Richard Meirowitz | How to Choosing a Criminal Defense Attorney

A person charged with a crime, particularly for the first time, may be in a real quandary. How do they find the best criminal attorney for my case? Many people will have family members or friends who know lawyers but is that the best attorney for their case? The Internet is saturated with attorneys claiming to be experts but how reliable are their websites? This article briefly outlines some of the factors you want to consider in choosing a criminal defense attorney.

•  Find an attorney with experience. See how long the he or she has practiced law. Ensure they specialize in criminal law. Examine their website and pay particular attention to the types of cases he or she has handled.

Hire an attorney with jury trial experience. Asked the attorney how many jury trials he or she has conducted. An attorney with jury trial experience provide you with the greatest opportunity for an acquittal if you are not guilty or if the prosecution cannot prove their case; and, the maximum leverage in negotiating a plea in a case in which you are guilty. Judges and prosecutors know those who are not afraid to try a case; those that carry the most respect and are offered the best dispositions for their client.

Ensure that the attorney has tried your type of case. Some may only specialize in murder cases; that is all they do. They may not be the best for your drunk driving or your drug case. Be sure that the attorney you have selected has successfully defended a case similar to yours.

Make sure the attorney you are hiring will be the attorney who handles your case. If you go to a large law firm you may speak to a partner who specializes in your type of case; however, that partner may pass your case to an associate with less experience. Be sure the partner will be representing you in court.

Look for a professional website. A successful attorney will have a professional looking website. If the attorney is a professional he will carry himself that way in all respects, including the way he presents himself to you, in the courtroom and on his website.


Asked another attorney. Attorneys in private practice know attorneys who specialized in all fields of law. If you have a family attorney that handles your real estate or probate matters that attorney can probably identify an excellent criminal attorney.

You get what you pay for. It is not always wise to find the cheapest attorney. Attorneys with little or no experience will often charge far less money than those attorneys with experience. Some attorneys will take a case with no intention of considering a trial. They will review it with the sole intent of having you plead guilty; the attorney should explore all avenues, including motions to dismiss, motions to suppress and trial, before having you change your plea to guilty.

Richard Meirowitz | 7 qualities every good lawyer should have

The skills you need for your ideal career are something that you can work on and develop over time. As they say: practice makes perfect! Here are a few that you should consider working on if you aspire to be a successful lawyer:

1) Good communication skills

Lawyers must be orally articulate, have good written communication skills and also be good listeners. In order to argue convincingly in the courtroom before juries and judges, good public speaking skills are essential. Communication and speaking skills can be developed during your studies by taking part in activities such as mooting or general public speaking.
Lawyers must also be able to write clearly, persuasively and concisely, as they must produce a variety of legal documents.
But it’s not all about projection. To be able to analyse what clients tell them or follow a complex testimony, a lawyer must have good listening skills.

2) Judgement 

The ability to draw reasonable, logical conclusions or assumptions from limited information is essential as a lawyer.
You must also be able to consider these judgements critically, so that you can anticipate potential areas of weakness in your argument that must be fortified against.
Similarly, you must be able to spot points of weakness in an oppositions argument. Decisiveness is also a part of judgement. There will be a lot of important judgement calls to make and little time for sitting on the fence.

3) Analytical skills

Both the study and practice of law involve absorbing large quantities of information, then having to distil it into something manageable and logical.
At times, there will be more than one reasonable conclusion, or more than one precedent applicable to resolving a situation.
A lawyer must therefore have the evaluative skills in order to choose which is the most suitable.

4) Research skills

Similarly, being able to research quickly and effectively is essential to understanding your clients, their needs, and to preparing legal strategies.
Preparing legal strategies requires absorbing and comprehending large amounts of information, then distilling them down into something manageable and useful.

5) People skills

Law is not an abstract practice. Irrelevant of how well someone does academically, at the end of the day lawyers work with people, on behalf of people, and the decisions that are made effect peoples’ lives.
They must be personable, persuasive and able to read others. This allows them to gauge juror’s reactions and the honesty of witnesses.
This allows them to decide upon the best approach to take in order to achieve the desired outcome: either clients taking their advice or reaching a favourable negotiation with the opposition. Read More.........

Richard Meirowitz | Essential Skills for Aspiring Lawyers

It doesn’t matter how far you are into your studies or your decision-making process; many of the abilities you need to be a good lawyer apply as much to work as a solicitor as a barrister, even if used in different ways, so it makes sense to start thinking about improving them as early as you can. This guide is intended to get you thinking about the kinds of things you’ll need to be able to do as a lawyer. It also provides you with some ideas of the things you can do to bring your talents up to scratch – even if you’re still at school.

1. Taking in lots of information and distilling the key points

This will be relevant whether you’re in a corporate firm reading all the documentation sent over as part of the disclosure process for a sale, or a criminal barrister reading through papers for a court case at short notice. Not only do you have to work out what’s relevant; you also need to be able to clearly explain it to your client or superior so that they understand where they stand. This is especially important if they need to make a decision on it.

