the skills unemployed workers have) is the legal industry. Legal placement services organizations have stepped up to help firms with the hiring process. Firms that have never outsourced the hiring process before will undoubtedly have some questions about how it works. This article will answer some of the most frequently asked questions by companies who outsource the hiring of everything from attorney openings to court reporting jobs.

How do legal placement services work?

The legal firm with a job opening will provide details of the job to the staffing company so that the company can write a job description. The legal placement services company will then undertake a lot of the work that the organization would ordinarily have to do on its own. It will search for candidates on job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder, and even social networking sites like LinkedIn. Most companies will also have a database of potential employees from which they can pull candidates. The firm will even conduct preliminary interviews to weed out unqualified applicants.

What happens when the legal placement services company finds a good candidate?

The company will usually create a list of finalists, which will be presented to the hiring firm. That firm can then interview each of the finalists and make its own decision. To simplify, the staffing company will remove unqualified candidates but still leave the final decision up to the hiring firm.

How does a firm pay for legal placement services?

It depends on the staffing company, but typically the firm will pay the staffing company a percentage of the employee's first year salary once the position is filled. The employee will also be paid by the staffing company for a short, trial period so that the hiring firm can make sure that it made the right decision.

Are legal placement services used for part-time positions or full-time positions?

These services are actually used for both types of positions. A firm might outsource the task of hiring full-time positions like attorneys or secretaries to make sure that the hiring process is completed correctly by experienced professionals. However, a firm might also try to fill part-time or temporary positions like court reporting positions with these firms. The benefit of using a staffing service for a temporary position is that it saves a lot of time. It does not make sense for companies to devote so much time to filling a temporary position, especially when most need to be filled on short notice. Most staffing companies will have a list of court reporting professionals or other professionals ready, so that positions can be filled more quickly than if handled entirely by the hiring firm.

To have additional questions answered about legal placement services, reach out to a specialized legal staffing firm today.

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Four Steps to Choosing the Right Solicitor

At various points in your life, you're going to need legal assistance. Whether you're buying or selling property, going through a divorce, or claiming for medical negligence, you'll need to look for expert assistance from qualified professionals. And that means approaching a firm of solicitors.

But when you're a layperson with no formal legal training or background, it can be difficult to work out which firm should represent you.

That's what this article aims to show; the four quick and easy things you need to take into account when you hire a solicitor. Where they can work; what they have the knowledge to do; how much you'll be charged; what accreditations the firm holds; and how experienced your solicitor of choice will be.

1: Speciality

Not all solicitors are created equal. Some specialise in property sales, some in handling the drafting and execution of wills, and still others have studied medical procedures as part of their commitment to handling clinical negligence claims. So you need to choose the right solicitor for your case. It's no use asking a divorce lawyer to sell your house, or for a medical negligence solicitor to help you out during a police interview.

Fortunately, most major firms will employ a number of partners to cover a selection of fields. So be sure to check that they'll be able to bring the right skills to the table.

2: Price

Cheaper isn't always better when it comes to hiring legal advice. But that doesn't mean you should always go for the most expensive. A broad selection of prices and fees shows that a firm can handle any case, no matter how simple or complex.

Always ensure that the firm you approach has a range of packages and rates available, as that way you can pay for the legal advice that suits you best. Because unlike many services that you'll have need of during your lifetime, advice from solicitors is not "one size fits all".

3: Accreditations

Accreditations are proof that a solicitor knows what they're talking about. So before you approach a firm to represent you, check and see what accreditations they have.

A Law Society Accreditation should be the bare minimum that your chosen firm can show you, while a list of other awards from Chambers and other bodies should tip the balance in the firm's favour. And any specific accreditation in the field you're being represented in, such as a Law Society Personal Injury stamp of approval is a sign that you really are on the right track.

4: Experience

Finally comes experience. As with any field, a solicitor who can prove they know how to handle the situation you're in is a solicitor that you should hire. So never be afraid of asking questions like "how long have you been established", and "how experienced is the lawyer working on my case?"

