There are over 17,000 individuals in Toronto who can call themselves a Toronto attorney.  Each Toronto attorney typically has his or her own specialty.  The day of the general practitioner is not as it once was (and is slowly fading away).  In fact, specialization is a preferred strategy to earn above-average returns in any given industry.  Besides, think of how hard it would be for a lawyer who ‘does it all’ to keep up to date with the changing laws in every given legal area.  It’s way too difficult and that’s where negligence cases may arise.

In any event, I thought I’d spend some time discussing the various types of Toronto attorneys that you can come across on a day-to-day basis.  Here’s the first breakdown of types of Toronto attorneys (please keep in mind that this list of the types of lawyers out there is not exhaustive):

• Toronto Real Estate Attorneys: help you buy and sell residential, investment, farm, cottage, recreational, condominium, and cooperative properties.  They also you get a mortgage financing and refinancing as well.

• Toronto Personal Injury Attorneys: help you litigate, settle, or otherwise resolve claims arising from:
  • accident benefits claims
  • dog bites
  • disability claims
  • medical malpractice
  • motor vehicle accidents
  • negligence actions
  • personal injury claims
  • product liability
  • slip and falls

• Toronto Business Attorneys: help you to incorporate and organize, merge/amalgamate, and dissolve your business.  They can help prepare, review, interpret, revise, negotiate, litigate, and resolve the following business documents:
  • shareholder agreement
  • partnership agreement
  • joint venture agreement
  • franchise agreement
  • commercial leases
  • business acquisitions
  • regulatory compliance
  • constructions contracts
  • employment agreements

• Toronto Wills and Estates Attorneys: they offer services from a basic will and powers of attorney  to more complicated tax-planning structures, such as inter-vivos trusts and estates freezes.  They can also help personal representatives in the administration and distribution of estate assets.  Finally, they can litigate on behalf of beneficiaries or the estate trustee on issues such as mental capacity of the testator, validity of a will, etc.

• Toronto Family Attorneys: they can help you with your marriage breakup by drafting a separation agreement.  They can also help you with issues such as divorce, spousal and child support, child custody, possession of the matrimonial home, and the equalization of net family property.
  

• Toronto Criminal Defense Attorneys: they can help represent you against government bodies that have charged you with criminal or provincial offences (e.g. careless driving), including:
  • DUI (driving under the influence)
  • assault
  • sexual assault
  • fraud
  • theft

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Toronto law firms can help answer your legal questions, facilitate your transaction (e.g. business, real estate, wills and estates, family, etc.) or even represent you in court.  To find a Toronto lawyer or law firm, go to Dynamic Lawyers and make a post.  It’s free and anonymous and Toronto lawyers and law firms will respond to you with information and quotes for you to compare.

Here are some of the different types of law that Toronto law firms can assist you in:

• Accidents and Injuries: Involved in an accident where you suffered personal injury?
• Business: Need corporate or commercial agreements? Need to have a lawyer help you do a transaction?
• Charities and Not-For-Profit: Need to establish a Not-For-Profit corporation or obtain charity status?
• Civil Litigation – Higher Court: Have a serious legal claim that needs to be litigated in the Superior Court, Divisional Court, etc.?
• Civil Litigation – Small Claims Court: Have a legal claim (e.g. breach of contract, negligence, etc.) for less than $10,000?
• Constitutional / Human Rights and Freedoms: Challenging a law or government action / inaction?
  Criminal: Charged with a criminal offence? Appealing a conviction?
• Employment and Labour: Need an employment agreement? Unjustly terminated? Need to know your rights?
• Family: Going through a separation or divorce? Fighting to get custody or access? Dealing with spousal and child support?
• Government: Need to lobby the government? Need to resolve a dispute with a government agency?
• Highway Traffic Tickets: Charged with speeding or DUI? Need to fight traffic tickets?
• Immigration: Need to immigrate to Canada? Fighting against deportation?
• Insurance: Having difficulties with your Insurance company?.
• Intellectual Property: Need to register a copyright or trademark? Need help with a patent?
• Landlord and Tenant: Need a resolve a dispute? Need to know your rights?.
• Notary Public / Commissioner: Need to notarize or commission your documents?
• Real Estate: Need someone to facilitate your residential or commercial purchase, sale, or lease?
• Tax: Need help structuring your tax affairs? Need help resolving tax disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency?
• Wills, Estates and Trusts: Need a will? Need to update your will? Find out why having an up-to-date will is a must.

Try to consult with a couple of Toronto law firms and Toronto attorneys until you’re comfortable with whom you’re speaking with.  Toronto law firms differ in size, location, expertise, and reputation.  Go to Dynamic Lawyers and save time and money finding the right Toronto law firms and Toronto attorneys who specialize in the legal area you require!

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Need a Criminal Lawyer in Toronto? Go to Dynamic Lawyers and make a post of your criminal issue(s) – it’s FREE and anonymous – and get information and quotes from criminal defense lawyers who can represent you.

Generally, a criminal lawyer in Toronto is someone who can:

1. Determine and advise you on your rights and whether they were violated.
2. Explain the criminal law process from the time you are investigated and charged, through to trial, and finally to conviction and appealing a conviction (if it gets there).
3. Negotiate with the Crown Attorney on your behalf to reach a settlement (called a plea-bargain because people typically agree to plead guilty of a lesser offence in return for not being prosecuted for a more serious offence).
4. At trial, challenge witness’ credibility and testimony.
5. At trial, present expert evidence in the form of expert testimony and reports that are favourable to their client.
6. At trial, point out past cases (called precedents) that are in their client’s favour and draw analogies and parallels, while trying to distinguish unfavourable precedents.
7. At trial, protect you from answering inappropriate or irrelevant questions (e.g. questions that would tend to self-incriminate a party, questions which have nothing to do with the trial, or questions which makes the party give testimony which they are not competent or otherwise qualified to give, etc.).
8. At trial, ask for relief in case Charter Rights and Freedoms have been violated (e.g. this may result in costs being awarded in limited circumstances or evidence being rendered inadmissible).

