When people say "I'll call my lawyer..." (person, member, present)
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I am SO not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but it was the closest I could think of... namely in that hiring a lawyer is sort of like having a relationship with one? I dunno.
So, maybe I'm completely ignorant, but how does one "get a lawyer"? When you hear people say, "my lawyer will be in touch" etc - does that mean they already have a lawyer, or that they will look for one afterwards?
I'm not in any trouble with the law, never have been, don't plan on it! And I don't plan on suing anyone either. But I figure it'd be good to know where to turn in case anything did ever come up in the future. We live in a small, rural area and although I know there are a few shady DUI lawyers around, and some real estate types, I don't know of any other law offices close by without going into the city. "General practice" types of lawyers, exist, right? How does one go about picking one? I wouldn't even know what to look for if we ever ran into some legal issues.
I can't imagine what sort we'd even run into, honestly. I imagine having a lawyer would be handy in a lot of situations. I had a friend who got into an accident (not her fault) and nothing happened until her family's lawyer got her medical expenses covered along with a settlement - but without a lawyer, she wouldn't have gotten anything. A few years ago a similar situation happened to me, I had a medical emergency in a dental office due to sedation, and the dentist just brushed it off and said "oh, you must have had a panic attack." (Right, that's not what the ER staff said.) I'm thinking if I had had a lawyer, maybe they would have treated me better. (Obviously I wasn't out for a settlement, I didn't pursue that, but maybe in hindsight that would have been something to discuss with a legal expert.)
And I know they're not cheap, but how much do they cost to... I dunno, do you keep them on retainer? Just have a phone number in your wallet in case you need them? Have a consultation once so they know you? Have them do some legal work for you upfront, and then hope they remember you?
My parents had a team of lawyers, and my mom still has one, but their situation was/is very different. They had business issues, estate issues, medical issues, investments... all sorts of things. I know my mom's lawyer handles a bunch of stuff for her, but since her situation is so far out of my realm of norm (and she barely understands it herself, she just kind of "inherited" the lawyer when she became a widow) that I can't really ask her for advice. She finds it odd that not everyone has a lawyer by default.
The people who say "I'll call my lawyer" are people like your parents, who have enough business of one sort or another to justify having someone regularly on retainer. Most mere mortals can't afford that. So they hire a specialist when they need one, like the medical liability lawyer you should have hired re: the dentist. But to just have someone to ask advice of, nobody has that unless they have somewhat regular business to justify having legal help standing by. One thing you can do that works sometimes, when you need some situational advice, is to look up lawyers who have their own practice--not members of a firm, but independent lawyers--and call for some quick advice. You'd be surprised; sometimes you can get free advice over the phone. The lawyers who are a one-man/woman office answer their own phone, and can be remarkably helpful in a pinch.
People also may say it when they realize they need legal help. For example, moving out of a rental, the landlord is being sketchy so you find a lawyer. You just say "talk to my lawyer" and then hire one.
You don't have to keep a lawyer on retainer. I 'have a lawyer' in the sense that I hire a friend of mine when I have legal issues. If it's outside his area of expertise, he calls someone else. I don't think it hurts to have a sense of who you might call if something comes up.
it costs quite a bit of money to retain a lawyer. I don't know if you have to keep paying a lawyer to keep retaining him indefinitely, but I imagine that every so often you probably have to pay him another retainer fee.
People who say "I'll get my lawyer!" are people who are probably just upset and angry. Unless she's rich, then who knows.
What a strange post.
DH & I "have a lawyer" in that a legal firm capably represented us in a couple of financial issues in the past 30 years, and we certainly would call upon them if needed in the future.
We don't pay them any retainer fee.
Lawyers for the most part are hired on an as-needed basis. Unless, as in your parents' case, you have a lot of legal issues to deal with, I wouldn't worry about it.
What exactly is strange about trying to find out something? People with money learn this stuff somehow, but I've never in my 30+ years (and I'm pretty educated and well-read) really come across a clear explanation of what relationship the average person has with lawyers.. The previous posts have been helpful, thank you.
Typically, people who threaten to call their lawyers do not have lawyers. I have a lawyer, but it takes a pretty serious dispute to get him involved. If you're the kind of person who has a lawyer on your favorites list, then you do not threaten at all. Threatening only tips your hand before you're about to escalate.
It used to be Prepaid Legal but it's not called Legal Shield. Basically, like health or car insurance, you pay so much per month and you have a lawyer on retainer. I've had it for years and when I say "I'll call my attorney" it's because I plan to do it. It's helped me in many issues. It doesn't seem as good as it used to but there's an attorney in every state who will represent you no matter where you travel. (if you get into a car accident or another "not your fault" situation)
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But I figure it'd be good to know where to turn in case anything did ever come up in the future. We live in a small, rural area and although I know there are a few shady DUI lawyers around, and some real estate types, I don't know of any other law offices close by without going into the city. "General practice" types of lawyers, exist, right? How does one go about picking one? I wouldn't even know what to look for if we ever ran into some legal issues. 
