Top 10 Reasons Why You Won’t Find A New York Injury Lawyer In The Yellow Pages

May 17, 2008 at 9:48 pm · Filed under Legal Issues

Open any yellow pages book in New York under the heading ‘lawyer’ and you’ll be immediately bombarded with every type of injury and claim you could ever make. Full page ads, double page ads, blazing color, unsightly photos, screaming bold headlines…how does an injured victim choose a lawyer among all this clutter?

Here’s a sampling of statements found in current yellow pages ads in the Greater New York Metropolitan area:

“Tough, aggressive, experienced.”

What does this mean? That you’re a pit bull who knows how to bark and bite?

“Serious trial lawyers for the seriously injured.”

What does this mean? That if you’re not seriously injured you need a trial lawyer who’s not serious?

“Over 70 years combined experience.”

What this means is that each attorney has limited experience, but if you pool everybody’s experience together, we can make is seem like we’ve been around for hundreds of years.

“Special consideration for senior citizens.”

This is an obvious play for cases involving elderly people. Just what special consideration would this firm give to senior citizens that it doesn’t give to all its’ clients?

“Experienced in obtaining large cash awards quickly.”

Does this mean that this firm never takes cases to trial? The only large awards that are resolved quickly are clear cut on liability, causation and damages. Do I want an attorney who is experienced in obtaining large cash awards slowly? What’s the rush? If I rush, isn’t there a good chance that I’ll get less money for my injuries than I deserve?

“You made a mistake once, now choose the right lawyer.”

Guess what type of law this firm practices? Divorce.

“Get the money you deserve!”

OK, sign me up and show me the money. What if I deserve more than you can get for me?

“Call the law firm that never sleeps.”

That’s an interesting way to distinguish oneself. Being up 24 hours a day, bleary eyed, and tired? If you never sleep, how can you adequately represent injured victims?

Photo of lawyer holding briefcase in one hand,
large cardboard check in other, smiling. Client, on crutches, in a leg cast, looking with total glee at the cardboard check, with her hands open wide as if to exclaim “WOW!”
Give me a break. Believe it or not, this violates the disciplinary rules in the State of New York. It’s a no-no.

How about an ad without any name, or address, just an 800 phone number?

No good. Violates the rules. Would you call a ‘no-name’ law firm?

All these ads make you feel rushed to get your cash.
Sort of makes you feel “lucky” you got hurt, doesn’t it?

So, with all of these great lawyer ads, how does a consumer who’s been injured pick the right one? Do you have to call each and every one? That would be extremely time consuming and not very effective.

Do you trust the firm because they show pictures of crashed cars and an ambulance nearby? How about the photo of a worker falling in mid-air from a scaffold? Can you relate to him? Maybe you can relate to the photo of the elderly woman slipping on ice and another photo of her lying on a stretcher in the hospital? Do these illustrations and photos make you all warm and fuzzy about the law firm you’re about to call? I personally don’t think so.

Here’s the top 10 reasons you won’t find a New York Injury Lawyer from an ad in the yellow pages:

1. You can’t tell one ad apart from the other.

2. The lawyer ads all say the same thing.

“Call me,” “Personal attention,” “Large Cash Awards,” “Lots of experience,” “Pick me, ooh, pick me!”

3. Many ads scream at you, without telling you how they can help.

4. Do you call a firm just because they have a larger ad than someone 20 pages into the book?

5. Every ad says that I can talk to a lawyer for free, but what are the fees to handle my case? None of the ads talk about that.

6. Who pays the legal expenses if I don’t win my case? Many ads don’t tell you.

7. How do I know if one attorney is any better than the other? I can’t tell just from an ad.

8. Aren’t these ads just trying to sell me their services? “I don’t want a salesman, I want a lawyer who knows how to guide me through the legal system.”

9. I don’t want to go through 40 pages worth of yellow pages ads- I need help now. Maybe I’ll go online instead.

10. Do you really want to pick a lawyer they way you choose a plumber?

Attorney Oginski has been in practice for 17 years as a trial lawyer practicing exclusively in the State of New York. Having his own law firm, he is able to provide the utmost in personalized, individualized attention to each and every client. In our office, a client is not a file number. Client’s are always treated with the respect they deserve and expect from a professional. Mr. Oginski is always aware of every aspect of a client’s case from start to finish.

Gerry represents injured people in injury cases and medical malpractice matters in Brooklyn, Queens, New York City, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. You can reach him at http://www.oginski-law.com, or 516-487-8207. All inquiries are free and totally confidential.

Comments off

Licensing Your Copyrighted Works

May 1, 2008 at 5:03 pm · Filed under Legal Issues

If you’ve taken the necessary steps to register your copyrighted works, you inevitably will have an opportunity to royalties off of them. To take advantage of the opportunity, you will need to be familiar with copyright license agreements.

Copyright License Agreement

A copyright license agreement sets for the terms under which a third party can use your content. In legal language, you will the “licensor” with the other party being the “licensee.” The purpose of the agreement is to set forth the terms under which you, the licensor, will grant the third party, licensee, the right to use, publish or reuse your copyrighted work in exchange for a royalty. Let’s take a closer look at key components of the licensing agreement.

Specific Rights Granted

This may sound obvious, but the agreement needs to detail exactly what copyrighted material can be used. If you have copyrighted articles, are you granting a right to use all of the articles or only certain ones? It is highly recommended that the agreement contain a detailed description of the exact materials being covered.

Once you agree upon the exact materials, you need to determine any restrictions on how the material can be used. Can the material be used on the Internet or will it be restricted to a certain niche’ such as manuals or collections of materials?

An extremely important issue is whether the agreement grants exclusive or non-exclusive rights. In English, this simply defines whether the licensor can grant similar rights to other parties. The grant of exclusive licenses should require a much larger royalty rate since you are essentially betting the third party will be successful.

Licensing Royalties

In exchange for your copyrighted work, the third party is going to make royalty payments to you. The particular amount of the royalty is dependent upon the nature of your work. Issues to consider include:

1) Will you be paid a flat amount or percentage of sales?

2) If a percentage, will it be figured from gross revenues or something less?

3) How often will you be paid?

4) What rights will you have to audit the books of the third party to determine you are getting the full royalty?

In some situations, you may decide to forgo a royalty payment. This usually occurs when the third party will use the materials in manner that produces massive publicity for you. For example, many professionals seek to right columns for publications as a marketing tool. Often, they will not charge the publication for the material because the resulting publicity carries enough of a benefit.

In Closing

If you are considering licensing copyrighted content, keep the above in mind. Since such agreements are difficult to break, hiring an attorney is worth the expense.

Richard A. Chapo is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - providing legal services to San Diego businesses.

Comments off