Archive for March, 2010

1000Attorneys.com | Los Angeles Lawyer & Attorney Marketing 661-310-7999

Opertations:

1000Attorneys.com Lawyer Referral operates as a telephone service and online service. Potential clients call the intake number, where they are screened by an intake specialist. If a referral seems reasonable based on information given by the caller, the potential client is given the name and number of an attorney. We work on an underlying rotation system, by relevant panel in the geographic area requested by the client. Sometimes special circumstances require referral out of the rotation. LRS does not refer on the basis of ethnicity, gender or other characteristic unrelated to the legal area. We do, however, refer for non-English language ability if needed and we can.

The intake staff members are not in a position to give legal advice or to decide the merits of a claim. They do, however, try to refer matters that seem to have minimal damages or that do not hang together to the Neighborhood Legal Clinics for an initial consultation, or to Small Claims Court if the claimed damages fit that jurisdiction. They also try not to refer matters where the caller cannot articulate a legal matter.

Benefits:

There are many benefits from joining a California Bar Approved lawyer referral service. Most importantly, you can have an immediate impact on your pipeline while avoiding any violations of the California State Bar code of conduct as it relates to attorney advertisign and marketing. Other benefits are:

Unique Call Rotation System: All calls are rotated evenly and effectively among each panel member.

Superior In-house Call Processing Center: Our trained legal analysts gather all necessary contact information and immediately forward the information to your office if it is determined that legal counsel is needed. Callers are either patched directly to your office or are given your contact information. You will also get an email or fax confirmation of every referral forwarded to your office.

Marketing Consulting Services: Free offline/online marketing and corporate identity support for all our members.

Dedicated Customer Satisfaction: You will be assigned a LRIS Coordinator specializing in your area of practice, who will contact you periodically to ensure quality of service.

Cost Efficiency: The service monitors all details of performance to ensure maximum results. Benefit from a large advertising budget for an entire market for only the cost of a single area in which you practice.

State Bar Compliance: Our lawyer referral program complies with rules and regulations set forth by the Bar and the Supreme Court to provide unbiased lawyer referrals.

Target Audience: Our Powerful Internet advertising positions our website at the top of all the major search engines and online directories; this generates immediate call generation to our call center. We partner with our panel members to strengthen and grow their practice through direct response Internet advertising.