 

Doing a law (or indeed any text-based) degree will improve your ability to do this immensely; you will have plenty of reading to do in short spaces of time! For additional practice or before you apply to university, try similar exercises with everyday information. Take a long news article and create a five-bullet summary, or explain something difficult you learnt at school to your parents in twenty seconds.

2. People skills

It cannot be overstated that legal work is client-centric, and that no matter how good you may be at the work you also need to be good at working with people! First seat trainees may not be meeting clients often but they will be expected to work well with the team they are sat with, and barristers rely on their reputation for work, which will inevitably be enhanced by being easy to work with. This isn’t an invitation to be over-personal with people but you do need to be polite, interested and interesting!

 

This is so early up the list because it’s easy to forget about when you think of qualities needed for legal practice, but it should also be the easiest to meet. Be polite to everyone, including staff, and show a genuine interest in everyone you meet. The little touches can really help to make a good impression; if you’ve been talking to somebody about their current work, wish them the best of luck with it when you say goodbye.
On a more professional level, lawyers need to be able to listen carefully to any instructions they are given and work with others to come up with suggestions. Team activities at school or group projects at universities will show you the importance of agreeing on what needs to be done, and making sure that everybody knows what their individual tasks are. Take any opportunities to meet new people so that you are not too nervous when you reach university and are invited to dinners or events put on by firms or chambers. This can just be family friends or getting a job in a shop; the idea is just to get you comfortable speaking to new people.

3. Working to a deadline/ planning ahead
 

The first point to note here is that this sometimes just isn’t possible! This however makes it even more crucial that practising lawyers are as ahead on everything as possible so that it is possible to clear the desk for that one thing which is going to take over for the next twenty four hours. As in any walk of life, you need to make sure you are clear on the deadlines for any work you have to do, and prioritise according to those deadlines and how long each task will take. It’s an easy mentality to get into so start now! 

 

There’s no need to remember absolutely everything which needs to be done; keeping a diary is much more reliable. When you reach university especially, an important/urgent matrix is amazingly helpful – make a table with two columns (important/not important) and two rows (urgent/not urgent) and enter your current tasks into the four boxes which are made. It helps prioritise work and especially makes sure you don’t forget about those important tasks which don’t need to be done immediately but do have a future deadline and will take a while to complete. You don’t want to remember about it the day before! Read More........

 

Richard Meirowitz | Trump says won't divest from his business while president

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would maintain ownership of his global business empire but hand off control to his two oldest sons while president, an arrangement that watchdogs said would not prevent conflicts of interest in the White House.
Trump told a news conference he would resign from all positions overseeing his hotels, golf courses and hundreds of other businesses and move his assets into a trust to help ensure that he will not consciously take actions as president that would benefit him personally.
Trump, a Republican, is under pressure to distance himself from his businesses before he moves into the White House on Jan. 20. Unlike other U.S. government officials, the president is not required by law to steer clear of conflicts of interest.
"I could actually run my business and run government at the same time. I don't like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that if I wanted to," Trump said.
Ethics experts said the arrangement did not go far enough.
"Mr. Trump's ill-advised course will precipitate scandal and corruption," said Norman Eisen, a former White House ethics adviser under Democratic President Barack Obama.

Walter Shaub, director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, said on Wednesday in a speech at a Washington think tank that his office recommends Trump "divest his conflicting assets" to avoid conflicts.

Trump appears to be still involved with his business while preparing to take office, saying he had turned down a $2 billion development deal in Dubai he had been offered over the weekend.
The company that made the proposal, DAMAC, confirmed the discussions had taken place.
The Trump Organization will not enter into any new overseas deals while Trump is president and will only undertake domestic projects after a company ethics adviser has approved them, said Trump adviser Sheri Dillon. Details of how the ethics adviser would operate, as well as several other aspects of the arrangements, were not immediately clear.
Trump will only know of those deals if he hears about them through the news media, said Dillon, a lawyer at Morgan Lewis who focuses on tax and ethics.
Trump's daughter, Ivanka, will have no further involvement in managing the organization or her own clothing brand. Ivanka Trump said on her Facebook page that she would take time off to settle her family into their new home in Washington. The president-elect has named her husband, Jared Kushner, to a senior advisory role in the White House.
Since Trump sold all his stocks last year, the Trump trust will hold only business assets and liquid assets such as cash, Dillon said.
A financial disclosure document he filed in May also showed loans from lenders such as Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Ladder Capital (LADR.K). Trump will not have to file a new disclosure form until 2018. Read More...........

Richard Meirowitz | Texas lawyer found dead days after daughter’s suicide accidentally overdosed on cocaine

The Texas lawyer who was found dead just two days after his youngest daughter’s funeral died from an accidental cocaine overdose, officials said.
The Dallas County medical examiner’s office ruled Brian Loncar’s official cause of death as “the toxic effect of cocaine,” describing the manner of death as “accidental.”
The 56-year-old’s high blood pressure and heart disease were listed as secondary causes,WFAA reported.

Loncar, a personal injury attorney who appeared in TV commercials across Texas, was found dead on Dec. 4 inside a Rolls Royce parked in front of his law office.

