Our legal system’s so-called “American Rule” holds that attorneys’ fees for the winning party in a lawsuit are not paid by the losing party, except in a few specific instances.
Tag Archives: Lee Schroeder Lima News
Legal-Ease: Analyzing risks and taxes for best business entity
Different business structures exist to help facilitate success among participating individuals while protecting from risk.
Legal-Ease: Legalities of ‘fake news’
The recent election cycle brought with it the rise of fake news, spread mostly through Facebook. Many people, especially those who may be embarrassed at having spread a fake news story, often wonder why creating fake news is even legal in the first place.
Legal-Ease: Gratitude is never illegal and always helpful
Analyzing a situation with a perspective of gratitude helps us gain peace of mind. In some instances, it also more effectively resolve disputes or puts challenges behind us. Generally, a client is grateful for the work an attorney does, and an attorney is grateful for a client. But gratitude can help individuals get through disputes or legal situations that would normally seem to cause anger or confusion.
Legal-Ease: Attorneys who specialize or limit their practice areas
It takes specific qualifications for an attorney to be referred to as a “specialist” in a field of law. Many may have more experience in one field or realm than others, but reaching “specialist” status is a technical designation and requires a few steps.
Legal-Ease: Bring ID, not smart phone, into voting booth
“Ballot selfies” taken in Ohio cannot be exhibited or shared with others. By outlawing the ability to prove how someone voted, the law was designed to make it impossible as a practical matter to prove a voter’s compliance with bribes or threats.
Legal-Ease: Co-owning and separating real estate
A “partition” is the specific type of lawsuit designed for splitting up co-owned real estate. But you can avoid this lawsuit by managing co-ownership with a few other options. Creating an LLC, a limited liability company, may not seem like it has much to do with real estate but it will help establish guidelines for multiple owners. A shared ownership agreement can also be used to manage conflict.
Legal-Ease: Filling gaps in contracts
Contracts contain varying degrees of specificity. Sometimes, leaving out important terms and conditions makes the contract unenforceable as a whole. In many cases, though, the law will fill the gaps with what is considered “reasonable.” While this practice may seem obvious, it can be hard to determine what “reasonable” actually looks like in each case. Determining reasonableness is often analyzed by looking at three key circumstances and contexts.
Legal-Ease: Levels of legal authority
In the United States thousands of laws are in place that are not created by the government. Federal laws that aren’t passed by Congress are called “regulations.” Regulations have the effect of the law, but they can’t exceed the authority from the Constitution or the laws that are passed by Congress.
In the United States and in Ohio, there are literally thousands of laws that are created by bureaucrats who do not work for Congress, the Ohio General Assembly or any local government.
Legal-Ease: Shared ownership handy now, expensive later
Co-owning land or other property can be a good idea in the short run, but may present significant difficulties down the road. If one of the co-owners dies, new owners’ wishes can be completely different than what was originally intended.