Marketing For Law Firms Via Attorney-Client Matching Services – Part I

What are these new attorney-client matching services? Who are the players? What do they cost? What is the risk to me? What is the return for me? What is the buzz on them? Are they ethical as marketing for law firms? Will they save me money and are they for me? Will they get me clients I would not have otherwise?
In part one of this article we will look in depth at a relatively new wrinkle in marketing for law firms known as “attorney-client matching services”. Part one focuses on the facts about these firms. Part two gives you my conclusions and recommendations as a result of my research. First a little background is in order. The legal services market segment is expected to reach $82.5 billion in 2008 according to Euromonitor International a market intelligence firm. In recent history consumers have been finding attorneys through word-of mouth or through the yellow pages. Often the word-of mouth advice does not deliver people to the best possible solution for their particular needs and the yellow pages is certainly not a great place to select a lawyer I am sure you would agree. Additionally, according to the Pew Internet & American Life over four million consumers and small businesses currently search for legal services via the Internet every month with these numbers expected to rise to over seven million by 2007. I think you can see this is a huge market getting larger. It is imperative that attorneys understand this marketplace if for no other reason your potential clients and clients are moving to the Internet and yellow page advertising is a dying marketing for law firms vehicle. Understanding attorney-client matching services is one new way to tap into this Internet marketplace.
What I will not be talking about here is attorney-listing services. Please don’t get confused between attorney-listing services and attorney-client matching services. The two majors in the attorney-listing services arena are Lawyers dot com or FindLaw dot com that are used by many in marketing for law firms. With attorney marketing one might want to get a minimal listing on one or both of these two major sites. Both do drive a large amount of traffic to their sites for sure (in the millions of visitors per year). If you do get a listing then track your results carefully and see if being in the middle of a pack of listed attorneys actually does produce clients for you. Please don’t spend more on them than the basic listing that will run about $150 or so per month, at least until you can document results with the basic listing. Also, don’t buy your website through either of them, even if after testing you find good results, for many reasons that can be found under the Internet marketing tab on my website. One last note here, you probably don’t want to test most of the lesser attorney-listing competitors like LawInfo dot com, LawCore dot com or AttorneyFind dot com is my take, however if you do be sure to track your results. The rest of this article is about attorney-client matching services.
Attorney Marketing Via Five Attorney-Client Matching Players
In the attorney-client matching field there are five competitors for the attorney marketing dollar offering online attorney-client matching services. The first and originator is LegalMatch dot com and its newer competitor being CasePost dot com as well as a third competitor LegalFish dot com. The two big players that offer almost everything in attorney marketing, Lawyers dot com and FindLaw dot com; have also recently begun to offer a version of attorney-client matching services. Lets begin with LegalMatch that was established in 1999 and is based in San Francisco. LegalMatch uses a double blind matching system. By double blind they mean the consumer does not see identifying information about who the lawyers are and the lawyer does not see identifying information about who the consumers are although all the cards are put on the table for both to see before any contact is made between them. Through an allocation model LegalMatch makes the decision about which lawyers get the consumer’s information. Consumers can opt into “priority service” for a fee to talk with a LegalMatch staff attorney about their case and work with that attorney in selecting the attorney for their case. LegalMatch does have partnerships with the Utah State Bar Association, ATLA and NACDL. Membership fees for this marketing for law firms vehicle run from $2,500 to $25,000 per year (they will finance the membership fee if desired) depending on practice area and geographic location of the attorney. For example, a PI attorney in Los Angeles would likely be charged more than a family law attorney in Los Angeles, while the family lawyer in Peoria is likely to pay less than the family law attorney in Los Angeles. Their guarantee consists of extending your membership at no fee until your revenues have exceeded the fee you paid them. The details of the guarantee are available on their website.
Are There Legal Marketing Ethics Issues with Attorney-Client Matching?
A relevant digression here, since this model is not a lawyer referral program, a pre-paid legal service plan, a joint or cooperative advertising or a directory listing service it is not subject to ethics rules around much of marketing for law firms it has been asserted. Recently the Professional Ethics Committee of the Texas State Bar was looking into these practices and that committee received a seven-page letter (May 26, 2006) from the FTC that was agreed to by a unanimous vote of the FTC commission members that this attorney marketing practice is indeed ethical.
Already the states of North Carolina and South Carolina found the practice ethical. The Rhode Island Supreme Court specifically named in an ethics opinion that online matching services are ethical. Finally, the Utah State Bar (a mandatory bar) has retained LegalMatch as their lawyer referral service clearly indicating their thinking about LegalMatch’s ethical nature it seems to me. Naturally you do need to check with your state bar to be sure this is an ethical practice in your state. Now back to the options in the marketplace.
