If You Want to Find a Good, Competent Lawyer, Perhaps You Should Consider Learning a Bit About Law

In the United States of America, where law can put you in jail, take all of your assets, or even put you to death, it is a bit odd that so few of us actually understand how our system of law works. Instead, we are told that if you want to defend yourself from a lawsuit, you must hire a lawyer.

Picking a lawyer without an understanding of law is not a good idea

Clearly, when you are looking for a lawyer to represent you, you want to hire one who not only understands the law, but is willing to work hard for the high fees that you will be charged. Of course, if you do not know much about law or how the trial process works, you have no way of knowing if your lawyer is competent or not. At best, you might be referred to a lawyer by a friend who found his services to be good. At worst, you pick a lawyer at random and pray that the lawyer not only knows what he is doing, but that he is actually willing to do what is necessary to win your case.

If you stop to consider that the actions of any lawyer you hire will have very real consequences for you, it should become clear that picking a lawyer without a solid understanding of basic law is probably not in your best interest. Without knowing what can be done or what should be done, you simply cannot know if your lawyer is doing everything necessary to win your case.

You can learn the basics of law fairly quickly

Fortunately, the system of law used in the United States of America is not very complicated and enough can be learned about it within a day or two to gain a reasonable understanding of the entire process. Once you know what the preliminary trial phases of a lawsuit are, how to go about using discovery, and the basics of getting evidence into the record, you will be able to weed out lazy and incompetent lawyers and possibly even help your lawyer with critical elements of your own case.

Careful study of the rules of civil procedure ( sometimes called civil rules of court ) for your state can show you the basics of filing a claim against someone, the types of motions that can be used when someone files a claim against you, how to go about filing your answer to a complaint, and what kinds of discovery methods are available. You might also study the criminal rules of procedure for your state ( possibly called criminal rules of court ) and the rules of evidence as well. Once you have more time, consider reading up on the rules of appeal in case you ever find yourself in a position where you need to appeal a ruling.

One important thing to keep in mind is that most states have a variety of courts, and each of them will likely have slightly different rules of procedure. Here in Washington, we have municipal courts, district courts, superior courts, the court of appeals, and the supreme court. In addition to slight rules variations, different courts have different jurisdictions, meaning that they have different things that can or cannot be tried in them. Most states also have a small claims court as well as a few different agency courts.

In addition to studying the rules of court, you can also get a basic grasp of law quickly via online programs. There are a few decent ones out there and a quick search for phrases such as "self help law" and "law self education" should turn some of them up rather quickly. One of the best that I have come across so far is called Jurisdictionary. You might also consider searching for topics such as "claim and elements", "pre-trial motions", "answer to complaint", and "pre-trial discovery" with your favorite search engine to get a variety of information on each area.

The more law you know, the more money you can end up saving

With a little more study, you can even go so far as to handle many cases on your own, hiring a lawyer only to handle those things that you are not yet comfortable with or simply do not have the time to take care of. If you come across something that you are not sure of, or wish to get some legal advice along the way, you can always use your knowledge of law to seek out competent council as needed.

If you are someone who prefers to be well prepared when the time to defend yourself comes, you might consider becoming able to defend yourself at law, or at least being able to know when someone you hire to defend you is doing a reasonable job of it. If you do not see how the study of law is a form of self defense, consider the fact that while a mugger might be able to take your wallet, someone versed in law may be able to take your house or garnish your wages.