My Lawyer: How?

[LOL!]

^It turns out the husband was held overnight by Immigration or HomelandSecurity and not allowed to call or text anyone. They took away his phone and did not let him contact anyone including any lawyer. He was "released" early the next morning.

What would you do? You are at the airport. You know husband has landed and he just disappears.

 

[imoldernu]

off topic, but more on my midnight walk and the neighborhood crime...

Turns out my neighbor wasn't the only victim. In our retirement community, two more graffiti cases, and for four nearby streets, another 10 or 15 cases. Heard a report that the cumulative damages may be in the tens of thousands. Our part of town is relatively wealthy... 300K to 800K houses in central Illinois. Different than So. Cal...

Last night, police cars up and down our street all night. If they find the kids, it won't be a pretty sight... Old people can get pretty angry.

 

[splitwdw]

You call a close friend, family member or bail bondsman. The later are on lists your friendly jailer has. Treat your jailer nice.

Exactly, ET phone home. You let the family member or friend get the bail bondsman or attorney. Attorneys specialize now and the list from the Bar Association shows if they are estate attorneys, real estate attorneys, etc.

 

[calmloki]

^It turns out the husband was held overnight by Immigration or HomelandSecurity and not allowed to call or text anyone. They took away his phone and did not let him contact anyone including any lawyer. He was "released" early the next morning.

What would you do? You are at the airport. You know husband has landed and he just disappears.

Rail about land of the free, due process, all that good stuff. Welcome to reality - I suspect all us law abiding folk would be shocked by what really happens when one is snatched up as a suspect of a crime - or worse yet might be one of them terrorists.

 

[unno2002]

If you don't have an attorney who is a friend or family, having "my lawyer" usually means paying someone a retainer fee to agree to preliminarily respond re agreed types of potential cases for you, or at some other level some service such as:
Prepaid Legal Services | Personal, Business & Group Legal Plans

 

[Lancelot]

So the other poster was correct, sometimes when you need a lawyer it comes through another lawyer that you already know or have used.

This is what I would do, ask a lawyer that I knew from work and go with his recommendation.

 

[CoolChange]

Detained by Customs or Immigration

^It turns out the husband was held overnight by Immigration or HomelandSecurity and not allowed to call or text anyone. They took away his phone and did not let him contact anyone including any lawyer. He was "released" early the next morning.

What would you do? You are at the airport. You know husband has landed and he just disappears.

This is actually the thing that concerns me most when traveling internationally. I have personally been detained for short periods and have seen people who it seemed were being detained for much longer periods.

I honestly have no idea what I could do, if anything, should I (or, someone I was cared about) be detained for a longer period. As mentioned earlier, in these cases, no contact with the outside world seems to be allowed.

I have personally only been detained upon returning to the USA; and, being a citizen who has not actually done anything wrong, it did not concern me too much: I assume things will work themselves out; and, they always have relatively quickly. It is still mildly stressful to me and more so to those expecting me who have no idea what is causing the delay (Customs, heart attack, other). I have to imagine the stress on all concerned would be much higher if this were to occur in another country.

Would having my lawyer even be of any use in these situations?

 

[FUEGO]

I'm a retired lawyer that never practiced law. For legal services, I'll usually ask my lawyer friends for referrals. Normally, lawyers specialize. Real estate for property issues, trusts and estates for wills, elder law for elder issues, personal injury, family law, etc.

I know a few people who have a "door practice" - they'll take anyone who walks in the door. For simple issues (speeding ticket), they would be good choices. But for anything complex, I'd seek a referral to a specialist.

As for the mechanics of getting "your" lawyer, you could find a small to medium size general practice firm and inquire with one of the attorneys about their services. Tell them you need someone reliable to call if you're in a bind. They would be "your" lawyer. You could pay them a retainer fee to be available, but that doesn't seem cost effective.