CasePost, based in Southern California, was established in 2002 is a second player in this area of marketing for law firms. They operate in a similar fashion as LegalMatch in matching clients with lawyers; however, the directory of attorneys is shown to the consumer immediately. The consumer can decide whether they want to remain anonymous or give their contact information to the attorneys. The consumer is limited to four attorney responses. Thus the consumer determines what attorneys will get their information. In May of 2006 CasePost has made a major expansion as a result of their partnership with HandelOnTheLaw dot com that is powered by a successful nationally syndicated radio show on over 120 stations with attorney Bill Handel. This show has been running since 1985. They also have a strategic relationship with LegalZoom dot com that began in 2006 that has increased their reach. Like LegalMatch the membership fees for this attorney marketing vehicle are from $2,500 to $25,000 per year (financing is available if desired) depending on practice area and location. Their guarantee to a member is based on a minimum amount of referrals over the year.
LegalFish is a third player in this arena. It entered the marketplace in 2003 and is based in Chicago. It is a bit different than the other two in a few ways. Like the other players the consumer can input their information and post their cases to the site as well give their identifying information or not. In a number of cases LegalFish will contact the posting consumer themselves by telephone or email to delve deeper into the needs of the consumer so they are not totally automated. There is an allocation model used by LegalFish in referring the cases to their members. Another difference is LegalFish charges a monthly fee for this marketing for law firms vehicle ranging from $180 to $750 to members that are non-contingency based practices. For contingency based practices the fee ranges from $1600 to $5000+ monthly only if the client retains the attorney. If LegalFish does not deliver a referral to a member that retains that attorney they don’t charge a fee to that attorney for the month (a form of a guarantee). Creating something of a “shared risk” system. Naturally, with this type of shared risk system, long-term success for both parties is based on LegalFish’s ability to generate new client opportunities and create demand for legal services, and their member attorneys’ ability to convert those referrals to paying clients. Both parties have to “pull their weight”. Finally, LegalFish reports they are particularly committed to serving the solo and small firm market with ten employees or less.
The next player in this marketing for law firms arena is Lawyers dot com (mentioned earlier in this article about their directory listing or attorney-listing service) with their new Attorney Match Service. If you go to their homepage what stands out on that homepage is their “Find A Lawyer Quick Search”. This is their free to the consumer attorney-listing service (this is why you might want to test a listing with them and track results). To get to the Attorney Match Service you have to know to click on “Contact Lawyers” navigation tab or notice it up there at the very top of the home page. Clicking on that takes you to a page where you input your zip code and the practice area you are seeking, however, it also tells you how many lawyers there are listed that “are interested in receiving your request”. You are required to fill in the identifying information with other case information. Once you do that you see the attorneys listed and pick the ones you want to send your request to and wait for their replies. The fee for the attorney member is $495 per year, however, you must have a biographical level listing on the site to be on the Attorney Match Service and that is $150 and up per month depending on the size of your firm. There is no guarantee for this service.
The final player in this marketing for law firms arena is Thompson’s Findlaw (mentioned earlier as an attorney-listing service) with their new attorney-matching website http://www.LegalConnection.com. The FindLaw system is similar to the Lawyers dot com system with three steps of #1 Select your legal need; #2 Tell us about your case; and #3 Choose the attorney that’s right for you. It is different from Lawyers dot com’s system since they have broken it out of their attorney-listing services completely with its own dedicated website. Their fees generally run from $500 to $1000 per month depending on your practice area and geographic location. They do not have a guarantee. They do report that they do set targets for each geographic area as well as practice combination and then will manage their marketing to get positive results for attorneys.
Well, now we have all the players in this particular niche of marketing for law firms with a lot of information. I think it would be imperative for me to mention one more item. Both Legal Match and CasePost have negative information on the Internet and it needs to be considered. If you go to Google and search just the term LegalMatch and then do the same with CasePost you will be able to find details about the negative information. One location that covers the negative information on LegalMatch with relevant links is at Wikipedia dot org (go to the site and look up LegalMatch) although that is disputed as not being sufficiently neutral in tone, which is one of Wikipedia’s requirements. If you want to see a string of negative information on CasePost go to: http://counsel.net/chatboards/marketing/topic111/6.23.04.11.34.29.html . I am not sure one needs to be overly concerned about this information since it is mostly in the past and you need to consider it.
See Part II of this article for my conclusions and recommendations as a result of my research. I can tell you now that this approach does have some merit but there are definite cautions as well so do read Part II.

