Mirror of Justice

Birmingham Personal Injury Law: Car Accident Litigation

July 19th, 2009 at 07:07pm Under Personal Injury Law

A car accident can happen to the best of us.  No matter how safe you drive, the Birmingham roads are dangerous places.  Several major interstates merge in Birmingham, bringing with them thousands of vehicles including large, commercial trucks that could crush even the sturdiest SUV on the highway.

If you are injured in a car accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, you are likely entitled to compensation for your injuries from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.  You will probably find it very challenging to get the right value for your injuries, particularly if you do not have a lawyer.

If your lawyer is able to settle with the insurance company without filing a lawsuit, you will be very happy to have avoided ligitating your injury case. We wish it was that easy all the time. If the insurance company, however, won’t offer you a fair settlement, your lawyer will need to file a lawsuit in order to fight for just compensation.

When your lawyer files a lawsuit, the litigation has begun. A lawyer for the at-fault driver, often paid for by the insurance company, will enter an appearance in the case. The court will issue a cause number for your case and suddenly you have become the plaintiff in a lawsuit.

The process of filing a lawsuit and pursuing your claim against the defendant and his or her lawyer is known as litigation. You have now opted to use the local or state court system, a public entity, to pursue your claim against the at-fault driver. It is important that you understand that this is a major step and not one to be taken lightly. You need an experienced Birmingham lawyer on your side to make sure that the litigation goes smoothly.

How to Pick the Best Family Law Attorney for Your Divorce

July 14th, 2009 at 04:38pm Under Family Law

Deciding which  you should have represent you in your family law case is an extremely important decision and one that can be the difference between getting a fair result or a poor one.  Here are some criteria that will allow you to improve your chances of hiring the best attorney for your case.Experience and State Bar Board CertificationThere is no substitute for experience when it comes to divorce attorneys and you should only consider hiring an attorney who is very experienced in the field of family law.  Frequently people will hire a general practitioner, thinking that divorce cases are routine and uncomplicated and that any lawyer will do.  This kind of thought is a major error.  Ideally, you want a lawyer who is board certified in family law by the State Bar.  This is a certification held by attorneys who have, by experience and knowledge, established that they are worthy of acknowledgment as experts in the area of family law.  In most states this is an highly difficult certification for a lawyer to obtain.Satisfied Previous ClientsThe best way to decide which lawyer is right for you is to hear from that lawyer’s past divorce clients. If you know someone who has been a client of a particular lawyer they can tell you what it was like to be represented by that attorney.  The fact is that some attorneys are simply better at satisfying their clients than others and the only certain way to find this out is to hear from previous clients.  A Plan for Handling Your CaseIt is usually an error in a family law case for a lawyer to apply a “one-size-fits-all” approach.  In other words, some lawyers use the exact same approach on every single case, disregarding the facts or nuances of your particular situation.  This is generally a mistake.  What you want is a lawyer who, at the outset of the case, creates a personalized plan for how your case will be handled.  You wouldn’t use a shotgun if you were trying to kill a mosquito and you wouldn’t use a flyswatter if you were trying to kill a bear.  You would use the best tool for the given situation.  Your case should be handled in this same way.Are You Comfortable with the Attorney?Last but not least, you should be comfortable with and have a good relationship with the attorney.  If for any reason you sense that you cannot communicate effectively with the attorney, then this is not the right lawyer for you and you should keep looking until you encounter the right attorny for your situation.  It is of the utmost importance that you employ an attorney that inspires your confidence and that you are certain will keep your best interest at heart.

California Women’s Rights Attorney Says Employment Discrimination Lawsuits Under the Fair Pay Act of 2009 Will Finally Get Women Equal Pay

July 13th, 2009 at 09:01pm Under Uncategorized

As a result of the first bill signed by President Obama, women finally have a much greater chance of receiving pay that is equal to what men receive for the same work from an employer. However, it is still likely to require the filing of numerous lawsuits before employers come to grips with the fact that they can no longer get away with paying less money to women.

 

On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the first bill signed into law by the President paving the way for these lawsuits to require that equal pay be given to women, by way of seeking back pay awards for the difference they were paid and what men were paid for the same work.

 

If you have been discriminated against in your employment in California by receiving less pay for the same work performed by persons of the other gender, even though the statute of limitations has been extended by this Act, you still need to speak with a women’s rights lawyer or an employment attorney as soon as possible.

 

If you are a woman and you’ve been receiving less pay than men are receiving for the same work from the same employer, visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com and call us at any of the numbers easily found on our website.

 

Prior to the Act becoming law, as a result of a Supreme Court ruling, women were required to file suit within 180 days after first being paid unfairly, even if the discrimination of being paid less than male workers in the same jobs continued.

 

And if a woman failed to discover that male workers were being paid more for the same work, a woman still could not hold her employer accountable if she didn’t learn of the unfairness and take action within 180 days of first being paid the lesser rate.

 

Under the Fair Pay Act of 2009 signed into law by President Obama, the statute of limitations of 180 days starts with each discriminatory paycheck, rather than when the employer starts to discriminate. So long as a woman in CA files her claim within 180 days of receiving any discriminatory paycheck, not just the first one, she is considered timely in bringing her claim.

 

An important aspect of the Act is that the effective date of the Act is retroactively set at May 28, 2007, which will allow it to apply to all compensation discrimination claims that have been filed on or after that date.

 

Women can sue for back pay awards for up to two years before she files her employment discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Fair Pay Act of 2009 does not change the two-year back pay limit.

 

The Fair Pay Act is a major victory for women in California who have long been discriminated against in the pay they receive for the same work that men perform and are paid substantially more in many places. It has been determined that women have been earning only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. This Act will likely go a long way in addressing that unfairness, although it will likely require a good many lawsuits to hammer this home to employers who discriminate against women in their pay guidelines.

 

With the signing of this Act into law, initial victories in CA against an employer will likely lead to settlement of other lawsuits for co-employees who have been discriminated against in the same manner by the same employer.

 

Those who would say that the Act will lead to the employment of less women in such positions by employers fearful of such lawsuits simply don’t understand the anti-discrimination laws in this country and the greater risk employers would be taking if they adopted such a discriminatory stance in their hiring practices.

 

Even with the retroactive effect of the Act, employers in California may be slow to increase the salaries and hourly rates of their women employees until lawsuits begin to fly. Employers who have previously gotten away with discriminating against women in CA may only react in more numbers when they begin to feel the full weight of the law themselves or see large judgements against other employers who have discriminated against women.

 

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com and call us if you have been discriminated in your pay from an employer in California based on your being a woman, compared with the pay received by men for the same work

 

The votes in favor of the bill in the Senate included every Democratic senator except Senator Edward Kennedy who was absent because of his health, and all four Republican women senators. Every Republican male senator except Arlen Spector voted against it. If that won’t come back to haunt the Republicans in the next election, it is hard to imagine what else they will do to alienate themselves more from the women’s vote.

 

Under the Act, an unlawful practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when a person becomes subject to the decision or practice, or when a person is affected by the decision or practice, including each time wages, benefits or other compensation is paid.