And if the answers you receive fill you with confidence, you'll know that you've found the right firm to look out for your best interests.

You should now have the information you need to find the right firm to represent you. So get out there on the search engines and hire the solicitors you need!

Collecting an Unpaid Judgment Against a Judgment Debtor Who Uses Several Aliases   

Hot Potato Judgments

Hot potato judgments are tough judgments that no enforcer, collection agency, or contingency lawyer wants to take or keep. Such judgments are "hot potatoes" because they are passed around quickly, and nobody wants to hold onto them for long. A hot potato judgment is shown to many people who turn it down. Sometimes (and eventually), such judgments are taken by an overly optimistic enforcer; who works on them for a while and recovers nothing, and either flakes, or eventually returns it.

This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. I am a judgment broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer. Another name for hot potato judgments is difficult judgments, which describe most judgments these days.

A common pattern is, a creditor has a very old judgment, often renewed, and they will repeat the same kind of story many times: "My judgment debtor is a fraud and transferred his properties to his relatives (e.g.) 15 years ago, and keeps his money overseas". Such creditors often finish their pitches of hot potato judgments with "My debtor is rich and my judgment will be easy to recover".

Such creditors wonder why nobody wants to buy, or try to recover their judgment on a contingency basis. Of course, the creditor does not see the big picture, and not a dime has been recovered in (e.g.) 15 years, and this is not an easy judgment to recover. This is a tough judgment that the creditor will be lucky to ever get any money from. Most creditor's memories are based on their debtor's past. It is not what the debtor used to own, it is what they own now that counts, here and now in large amounts.

If creditors were consistently told the truth, that (e.g.) their judgment debtor is poor or their assets are too deeply hidden; the creditor might not keep wasting time showing their hot potato judgment to many enforcers. Unfortunately, many enforcers turn down judgments without fully explaining the debtor situation to the creditors.

Some new enforcers, collection agencies, and contingency collection lawyers, start out taking all judgments; then they find out they are too tough, and returns them, or sometimes even goes out of business. Some enforcers only accept easy judgments, rejecting far more than 99% of the judgments they are shown.

The average judgment does not have a debtor with sufficient assets to repay part of, most, or all of the judgment. The problem is, in this economy very few are willing to try to recover tough judgments. Recovery experts want the easy ones.

For creditors with tough judgments, the battle is not over when you find someone to assign your judgment to, or find an entity to try to recover it. You might soon be surprised when they recover nothing and/or return the judgment to you.

Of course, everyone wants easy judgments. When your judgment is large and easy to recover, you can enforce it yourself, hire a lawyer, or find a recovery solution.

With big and easy judgments, judgment brokers know the right experts with the best deals and rates, that make recovering it yourself much less attractive. When you have a debtor with large assets, you hold most of the cards. However, with judgments nothing is guaranteed, and most are tough.

Collecting an Unpaid Judgment Against a Judgment Debtor Who Uses Several Aliases   

Filing a Motion to Quash Service in a California Unlawful Detainer (Eviction) Case

This article will discuss the filing of a motion to quash service in an unlawful detainer also known as eviction case in California.

The first thing any tenant who has been served with a summons and complaint should do is determine if they were properly served or not. If the summons and complaint were not served in a statutorily authorized manner than a motion to quash service of the summons and complaint may be filed to request that the Court determine that the service was defective and should be quashed. This will force the landlord to reserve you correctly.

Here are some examples of what some judges would consider defective service.

1. Leaving a copy of the summons and complaint at the front door or attaching to the door knob and then claiming that the tenant was personally served;

2.Posting a copy of the summons and complaint on the front door without obtaining a specific order of the Court to do so, and

3. Not strictly complying with an authorized form of service such as handing a copy of the summons and complaint to another person at the residence without also mailing a copy of the summons and complaint to the tenant as required by law.

You MUST file a motion to quash if you want to object to the service of the summons and complaint. If you file any other type of response instead of a motion to quash you have waived any right to object to the service. See Code of Civil Procedure Section 418.10(e)(3).