Virginia Criminal Law – Why Aggressive Defense Is The Key To Success

Think of your record as you do your credit report. It is direct reflection of who you are, what you have done, and what type of person you are. While some may believe this written reflection of your life is difficult to control, selecting the proper Criminal Defense in a trying time can be the safety net you need to protect your record, your life, and your future.

 

If you or a loved one has been charged with a Virginia criminal defense, it is imperative that you hire an experienced, aggressive and proven attorney with the reputation and representation you need to fight for your record and your freedom.

 

Of all of the options available to you for searching for the right Virginia Criminal Attorney to include online searches, classified listings, word of mouth, and even simply visiting your local attorney’s office, ensure you take the time to investigate your attorney. Remember, your attorney works for you – not the other way around. Hire a lawyer with experience on both sides of the bench… with both defense and prosecution experience. This way, you can be sure your representation understands both sides of the argument, and know what to expect when you arrive in court.

 

Do your research, search for the right attorney, and after you’ve interviewed many Virginia Criminal Attorneys, make your last call to Virginia Criminal Attorney Michael A. Robinson of Robinson Law, PLLC and hire the aggressive defense with proven results you need to fight for your record, and your life.

Car Accidents in Los Angeles: Tips from a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer

If I have an auto accident, do I have to stop? Yes. California law says you must stop—whether the accident involves a pedestrian, a moving car, a parked car or someone’s property. If you drive away, you can be charged with hit and run even if the accident was not your fault. You must also exchange information with the other driver—your name and driver’s license number, the vehicle identification number of the car you are driving, the name and address of the car’s owner, the name and address of your insurance company and your insurance policy number (or other evidence of financial responsibility, such as a bond posted with the Department of Motor Vehicles). Hit-and-run penalties are severe. Depending on the damage or injuries, you may be fined, sent to jail or both. You also could lose your driver’s license. If you hit a parked car or other property, try to find the owner or driver. If you cannot, the law says you may drive away only after you leave behind, in a conspicuous place, your name, address and an explanation of the accident, and the name and address of your car’s owner (if other than yourself). You also must notify the local police or California Highway Patrol (CHP) either by telephone or in person as soon as possible. You must call the police or the CHP if the accident caused a death or injury. An officer who comes to the scene of the accident will conduct an investigation. If an officer doesn’t show up, you must make a written report on a form available at the police department or CHP office as soon as possible.What should I do if someone is injured? The law requires you to give reasonable assistance to anyone who is injured. For example, you may need to call an ambulance, take the injured person to a doctor or hospital, or give first aid—if you know how. If you are not trained in the appropriate first aid procedures, do not move someone who is badly hurt; you might make the injury worse. However, you should move someone who is in danger of being hurt worse or killed (for example, in a car fire) even if you do make the injury worse. To help prevent additional collisions, try to warn other motorists that an accident has occurred. Placing flares on the road (only if there are no flammable fluids or items nearby), turning on your car’s hazard lights and lifting the engine hood are usually good ways to warn others on the road. Arrange to get help for anyone who is injured, and try not to panic. How can I get help? As soon as you can get to a telephone, call 911. Explain the situation and give the exact location of the accident, so that help can arrive quickly. Be sure to mention whether you need an ambulance or a fire engine. Remain on the telephone until the operator tells you it is okay to hang up. Or, flag down a passing car and ask the driver to go for help. The driver may have a cellular phone in the car and can make an emergency call on the spot. What information should I gather at the accident scene? Since many records now are confidential under the law, you may not be able to obtain the information that you want from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). So be sure to get as much correct and complete information as you can at the scene of the accident. You and the other driver should show each other your driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations. Then you should write down:

If there are skid marks on the road, pace them off. Draw them on the diagram, noting the distance they cover. Mark the positions of any crosswalks, stop signs, traffic lights or streetlights. If you have a camera with you, take pictures of the scene, and of the other drivers and occupants. However, do not place yourself in a position of danger in order to complete an accident diagram. Be aware of traffic conditions and skip any measurements that could place you in a position of harm. Make notes, too, on weather and road conditions. If the accident happened after dark, note whether the streetlights were on. Estimate your speed and that of the other vehicle. Be sure to record the exact time, date and place the accident happened. If I think the accident was my fault, should I say so? Do not volunteer any information about who was to blame for the accident. You may think you are in the wrong and then learn that the other driver is as much or more to blame than you are. You should first talk to your insurance agent, your lawyer or both. Anything you say to the police or the other driver can be used against you later. Do not agree to pay for damages or sign any paper except a traffic ticket (see #6) until you check with your insurance company or lawyer. However, be sure to cooperate with the police officer investigating the case. But, stick to the facts. For instance, if you were driving 30 miles an hour, say so. Do not say, “I wasn’t speeding.”

Feldman Law Center ? Loan Modifications Ramped Up by Government

The world of loan modifications is ever changing, and proof positive is the federal government’s ever-expanding role in influencing banks to offer loan modifications.  It was recently reported that the government is frustrated with the progress of their federal loan modification program, and are trying to influence major banks to increase the number of loan modifications for homeowners.  Of course, increasing the number of loan modifications means relaxing the standards which they are currently using to allow for mortgage loan modifications.Banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo were all summoned to a meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss ways to improve the federal loan modification program, which was announced in February 2009.  The Obama Administration put a great deal of effort and hope into the program, but it has not yet produced the kinds of results people thought it would.  The administration’s goal is to complete 500,000 trial loan modifications, although some analysts fear this is far too optimistic.  The government has discussed ways to expand the program, including ways to simultaneously modify mortgages and home equity loans.  When President Obama took office earlier this year, the number of foreclosures was sky rocketing due in large part to the subprime mortgage crisis and the adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) which were offered so rampantly.  As a result, millions of Americans were losing their homes and the government felt it needed to intervene.While the level of government involvement is new, loan modifications, are nothing new.  California loan modification attorneys have been helping people stay in their homes for years, by helping them get home loan modifications without government interference.  Millions of people throughout California have used California loan modification attorneys for their California home loan modifications because attorneys carry a special place in our current culture.  When a loan modification attorney calls a bank or lender, they get a much quicker response because they have the law on their side.  When people try to handle loan modifications on their own, they usually do not know what they are doing exactly and can make many mistakes as a result.The recent government programs have helped a few people, but since the banks all have huge bureaucracies and the federal government is one giant bureaucracy, people often get lost in process.  Trying to call the federal loan modification program hotline can cause major headaches, and trying to get one huge bureaucracy to call another huge bureaucracy can take months and months.  While it is encouraging that the federal government is trying to help the average homeowner, a loan modification attorney can get better results in less time.A loan modification can help adjust a number of mortgage terms to lower your monthly mortgage payment, thus allowing you an affordable payment you can pay consistently.  California loan modification attorneys, such as those at the Feldman Law Center, have years of experience in helping people avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.  Our loan modification attorney team is highly skilled in helping California homeowners in avoiding foreclosure, avoiding bankruptcy, avoiding a short sale and avoiding the “just walk away” option.

