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When Do You Really Need a Lawyer?

Posted by Cliff on from the IANALs-need-not-apply dept.

Dr_Harm asks: "I recently had the misfortune to encounter a CEO who had just received the Klez virus. Apparently, he believed the 'From:' header and accused me of not only authoring the virus, but deliberately and maliciously targeting him and his organization. Normally, clueless people like this don't bother me, except he was inclined to sue me and report me to the FBI. Of course, he's got more money and lawyers than I do, and could probably have made me miserable even though I'm completely innocent... but it raises the question: How do I know when I need a lawyer?"

"Clearly, once I've been served with legal papers, a lawyer is necessary. But I'm guessing that there are situations where having a lawyer before it gets to that point would be helpful. I'm interested in some general guidelines for when I should pick up the phone and call a lawyer. I'm especially interested in tales of 'I waited to long and got burned' as well as 'I got a lawyer so early it was smooth sailing'. Like most people, I make a decent living, but I cannot afford high legal bills for very long.

For those who are interested, the CEO in question decided to simply report the incident to the FBI. My guess is that the Feds logged the complaint for their statistics and then dropped the matter. However, the brush with someone with enough money and power to drain me financially has left me distinctly shaken..."

3 of 512 comments (clear)

  1. The answer is obvious. by gTsiros · · Score: 1, Troll

    Always.
    And you know it is true.

    --
    Looking for people to chat about multicopters, coding, music. skype: gtsiros
  2. Re:If you have to ask... by catbutt · · Score: 0, Troll

    Did you even think about that? What moronic logic: "If you think maybe, then definitely"

    In other words, if I think I might need a lawyer, then I definitely should get one. Then, the threshold for getting a lawyer has been pushed lower. Now, a situation where in the past, I wouldn't have even asked (say, someone stubbed their toe on my driveway), now it gets into the range of asking. So since I think I have to ask, I should definitely get a lawyer. Eventually, by your logic, a lawyer should be called in in every single situation.

  3. Re:A good offense... by Blue+Stone · · Score: 0, Troll

    It's simple, say this:

    "Daer Sir, the Klez virus forges e-mail headders. Look it up.

    Now fuck off."

    In my opinion, nothing more should be needed.

    That's what I would do.

    --
    Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce