 Finding an Attorney
Many survivors of sexual exploitation struggle to first work up
the nerve to even go to an attorney for a consultation only to learn
that it can be very difficult finding an attorney who is
knowledgeable about the issues in their case and who is willing to
take their case. This is particularly true in more rural areas.
The fact is that very few attorneys specialize in handling
professional exploitation cases and the ones that do generally
cluster in urban areas. However, most states have at least one major
city, so if you live in a rural area you may find it easier to
locate an attorney in a major city in your state if your attempts at
securing local counsel fail. An excellent resource for finding
attorneys is the Internet and we at AdvocateWeb have decided to
become a potential resource for clients who are looking for
attorneys and attorneys who are willing to accept viable cases of
professional abuse survivors.
We cannot warrant the qualification of the attorneys on our
panel--we can only tell you that they are interested enough in
handling professional abuse cases to have paid for a listing, which
helps AdvocateWeb defray our expenses and continue to be a resource
for survivors and people with an interest in preventing and
recovering from professional exploitation.
Your ability to find a competent attorney to handle your case
will probably vary depending on your location, the laws of your
state and the merits of your case. However, one thing is certain:
you must begin to attempt to locate an attorney as soon as possible.
Although it differs from state to state, all states have strict time
limitations that mandate that a case must be brought within a
certain time period. In some states the time period is as short as 6
months. In other states it can be longer--but no state affords a
professional exploitation victim the luxury of waiting until they
are psychologically "ready" or "able" to bring a
case, before they are required to take action. If you feel you might
have a case you should consult with an attorney immediately to at
least learn of your rights and how long you have to bring a case.
Thousands of survivors have lost their right to recover damages or
have had the value of their cases severely limited by waiting too
long to take action.
What should you look for in an attorney? There are many variables
but we have learned from survivors that have used this website that
the following questions may be helpful. If after some initial
discussion, you and the potential attorney wish to explore your case
further, here are some of the things you may wish to ask them. These
are only sample questions among the many others that may be of
personal interest to you.
You may want to ask an attorney:
- How familiar are you with the subject matter of professional
exploitation?
- Do you have experience in handling professional exploitation cases?
- Are you familiar with the laws of the state that might apply to
professional exploitation cases?
- What do you know about statute of limitation issues?
(i.e. How long you have to bring your case and ways to still bring it if
you have
waited longer than the time allotted for most cases.)
- How well do you understand the transference phenomena?
- Do you understand that a relationship between a professional and a
client/patient can never be consensual? (In some states
the law may not have caught up with this standard recognized
by professionals who practice in this area.)
- Do they present professionally and are they capable of maintaining
their own boundaries?
- Are they someone who does not get overly caught up
in the emotional aspects of your circumstances, but rather, maintains an empathic but
professional stance?
- If they do not have a lot of
experience in professional exploitation cases, do they have substantial experience handling
malpractice and/or sexual abuse cases?
- Are they willing to provide a free consultation if they
believe that your case may have merit and if appropriate accept
the case on a contingency fee? (This is an issue of your ability
to pay--many very good attorneys will only work on an hourly fee
basis--if you want to hire one of these attorneys or you can not
find an attorney to handle the case on a contingency fee you may
have to pay an attorney by the hour.)
- Do they understand the sensitive issues of insurance coverage
and the potential liability of someone other than the
perpetrator in professional abuse cases?
The attorneys on the AdvocateWeb Attorney Panel have been advised
that these are some of the most common questions asked by survivors
and in the appropriate case should be prepared to answer them.
It is not uncommon to have to contact several attorneys before
you find one to handle your case. You should never give up after
talking with one attorney. You may want to try to talk with another
attorney on our panel. The attorneys who are on our panel are not
necessarily the best attorneys for your particular case.
More information:
AdvocateWeb
Attorney Panel
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Exploitation