The Right Choice: How to Choose the Right Attorney for your Accident Case

Confused by scores of yellowpage ads for attorneys? Turned off by lawyer TV ads? Don’t know how to find the right attorney for your accident case? Here are some guidelines, which if followed, should make your search easier and also relieve some anxiety.

*Choose an attorney who specializes in personal injury. There are many attorneys who represent personal injury clients in addition to other practice areas, such as divorce, criminal defense or real estate. Choose an attorney whose practice is devoted to personal injury law. The field of personal injury is too complicated for a “generalist” or “part-time” lawyer to master. If you needed surgery on your shoulder, would you rather see a “general” surgeon who performs surgery on many different areas of the body, or a surgeon who only does “shoulder surgery?” Most people would choose the specialist. Don’t take chances with your personal injury claim by hiring a “generalist.”

*Choose an attorney who demonstrates expertise in the field of personal injury law. There are too many different types of the law for any one attorney to claim specialty in multiple areas. No one can do everything well. Most people want to see a specialist. The same is true for lawyers. The field of personal injury law is complex with subtle nuances that could mean the difference between recovering a few hundred dollars versus several thousands of dollars. The attorney you choose should limit his or her practice exclusively to personal injury law. Does the attorney write about personal injury? Has the lawyer lectured or taught other lawyers about personal injury law? If yes, these are good signs that the lawyer is a personal injury specialist.

*Choose an attorney who understands the medicine involved in your case. This is a no-brainer, right? But you would be very surprised at how many attorneys who claim specialty in personal injury have little understanding of the medicine and treatment involved with the client’s injury. For example, take a case involving neck and back injuries. These types of injuries can be difficult to prove in court because spine medicine is extremely complex and the diagnostic imaging may show very little or nothing at all. Yet, this area of medicine has also undergone enormous strides and advances just in the last ten years. There are now new diagnoses in the area of spine medicine that literally did not exist a few years ago, not to mention new treatments and minimally invasive procedures that have been created due to advancements in technology. If you have a neck or back injury claim, you obviously want an attorney who understands spine medicine so proper treatment and diagnoses can easily be pursued or presented to the insurance company in negotiations, or made part of a persuasive presentation to a jury on your behalf. You would be surprised at how few personal injury attorneys really understand this area of medicine yet neck and back injury claims make up the bulk of accident cases that exist in Washington.

*Choose an attorney who actually goes to trial. I know, I know. If you’re like most people who have a claim for injuries, you’d rather not have to go to trial. So why pick an attorney who actually does regularly try injury cases? To understand why this is such an extremely important factor when choosing an attorney you have to understand the business of insurance and why claims are settled. Essentially, the insurance company is in the business of “risk.” That is, it accepts your money with the promise that it will pay you money if you encounter certain risks of harm or damage. The risks are usually low, which is why the insurance company can earn enormous profits. When it comes to paying a claim, the company only pays a “settlement” if there is a “risk” that the company may have to pay more if the person files a lawsuit and goes to trial. Attorneys who regularly win at trial increase the insurance company’s “risk” that it might have to pay much more money if the jury awards more than the last settlement offer. Insurance companies regularly keep lists of the personal injury attorneys who do go to trial. These are the attorneys who can command premium settlement offers compared to attorneys who do not go to trial. Simply put, the insurance company will pay more money to settle a case if there’s a greater chance that the attorney will try the case in court. That is why having an attorney who has a reputation of going to trial can actually increase your chances of avoiding trial.