California Code of Civil Procedure Section 418.10 states in pertinent part that a defendant may file a motion to quash service of summons on the ground of lack of jurisdiction of the Court over him or her. The main grounds used are that the service on the defendant was defective as the Court does not acquire jurisdiction over a defendant unless proper service of the summons and complaint has been made. This is true even though the defendant may be a resident of California.

Note that the motion to quash in an eviction case must be set for hearing within 3-7 calendar days from filing of the motion. See Code of Civil Procedure Section 1167.4(a) and California Rule of Court 3.1327(a). If the motion to quash is served by mail the hearing must be set between 8-12 calendar days because of the additional 5 calendar days required by the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013. See California Rule of Court 3.1327(a).

If there is a Court holiday in that time frame then the clerk might give you a later date. Do not schedule your hearing date past the time frame I have mentioned, unless the clerk of the Court schedules otherwise.

You do NOT want the Judge to think that you just filed your motion to quash to buy time. If they do think that then you will most likely lose the motion to quash and the Judge will look very closely with a jaundiced eye at any other type of motion or answer that you file later in the case.

Some Courts only hear motions to quash one day per week, while others hear them several days a week, and some hear them Monday through Friday. Check with the clerk of the court where your case has been filed to find out which days and times, and in which department, the motions to quash for eviction cases are heard.

A Motion to Quash Service is a "special appearance" meaning that it does not admit the Court's jurisdiction over the defendant.

Case law in California is well settled that once a defendant files a motion to quash service that the plaintiff has the burden of proving that the service was valid.

Once a defendant files a motion to quash the burden is on the plaintiff to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the validity of the service and the court's jurisdiction over the defendant.

The Courts in the State of California have ruled that a defendant is under no duty to respond to a defectively served summons.

And a defendant is under no duty to respond to a defectively served summons and may stand mute until a plaintiff makes a showing of the validity of the service to the satisfaction of the court.

This is particularly so when the defendant was served by "substituted service" as the statutes allowing such service are strictly construed..

Statutory provisions for substituted service must be strictly complied with, and statutory conditions upon which such service depends will be strictly construed.

And in an Unlawful Detainer action a Motion to Quash Service may still be filed even though the defendant may actually have notice of the lawsuit!

Even when the defendant tenants (and/or subtenants) actually received summons and complaint and otherwise have actual notice of the lawsuit, a motion to quash will lie if process was not served in a statutorily-authorized manner.

Please note that the author of this article, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this article is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

These materials and information contained in this article have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this article is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the sender and receiver. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

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Why Is It So Important to Refer to Specialists in Due Time? Harm of Excessive Economy

Why is it so important to refer to specialists in due time?

Let us tell you why independent sum recovery through underpayment to a partner for delivered services is absolutely inadmissible and why, for solving problems of that kind, it is necessary to carry out a qualified arrangement of the documentation.

The following situation has already become a classic one. It happens again and again, and we are displaying it in order to give you a warning.

A company contracted with another one on transportation of confectionery. During the carriage a part of the goods lost shape and worn out. The consignee decided not to bother himself with an expert investigation for fixing the extent of damage. The damage was settled by the consignee independently, "by eye". After that the consignee simply underpaid the carrier's service the amount equal, as he estimated, to the cost of the damaged goods.

The following situation has set up. The carrier holds an agreement with terms and amounts accurately specified. There is also a reconciliation statement showing clearly that the service is paid incompletely. The carrier filed a claim to a court, secured judgment and collected the shortfall amount from the client. And, from a legal point of view, was completely right.

The consignee's arrogation, in this case, appeared to be even bigger financial losses to him. If he had evaluated the amount of loss, he would escape such course of events. Thus, having proper documents available the problem of damage reparation could have been well solved - even on a voluntary basis.

Harm of excessive economy

Economy and optimization of expenses is what business cannot do without. But it is of importance to differentiate between where the rational economy stops and the beginning of the irrational economy which raises harm to financial interests exposing goods, shipment and transaction to danger.

