When Is the Right Time to Ask for Legal Advice? Find Out Here
Many people have let go of a few things they could have gotten justice for because they did not get legal advice. Others have also gotten into situations that took years to get out of because they did not seek legal advice on time. It is already established that we need legal advice to get through many things seamlessly in life. From business to drawing up agreements to even settling disputes, the place of a legal adviser cannot be overemphasized.
For most people, legal advice is usually the last resort. When the mess has already been created and things have gone really bad, they put a call through to their lawyers. Of course, lawyers would try their best to get you out of a fix, but you might need to slow down on this Olivia Pope method of handling issues. You do not need to wait for when the problem needs some major fixing, then start expecting your lawyer to pull a Harvey Specter for you. You can always get legal advice before then and avoid the issues that may come up later.
Often, people do not know when the right time to get legal advice is, so here we go.
1. If you know the police would be involved
It doesn't matter who was involved or who was guilty and who was not. If you are in the same sentence as someone else and a police officer, you need legal advice immediately. If you were hurt by someone and have to make a report, seek legal advice, and the same goes for if you were the one who hurt someone. No matter what the case may be, always seek legal advice if there will be police involvement somewhere in the issue's progression. This applies whether you are a politician who has been implicated in something and needs the help of an election attorney, or if you were involved in a car accident. People have been forced to write false statements that implicated them for life because they went without legal advice.
2. If it involves signing anything
It doesn't matter who gives you a document to sign, whether a best friend, a family member, or a colleague, do not append your signature before you get legal advice. Moreso, law terms are not simple terms, so if a lawyer prepared the document you are supposed to sign, a lawyer would understand it better. Your understanding of the document is completely immaterial at this point. Get legal advice before you append your signature on anything, even if it is just two lines on the document, and they seem pretty comprehensible.
3. If it involves business decisions
In every business decision you are about to make, after asking experts, seek legal advice before you launch in. More often than not, people do not see the need for legal advice with business decisions because 'what would a lawyer know about this?' Well, a lawyer would know if your new business venture goes against the laws of the state. A lawyer would also know if there are loopholes you can explore when running your business for the benefit of protecting assets and avoiding trouble. Of course, you may not know these things because you were not educationally trained to find them. Seek legal advice.
4.If it involves you and property
If you are a landlord, before you get a tenant into your property, seek legal advice. These things are simple and tricky at the same time. You do not want to find yourself getting railroaded into doing something that you would not have done if you had the power. Legal advice will save you from situations like that. If you are a tenant looking to rent a space, seek legal advice with anything that the property owner tells you. It may look great on the surface, but it will not be good in the long run.
If you are buying a property off the market, you need more than legal advice. First, of course, you need a lawyer on retainer, but since we are talking about just legal advice, at least seek that.
Finally, if you are selling off your property, make sure that you seek legal advice on all that could go right or wrong with the process. Do not be caught unawares.
The scenarios mentioned above are just a few out of a long list. You need legal advice for many things, and when this is ignored, you may expose yourself to bigger and more uncomfortable situations. Also, legal services are not as expensive as many people think, especially when compared to the costs of not having them. However, if you are worried about money, there are online sites where you can get free legal advice and explore them.