*Choose an attorney who wins at trial. This goes without saying. An attorney who gets results at trial is the insurance company’s worst nightmare. The insurance company will pay much more money to settle a case if the injured person’s attorney has a winning record than if the attorney does not. Choose an attorney that wins.

*Beware of attorneys who actively solicit you. You should be cautious of attorneys who contact you in writing just after you or a loved one has been injured, maimed or killed in an accident. Most state bar associations have rules against attorney solicitation, or at least have very stringent limitations on this sort of activity. I have no respect for attorneys who feel the need to cross the line by actively soliciting clients right after the accident. If an attorney engages in this sort of unethical behavior it may give some indication how that attorney might perform in your case.

*Be cautious of attorneys who advertise on T.V. or take out big flashy ads in yellow pages or other publications. Did you know that many of the T.V. and yellow page ads for lawyers are paid for by attorneys who have never actually tried a personal injury case in court? In fact, some of these advertisements are created by law firms that have a “policy” of always settling their cases without ever filing a lawsuit! If you were an insurance adjustor who knew that a particular attorney or law firm always settled short of trial, would you ever increase your offer for fear that a jury might award more?

*Understand bar association referral lists. Many local bar associations operate a “referral list” where consumers can get the name of an attorney. Just understand that the lawyer has signed up and paid a fee to be included on the referral list. Some but not all of these referral lists don’t bother to check or verify the attorney’s experience with the type of case that is being referred.

*The likeable lawyer is not enough. There are many people who choose to hire an attorney based solely on whether the attorney is likeable. I know of some very personable and likeable lawyers who claim to do personal injury law, but whom I would never recommend based on their limited experience and expertise. Would you let a likeable surgeon operate on your body if you knew the doctor rarely made it to the operating room? It is important that you like your attorney, or at least respect him or her, but it should not provide the only basis for your hiring decision.

*Choose an attorney who you feel comfortable with. You should feel comfortable with the lawyer and his or her ability to communicate with you. Does the attorney seem credible and trustworthy? Does the attorney explain everything to your satisfaction, or does he explain why an answer to a particular question can’t be given at that time? You should feel comfortable with the lawyer. You should also understand how the two of you will be working together on your case.

Feldman Law Center – What Do Banks and Lenders Think of Loan Modifications?

Feldman Law Center – News by Feldman Law CenterThe whole reason a loan modification becomes necessary is because the borrower needs the loan to be more manageable, so that he or she can continue to pay for it. The purpose of a loan modification is for the borrower, or someone on the borrower’s behalf, to negotiate a more feasible mortgage with the lender. At first glance, this deal seems like a good one for the borrower. And oftentimes it is. But what about the lender?

Because of the current financial crisis, many people are seeing loan modifications as a good deal. The negotiations are usually initiated by the borrowers, and allow them to keep their property, postpone payments, reduce or stabilize interest rates, and sometimes even get a better deal on the house they already live in. Their credit scores are not harmed like they would be by a foreclosure or bankruptcy. Most of all, they do not have to move from their houses, forcing upheaval on their families, during a time of financial hardship and stress.

Society seems to take the side of families and the personal stories broadcast on the nightly news shows. Stories about 50-year old, recently-laid off, single moms who can’t afford their mortgages tend to pull on people’s heartstrings, winning the allegiance of many members of the public. And since so many people are being affected by the mortgage crisis, public outcry seems to be against banks and lenders, who are being blamed for offering such ludicrous loans in the first place.

The government, and specifically groups such as the FDIC, are also increasingly supportive of loan modification programs. The FDIC has even built a “Mod in a Box” loan modification program guide, in order to encourage more and more lenders to offer loan modifications. Obama has plans that involve modifying home loans to keep families in their homes, and countless nonprofits and support groups seem to be cropping up to help people with distressed finances.

So, borrowers, the government, and society at large are supporting the numerous loan modification programs available. One still has to wonder what banks think about home loan modifications.