One case of the kind was a shipment of fruits with a truck accomplished by a Belarusian client. The fruits came from a long way off, the Caucasus. It took place in November. In order to economize the carriage expenses, the client decided to replace a refrigerator - traditional for that purpose - and to use canvas top which made the carriage a little cheaper. This way, it was impossible to keep up the temperature control in the vehicle.

The first consignment of goods arrived in normal condition, without any troubles. That is why the client thought that a canvas truck could be alright for such shipments further on. But it happened so that the next vehicle stopped at the border and reached Belarus after the scheduled date. The result of the stoppage turned into an unpleasant surprise to the client: the fruits got spoiled. And that, in all appearance, happened because of temperature fall. The consignee tried to press charges from the carrier and, as a natural result, was refused. After all, it was the consignee - not the carrier - who had chosen an "economic" kind of transportation - a truck with canvas. So, the client had only himself and his exceeding "chariness" to blame

Was it possible to predict such course of events? Clearly, it was. For that, it's enough to take into account a number of obvious factors and not to aim at economizing by all means. Indeed, in the end the client paid twice: for the goods he couldn't sell at all and for the carriage accomplished in complete accordance with the agreement which made all the claims to the carrier senseless.

Proper variant when concluding such bargains is insurance of goods. But even better is to make a detailed preliminary investigation of the bargain. Carried out with full preciseness and carefulness, it will save you from finding yourself in affairs as given above.

Collecting an Unpaid Judgment Against a Judgment Debtor Who Uses Several Aliases   

The Difference Between Criminal And Civil Cases

There are many different types of courts, however criminal courts are much different from all other court types. In criminal courts, the police enforce the laws, and defendants have a constitutional right to be represented by an attorney.

This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. I am a judgment solution expert, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer. The Supreme court has ruled that juvenile criminal cases are to be considered as civil cases. There are seven major differences between civil and criminal courts:

1) Criminal court cases focus mostly on the proper punishments against defendants. Punishments may include the goals of deterrence, probation, rehabilitation, retribution, community service, restitution (which names an amount of money the defendant owes their victim plaintiff), and incapacitation (locking someone up, or worse).

Civil court cases focus on the property, or the amount of money, one party owes to another. Usually, when civil money judgments are awarded, they are awarded to the plaintiff(s) as compensatory and/or punitive damages. Civil courts can award punitive monetary damages with the goal of deterrence and/or retribution. Civil courts may also occasionally order involuntary commitments, usually in medical rehabilitation situations.

2) In criminal cases, fines are usually paid to the government, and except for restitution awards, not to other parties. In civil cases, money judgments are usually awarded to the plaintiff(s). There is no guarantee that the plaintiffs or their assigns, will be able to recover anything, because what judgments list as being owed is often theoretical.

3) Criminal cases are prosecuted by those paid by the government. Civil cases are usually prosecuted by the plaintiffs, or an attorney hired to represent them.

4) Defendants in criminal courts have more constitutional protections and rights than defendants in civil courts. In criminal cases, defendants have rights against unreasonable (and certain warrantless) searches and seizures, rights against cruel and unusual punishment, rights against excessive fines, rights to an appointed lawyer, rights to a jury trial, rights against double jeopardy, rights against self-incrimination, rights to a speedy trial, etc.

5) Criminal judgments have much more social stigma than civil judgments do. Civil judgments might not affect the defendant(s) at all. Criminal judgments can affect the defendant's rights, for example not being legally allowed to own guns, reduced employment opportunities, and depending on the crime; having to register their names and addresses in public directories.

6) Civil cases are usually decided using the "preponderance of evidence" standard of proof, and occasionally a "clear and convincing evidence" standard of proof. Criminal cases always require the highest level of proof, which is "beyond a reasonable doubt".

7) In criminal courts, defendants do not have any constitutional rights to have their assets be protected, or to have their assets be represented by an attorney. Sometimes criminal courts protect the defendant's assets so they can fund their own defense. In California, a law related to civil and criminal court actions is CCP 128.7.

Collecting an Unpaid Judgment Against a Judgment Debtor Who Uses Several Aliases