Most people need legal service about once a year. Unfortunately, many people don’t request legal counsel when these situations occur. In 2001-2002 the American Bar Association commissioned a study on the public perceptions of lawyers to be conducted by Leo J. Shapior & Associates. This research resulted in some interesting findings that can help us grasp the reasons for the unwillingness of the average person to obtain legal assistance. The research found that most Americans believe lawyers are capable of navigating through the complicated legal system and the majority of those who had experience with lawyers were satisfied with the help they received. However, many Americans also think lawyers can be materialistic, even corrupt. Americans are not comfortable with the connections lawyers have with politicians, the courts, and big business. They also think that the legal profession isn't self policing. Most Americans feel hesitant to deal with lawyers because they fell they can't tell a high-quality lawyer from a poor one. And, many people are vague about precisely what a lawyer can do for them or the price of that service. Since many hold these views and suspicions lots of people who would benefit from a lawyer don’t contact one. The Shapior research found that roughly 70% of households in any given year face a circumstance for which contact with a lawyer would be helpful. However, most people indicated they still wouldn't contact a lawyer. Compare this to seeing your family physician. If you have medical insurance, as soon as you or your children become ill you do not think twice about seeing your doctor. If you have several children, you may visit your doctor's office 5 or 10 times in a single year. You are comfortable with your physician, the office, and possibly even members of the nursing staff. You've watched your doctor work with your children and understand the consideration that he or she has for you and your family's wellbeing. Compare your visits to your doctor with seeing a lawyer. You likely never visited a lawyer's office. Maybe you've looked through the phone book and haven't the slightest idea which lawyer would be best for you. And, to top it off, you don't have legal insurance that will pay for most of the cost of your office visit. No wonder you're reluctant to talk with a lawyer. It seems clear that the average person is not familiar with individual lawyers. Watching Boston Legal, Law and Order or reruns of LA Law or Perry Mason isn't going to get the average person to visit a lawyer even when they could benefit from their assistance. Perhaps the best tool to encourage more contact with legal professionals is legal insurance. By becoming familiar with a lawyer in less serious situations, a person can have more comfort about contacting a lawyer for more important matters. You might already have a legal plan offered as an employee benefit. If not, there are numerous providers that offer prepaid legal plans. Prepaid legal plans typically cover the costs for you to contact your lawyer by phone any time you have a potential legal situation come up. In addition, you can typically visit your lawyer to have a will drawn up, or updates to your will on an annual basis. You may in addition have your lawyer review legal forms you need to sign to verify that everything is in order. When you do require extended legal help, your plan may provide for a number of hours of your lawyer's time for pre-trial and trial activities. Beyond the time provided by your plan, you will typically receive further support at a discount. If a year goes by and you do not need legal support you can judge yourself lucky. One day, similar to fire insurance on your residence, your prepaid legal plan may come in very handy,
Article Source: http://www.articlecontentprovider.com/articlesubmit
Most|Many} people would benefit from legal assistance about once a year. Unfortunately, many people do not request legal advice when these situations occur.
Be sure to watch our excellent videos, read our helpful suggestions, and consider our valuable products about prepaid legal and prepaid legal opportunity on the authors prepaid legal website.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 5 4 out of 5 3 out of 5 2 out of 5 1 out of 5