Although much less loudly proclaimed, many lenders are in support of home loan modifications too. Lenders’ motivations for modifying a loan can vary. If a home is sold in a short sale, the bank agrees to write off the amount the borrower still owes, sells the property, and takes a loss. Foreclosures are much the same. When a bank forecloses on a home, they often make less profit on the property than they would have made through a mortgage, even a mortgage modified through a loan modification. Simply put, banks have a business motivation to modify your loan: they stand to make more profit if you stay in your house. Not to mention the fact that loan modifications make them look better in the eyes of the community and the government, and could potentially help the world’s economy in the long run.

If you need a home loan modification, contact the attorneys of the Feldman Law Center. Consultations are free, and they can help you benefit from staying in your home.

 

Los Angeles Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Referral 661-310-7999

Chiropractors are notorious for “keeping their patients coming back.” Many advise everyone to have their spine checked for “subluxations” and “adjusted” throughout life. Many chiropractors advise people whose symptoms have stopped to keep coming back for “preventative maintenance. Some chiropractors are networked with attorneys (and even medical doctors) to provide unnecessary tests and treatment to injured works and auto accident victims. Partly as a result, in many states, workers’ compensation programs has become so expensive that employers have asked their state legislature to limit the amount of chiropractic coverage.

In 1992, Florida Trend magazine published a cover story on “why chiropractors get blamed for fueling the cost of workers’ compensation.” The author concluded that, “Workers’ compensation is fraught with abuse, but no other players in the system rile business more than the chiropractors.” A spokesman for the American Insurance Association even said that, “Sometimes I think of workers’ comp as the chiropractic full-employment act.” Some health-insurance companies called for limits on chiropractic treatment, and some wanted chiropractors out of the WC system altogether. The main complaints were about exaggerated diagnoses, overtreatment, and aggressive marketing aimed at patient retention from cradle to grave. The author also noted:

Less scrupulous attorneys turn to chiropractors, hoping they will give injured workers the highest impairment rating and extend treatment for as long as possible. The chiropractors who play the game are then rewarded with a steady stream of clients provided by their unspoken lawyer/partners.

The payback for a lawyer comes in the medical expenses: The larger the expenses, the more the lawyer can expect, with legal fees paid by the insurer. . . . If a carrier disputes a claim . . . the lawyer can rack up hefty costs for time-consuming depositions and pre-trial appearances. Meanwhile, the chiropractor continues to provide treatment [1].

Two studies have focused attention on the problem in California. The first one, published by the Workers Compensation Research Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts, analyzed 28,539 workers’ compensation cases involving back strains and sprains in California and four other states and concluded:

Finding Local Injury Attorney, Insist on Independent, Unbiased Local Attorney Directory

Before selecting a local personal injury attorney directory website you must be assured that the local personal injury attorney directory is unbiased and fiercely independent. Which means that when selecting a personal injury attorney at law, personal injury lawyer your selection from the local injury attorney directory is not influenced or based on financial kickbacks – payments received by the website to refer local injury attorneys to potential clients?  Unfortunately, this biased local injury attorney practice is extremely common on the internet and definitely not needs led based and beneficial to the potential local injury lawyer client.

The three category areas of discussion in this article and is a simplified analysis of the three main category types of local personal injury attorney, local personal injury lawyer directories on the internet – there are more than three types of personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer directories available, though we will concentrate on the three main types of the local personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer directories. The three main categories of personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer directories are local injury attorney referral website, nation wide injury lawyer directory out of state referral system practiced, definitely not an independent directory and not an independent local injury attorney directory which is purely used as a referral system and paid for by local personal injury attorneys and personal injury lawyers’ local law firms, thus paying the local personal injury attorney, lawyer directory website handsomely for potential client leads and intensive local referrals – both types of personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyers’ directories exploit the potential client by depriving the potential client of freedom of choice and thus driven being driven by financial gain.

The third and final category type of local personal injury attorney, lawyer directory – complete attorney index, and entirely independent of outside interference, should be similar in structure to your local yellow pages directory whereby a potential client searching for an independent personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer will be directed by individual choice options to firstly their State of residence, their local area – city, town or rural area, and finally an independent and complete attorney index of the personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyers’ contact details, personal injury attorneys – firms name, address of law firms office, and contact telephone number and fax. At this stage the independent complete attorney index directory is concluded and will not assist in the potential clients’ choice, neither directly or indirectly. The potential client will be expected to contact their independent personal injury attorney, local injury lawyer by their own means how and when they so desire, or just jot down the local personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyers’ contact details for future contact, the contact details available on the complete attorney index comprises of all local personal injury attorneys personal injury lawyers contact details as available at the time of searching.

