The Reason You're Reluctant to Request the Legal Help You Need

Most people require legal help about once a year. Unfortunately, many people do not ask for legal advice when these situations occur.

In 2001-2002 the American Bar Association commissioned a survey of the public perceptions of lawyers to be performed by Leo J. Shapior & Associates. This survey resulted in some interesting findings that can help us grasp the reasons for the reluctance of the typical person to get legal help.

The study discovered that many Americans think lawyers are competent in navigating through the complex legal system and most of those who had experience with lawyers were satisfied with the assistance they received. Nonetheless, lots of Americans also think lawyers can be greedy, even crooked. Americans do not feel at ease with the associations lawyers have with politicians, the courts, and big business. They also think that the legal profession is not self policing.

Most Americans feel reluctant to deal with lawyers because they fell they cannot tell a good lawyer from a bad one. And, many people are unclear about precisely what a lawyer can accomplish for them or the price of that service.

Because of these views and suspicions lots of people who would benefit from a lawyer do not make contact with one. The Shapior research discovered that about 70% of households in any given year encounter a problem for which communication with a lawyer would be helpful. But, most people indicated they still would not use a lawyer.

Compare this to visiting your family general practitioner. If you have health insurance, when you or your children become ill you do not hesitate to see your medical doctor. If you have a few children, you may visit your physician's office 5 or 10 times in a single year. You are comfortable with your doctor, the office, and perhaps even members of the nursing staff. You've seen your doctor work with your children and recognize the concern that he or she has for you and your family's health.

Compare your visits to your doctor with seeing a lawyer. You likely never visited a lawyer's office. Maybe you've looked through the Yellow Pages and still don't have the slightest idea which lawyer will be best for you. Plus, to top it off, you don't have legal insurance that will cover most of the cost of your laywer's fees. No wonder you are hesitant to talk with a lawyer.

It seems obvious that the common citizen is not familiar with individual lawyers. Watching Boston Legal, Law and Order or reruns of LA Law or Perry Mason is not going to encourage the average person to visit a lawyer even if they could benefit from their help. Likely the best tool to encourage more contact with legal professionals is legal insurance. By becoming familiar with a lawyer in minor matters, a person can have more comfort about using a lawyer for more significant situations.

You could already have a legal plan offered as a benefit from your employer. If not, there are a number of providers that offer prepaid legal plans.

Prepaid legal plans normally pay for the costs for you to communicate with your lawyer by phone any time you have a possible legal situation arise. In addition, you can normally visit your lawyer to have a will drafted, or updates to your will on an annual basis. You may in addition have your lawyer review legal forms you need to sign to verify that everything is in your best interests.

If you do need extensive legal support, your plan may provide for a number of hours of your lawyer's time for pre-trial and trial activities. Beyond the time provided by your plan, you will normally receive further assistance at a discount.

During any year you do not need legal help you can judge yourself fortunate. One day, similar to fire insurance on your residence, your prepaid legal plan might come in real handy,

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