QUESTION: Dear Legal Wiz,
I need legal research, as I paid at least three lawyers in Jamaica for separate cases huge sums of money and was shortchanged. One lawyer took my money and only after I fired her, and went to Court alone, did I find out that certain documents were needed. I tried going to another lawyer for that particular case, and she is asking me for a lot of money again just to assist me in getting these documents that the first lawyer should have had before she took my money and started the case in Court.
That first lawyer only told me I have a good case, and gave me documents to sign. The second lawyer says I have a good case if I can prove what I am saying. At least she told me to go research and get the documents and come back to her.
Work on my own even legal research
It has been a literal struggle and I can’t see how the Bar Association knowing that lawyers in Jamaica are scamming people out of money are insisting that we use them for everything when it comes to court cases. It can’t be fair, that these lawyers keep taking our money to do nothing, and to correct the problem another lawyer must be paid? I now am taking the chance to do everything on my own, because my pocket cannot manage it, and I dont trust these lawyers who are just after money and dont care about the client.
I am writing your team, because I just need help to get some documents, and some are in Court. I also will need help in writing a letter to go to the Bar Association to make complaints because one of the lawyers claim I owe her money so she is holding on to my files. Even the papers I gave her. Imagine I had to pay another lawyer $20,000 to write a letter to her for her to write that lawyer to tell me that.
Can your team members assist?
Gerry
RESPONSE: Dear Gerry,
Thanks for reaching out. Our team members will assist you, but where there needs to be legal advice an attorney will have to assist you, even if its someone in our network.
Otherwise, we will assist but for a fee that I am sure you will find reasonable to cover our expenses, our time and skills. Please be aware though that the place to report attornies is not the Bar Association, but at the General Legal Council.
Please see below some information on legal research.
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What is Legal Research?
Legal research in its broadest sense refers to the act and/or process of sourcing, identifying and retrieving material, such as information which is critical to the legal decision making process.
During the legal decision making, legal research involves:-
– analysing the facts of the problem presented
– application and communication of the results of the investigation/research
The elements of legal research are:-
1) collection of primary sources of law, or primary authority in the relevant jurisdiction. These include cases, statutes, regulations, etc..
2) collection of relevant secondary authority for background information about a legal topic. This secondary authority includes law reviews, legal dictionaries, legal treatises, and legal encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia Britannica, American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum.
3) collection of non-legal sources for investigative or supporting information that can bear relevance on the process
Other sources of information can be legal websites such as lawyers.com and printed books and newspapers.
Legal environment includes law schools, libraries etc.. The persons who primarily are relied upon to perform quality legal research are lawyers, paralegals, law librarians, law teachers and journalists working in relating fields.
Legal Wiz
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DISCLAIMER:
The responses to the varied submitted questions are drafted by our inhouse journalist, after research and consultations with attornies-at-law and other relating experts in their fields. It is not to be assumed therefore that all members of the Legal Wiz team are trained and practicing attornies-at-law, realtors, investigators, but being a part of the network such personnel utilise their skills for the success of the ultimate client.
