See a Lawyer Rather Than Seeking Legal Advice Online

Some people try to take their legal case into their own hands, especially with the multitude of advice that is online. However, it is not usually advisable for you to avoid getting a lawyer in favor of trying to solve the case on your own. Consider why you should not take online advice too seriously.

Some of the advice given on the Internet is by actual lawyers, as they may have a website to help out others. However, without knowing the facts surrounding your case, it is impossible for someone to advise you correctly. Someone might think it sounds obvious that you are innocent of wrongdoing, and may assure you that a judge would see it the same way, but he or she has no idea what kind of evidence the prosecutor has against you. When you meet with a lawyer, you go over the circumstances to make sure that you can win in court. Your attorney will research the situation, and try to find out what the other party has that could prove your guilt. Someone online does not only not have access to the same information, but probably does not care enough to even try to get it. Therefore, you are advised to at least schedule an initial consultation with an attorney, which should be free.

If the person given you advice online is actually a retired lawyer, note that the laws he or she knows may be out of date. Laws are frequently updated, and retired lawyers cannot be expected to keep up with them. It is true that most attorneys will be interested in the law for life, and can therefore be a good resource to get some basic legal facts. But relying on them to help you represent your case in court without a lawyer is not usually a good idea. Plus, if they live in another area, the laws they know could be different from the ones in your state or country since they vary from one location to another.

In most cases, people who offer legal advice online are not even legally trained. They might have heard a few facts from the Internet, or they might have taken a few classes in college that gloss over the law. You cannot put your life in their hands by asking for help so you can represent yourself. There is a high chance that you will end up losing and even going to jail when you get help from someone who barely knows the law better than you do.

Clearly, it is worth your time and money to talk to an attorney before you go to court. Even if you do not know for sure if you have the money to be represented by a professional, you should set up a consultation. You can at least find out if you have a strong chance of winning, and you might find that the legal fees are lower than expected.