Two days earlier, Loncar buried his youngest daughter, 16-year-old Grace, who committed suicide on Nov. 25.
“A little over a week ago Brian's miracle baby, Grace, took her own life,” his December obituary read. “As a result, Brian's tremendous heart that carried his family and friends gave out too soon. The stress and pain of losing a child was too much for his heart to bear.”

She would tell her family that she could never feel anything,” her own obituary read. “She couldn't feel all the love from everyone around her.”
Loncar’s firm, Loncar & Associates, was founded in 1988, and operates 11 offices across Texas. The lawyer starred in many of the practice’s commercials, well-known clips that billed him as “The Strong Arm.” Read More.......

Richard Meirowitz | UpFront special: What is Obama's legacy?

In this week's UpFront, we speak to former US President Barack Obama adviser Derek Chollet on the legacy of the outgoing president's foreign and security policies.
In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan exposes Obama's dark legacy on deportations.
We also talk to Reggie Love, Obama's former personal aide and "body man", on what Obama is like when the cameras are off.
Headliner - How will Obama's legacy be remembered?
On January 20, President Barack Obama hands over the reins of power to President-elect Donald Trump.
Derek Chollet, former director at the National Security Council, spoke to UpFront about Obama's foreign policy decisions and his legacy.
"I think he will be missed," said Chollet, who was also assistant secretary of defense in Obama's administration. "As time goes on, there will be even greater appreciation here in the United States and around the world for many of President Obama's accomplishments in foreign policy."
When asked about Syria, Chollet admitted there were "many failures" by the Obama administration, but pointed out some success.
"Those of us who were involved in the making of Syria policy in the last five years don't look with any pride upon what Syria is today … [but] I think 1,300 tonnes of chemical weapons out of Syria is good for the world, good for us," says Obama's former adviser.
Chollet also rejected allegations by former State Department colleague Frederic Hof, who claimed Obama was a "failed president" because of Syria, and that his policy was influenced by accommodating Iran to keep the nuclear deal intact.
"I don't think there's any evidence of that, despite what former colleagues may assert," said Chollet. "I don't see that as in any way connected to any of the policy decisions on Syria."
On the subject of the controversial drone programme, which expanded under the Obama administration and was used to target a US citizen, Chollet said the outgoing president used the resources available, including the drone programme, "effectively".
"He's used them quite effectively ... I think there's been a lot of success in disrupting terrorist networks," said Chollet. "There are many instances, by the way, where he doesn't take the shot."
In this Headliner, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Derek Chollet, who is the author of The Long Game: How Obama defied Washington and redefined America's role in the world, defends Obama's foreign policy decisions and legacy.
Reality Check - Barack Obama: The deporter-in-chief
There has been much talk about US President elect Donald Trump's hardline stance on immigration. But Trump will be inheriting a well-oiled deportation infrastructure from the Obama administration, which has deported 2.5 million people - more than every single US president of the 20th century combined.
In this week's Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan exposes the deporter-in-chief's legacy on deportation. Read More......

Richard Meirowitz | Dear Donald Trump: A letter from Mexico

Dear Mr President-elect,
I am writing to you as a migration researcher and the coordinator of the Casa del Migrante (Migrant's House) in Tijuana, which provides assistance mainly to men who have been deported to Mexico from the United States.
I am also writing to you as the descendant of Chinese migrants, born in Tijuana, at the southern border of your country, where I have witnessed the impact of US migration policies first-hand while I was growing up.
The US has deported more than two million immigrants between 2010 and 2015. This represents more than twice the population of San Francisco. But, we also need to understand that we are talking about actual people and lives.
In recent years, the Mexican government has taken several steps affecting migrants trying to enter the US, such as introducing checkpoints within Mexico, and raising the speed of some freight trains on which Mexicans and Central Americans travel towards the "American dream".
I will tell you why this matters.
When I worked at the border between Guatemala and Mexico, I met Sandra, a woman from Honduras who was travelling towards the US with her 16-year-old daughter. Sandra was running away from the Mara Salvatrucha gang, one of Latin America's most powerful street gangs, which was trying to recruit her child by force.
As they tried to board one of these freight trains, Sandra's daughter managed to get on the train, but Sandra fell on to the rail tracks because of the train's high speed, and lost her left leg in the accident. Sandra spent weeks in the hospital, away from her daughter, who could not get off the train and spent two months looking for her mother.

READ MORE - Dear Donald Trump: A letter from a Syrian refugee

Why am I telling you this story?
Because raising the speed of freight trains from 10 km/h to 60 or 70 is one of the measures that have been indirectly supported through different US programmes and funding schemes.
Through the years, the control of migration to the US has started to take place from the south of Mexico itself. In real life, these policies result in broken families, mutilations, death, and suffering.
Unfortunately, cases like that of Sandra and her daughter are very common. Just enter any migrant shelter in the south, along one of the migration routes that crisscross Mexico, or go on the main square of a city like Tapachula, and you'll see migrants with makeshift leg prostheses made out of PVC tubes and sellotape. Read More.....