This is the next post in my series on situations in which Las Vegas residents may wish to retain an unbundled attorney. My last article discussed the possibility of retaining a lawyer for a single court hearing. In such situations, counsel will represent you at the hearing and until an Order is entered by the Court. Such representation can assist you with presenting your case to the Judge and in making sure that any rulings are followed until the Order is entered. In this article I will discuss another situation in which one may retain representation which is limited in scope – the filing of a Motion. If you or a loved one are in need of assistance then contact my office online or by telephone to schedule an appointment.
As I have discussed previously in this series, an “unbundled” lawyer is counsel who is retained for a specific purpose, as opposed to being retained for the entire case. Once that specific purpose is completed, the representation will cease and the party will be representing themselves. One reason for which an individual may wish to retain unbundled counsel is for the filing of a Motion. A Motion is a written document in which a request (such as asking for a change of child custody) is made to the Court. The document must state what one is requesting, discuss why the law supports the request, and will include evidence in the form of exhibits, supporting the request. If the document is not formatted properly, then the Clerk of the Court may reject it from even being filed. More importantly, it is important to one’s situation that the Motion make a persuasive case to the Court, as the Judge will read the Motion prior to any hearing.
There are several benefits in retaining a lawyer to submit a Motion to the Court on your behalf. These include the fact that counsel will be versed in the law and will understand the applicable legal standards which must be discussed in the document. Second, attorneys are skilled at writing in a persuasive manner; learning to do so is a crucial component of formal legal education. Finally, experienced counsel will likely have a better idea of which arguments the Court may, or may not, be receptive to. This means that your Motion will likely be submitting the best possible outcome to the Court.
Generally speaking, an unbundled lawyer is retained to draft the Motion, submit it, and appear for the initial Court hearing. This means, for example, that if one is requesting a change of custody then an attorney could draft their documents, interact with the opposing party (or opposing counsel) in the time leading up the hearing, and then appear with the client to argue the matter in Court. After the Order from the hearing is signed, the client would either need to re-retain the lawyer or they would then represent themselves. While one could technically retain counsel to simply file the Motion, as a practical matter, individuals choose to have counsel handle the hearing as well.
If you or a loved one are in need of assistance with the filing of a Motion then contact me today to speak with an unbundled Las Vegas lawyer. I am able to handle such matters for a one-time flat fee and I take great pride in the level of service which my office provides. Contact me online or by telephone today.