Unfortunately, the third option is not a financially viable business option as the daily running costs of an independent choice personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer directory – especially one which benefits from regular updated local personal injury database, can be quite a financial burden when providing an independent and unbiased directory which allow the potential personal injury client a needs led and recommendations free local personal injury attorney directory. On the independent complete attorney index website the only access to beneficial financing is the unobtrusive display of click on advertisements which will not necessarily divert the potential client from an independent personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer search, as the click on advertisements will not display keyword related  – injury attorney, injury lawyer adverts, again the keyword related adverts – google adsense, would destroy the independence while selecting an impartial and unbiased local personal injury attorney, local injury lawyer.

You are the person best suited to understand the legal services you need and you must insist that you have an independent right of free choice which must be based on freedom to choose and freedom to select the most appropriate and relevant local personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer based on your needs, not based on the most lucrative profits from referral law firms to biased legal directory directories.

Complete Attorney Index is a free independent and regularly updated, US directory of thousands of highly experienced local personal injury attorneys and local personal injury lawyers who regularly consult people like you with personal injury issues, often free of charge. Free Nation Wide Search…Excellent resource, completely free, unbiased and intensely independent search directory. Without doubt the most freely available local personal injury attorney, local personal injury lawyer directory on the internet today. Complete attorney index US local injury attorney, local lawyer directory is regularly updated with local personal injury attorneys, local personal injury lawyers. I have created and own a wide ranging variety of websites with the absolute priority of providing a free, unbiased, efficient, and effective and needs led freedom of choice service. I honestly believe complete attorney index website have definitely accomplished my lifelong goal in providing an independent and unbiased legal directory. Your Freedom of Choice is your protected right – Complete Attorney Index website if intensely independent and intensely unbiased. You search and contact with no introductions whatsoever – exercise you freedom to choose Search Now! Find local personal injury attorney free. Find local personal injury lawyer free.

Offer you an unbiased local personal injury attorney local personal injury lawyer search directory.

Feldman Law Center ? The Specifics of President Obama?s Plan

President Obama’s historic presidency began in the midst of possibly the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  The housing and real estate markets seemingly jumped off of a cliff, taking with it the financial stability of every other industry.  Obama passed sweeping legislation to help homeowners make payments and deal with the financial crisis while staying in their homes.  This plan in turn helps lenders who need homeowners to continue making their mortgage payments.  A key part of this plan is the loan modification process, which now helps homeowners even more.The federal government is relying heavily on loan modifications with the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 and Making Home Affordable Program.  Under these programs, current borrowers who are at imminent risk of default may qualify for a loan modification as long as the immanency of the default is tied to a specific event.  By specific event, they mean a pending interest rate increase in your mortgage loan or a demonstrable change in economic situation such as your spouse losing his/her job or a severe medical condition.Ultimately, the plan centers around the thought that struggling borrowers can stay in their homes as long as they make their monthly payments (regardless of the sharp decline in value).  The plan has many backers, including billionaire Warrant Buffet.  In a recent letter to shareholders, Buffet wrote “Commentary about the current housing crisis often ignores the crucial fact that more foreclosures do not occur because a house is worth less than its mortgage (so-called ‘upside-down’ loans).  Rather, foreclosures take place because borrowers can’t pay the monthly payment that they agreed to pay.”In the end, regardless of what the cause is for the foreclosures, homeowners are looking for ways to stay in their homes and everyone is hoping that Obama’s plan is the path toward that reality.  For homeowners facing foreclosure, struggling to make payments, and overwhelmed by creditor and lender phone calls, having someone they can trust by their side could make a huge difference.  During these difficult financial times, California loan modification attorneys are doing their best to be more than just an attorney; they are trying to be a confidante.  A California loan modification attorney can sit down with you and discuss your options and if any new options were opened up under the Obama plan.  At the Feldman Law Center, our California loan modification attorney team is up to date with all federal and state laws governing loan modifications.  FDIC loan modifications, California loan modifications and more all fall under our jurisdiction.  We can help you find the program that’s right for you and your financial situation.Millions of California residents are investigating California loan modifications as a possible solution to their financial troubles and as a way to avoid foreclosure.  If you find yourself in this situation, you should contact a loan modification attorney and get as informed as you can about all the state and federal loan modification programs available to you.Visit Feldman Law Center at feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425.

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