Criminal lawyers in Toronto are trained to defend accused who have been charged with things like drug charges (e.g. possession, trafficking), driving while under the influence, domestic assault and spousal assault, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, sexual assault, fraud, uttering threats, theft, bail hearings and bail detention reviews, mischief, and weapons possession.

Some criminal lawyers in Toronto can accept legal aid (which means that eligible low income Torontonians can get a legal aid certificate from Legal Aid Ontario to fund their legal fees).

Finally, criminal lawyers in Toronto may be part of a larger association, such as the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, which represents criminal justice and civil liberties in Canada and lobbies on behalf of its members to offer advice and perspective to governments and the judiciary on issues relating to legislation and the administration of criminal justice.

written by admin \\ tags: charter rights, crime and law, criminal, criminal defense, criminal defense lawyers, Criminal Law, criminal lawyer in toronto, criminal lawyers in toronto, criminal lawyers ontario, criminal lawyers Toronto, domestic assault, lawyers, lawyers in Toronto, mischief, ontario criminal lawyers, sexual assault, toronto criminal lawyer, toronto criminal lawyers, uttering threats

Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only.   If you need legal advice with respect to retaining a criminal law lawyer, you should seek professional assistance (e.g. make a post on Dynamic Lawyers).  We have Toronto criminal law lawyers registered on the website who can assess your situation and, if need be, represent you in court proceedings or help settle your case.

Criminal lawyers in Toronto: who are they?
A criminal lawyer is trained to defend parties (e.g. individuals, corporations, partnerships, etc.) who have been charged with an offence under the Criminal Code.  In criminal cases, the state or government is the party that is prosecuting an accused person.  This differs from civil cases, where one or more parties sue each other and the state is typically not a party to the proceedings.  Hence, in criminal cases, even if one party does not want the prosecution to continue, it’s really up to the Crown Attorney representing the state or government to make that call.

What Criminal Lawyers in Toronto can do for you
Some of the things which criminal lawyers in Toronto can assist you in include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. Determining and advising you on your rights and whether they were violated.
2. Explain the criminal law process from the time you are investigated and charged, through to trial, and finally to conviction and appealing a conviction (if it gets there).
3. Negotiating with the Crown Attorney on your behalf to reach a settlement (called a plea-bargain because people typically agree to plead guilty of a lesser offence in return for not being prosecuted for a more serious offence).
4. At trial, challenge witness’ credibility and testimony.
5. At trial, present expert evidence in the form of expert testimony and reports that are favourable to their client.
6. At trial, point out past cases (called precedents) that are in their client’s favour and draw analogies and parallels, while trying to distinguish unfavourable precedents.
7. At trial, protect their clients from answering inappropriate or irrelevant questions (e.g. questions that would tend to self-incriminate a party, questions which have nothing to do with the trial, or questions which makes the party give testimony which they are not competent or otherwise qualified to give, etc.).
8. At trial, ask for relief in case Charter Rights and Freedoms have been violated (e.g. this may result in costs being awarded in limited circumstances or evidence being rendered inadmissible).

The standard to convict
In criminal trials, the prosecution (i.e. the Attorney General) must establish that an accused committed all parts of an offence – which is typically broken down into the guilty act and the guilty mind – beyond a reasonable doubt.  In other words, if a reasonable doubt exists as to whether an accused had committed a guilty act or, in some cases, whether an accused had a guilty mind (because you don’t have to prove a guilty mind in all cases), then a judge or jury should not convict the accused.  If, however, the elements of the offence are established, then a judge or jury may convict the accused absent some type of justification or excuse (e.g. provocation, self-defence, necessity, etc.).

When to consult with or hire a Toronto Criminal Lawyer?
Immediately on becoming aware of the fact that you are being investigated, about to get charged, or have been charged, you should consult with a criminal lawyer in Toronto.  They can help take away your stress by explaining the law (e.g. your rights, the offence – i.e. its elements and consequences), helping to formulate a proper defense strategy, and telling you about how the criminal process works from start (i.e. being investigated) to finish (i.e. being sentenced and/or appealing a conviction).  Again, if you need legal advice with respect to retaining a Toronto criminal law lawyer, you should seek professional assistance (e.g. make a post on Dynamic Lawyers).

written by admin \\ tags: conviction, court proceedings, criminal, criminal criminal defense, criminal code, criminal law lawyer, criminal law Toronto, criminal lawyer, criminalToronto, crown attorney, expert evidence, expert testimony, favour, judges, lawyer, lawyers, lawyers in Toronto, legal advice, negotiating, Negotiations, offence, partnership, plea bargain, precedents, professional assistance, prosecution, report, s, toronto, Toronto criminal law, Toronto criminal law court, witness credibility

Types of lawyers.  There are lots in Toronto (as in every major city across North America).  Each has his or her own specialty.  The day of the general practitioner is not as it once was (and is slowly fading away).  In fact, specialization is a preferred strategy to earn above-average returns in any given industry.  Besides, think of how hard it would be for a lawyer who ‘does it all’ to keep up to date with the changing laws in every given legal area.  It’s way too difficult and that’s where negligence cases may arise.

In any event, I thought I’d spend some time discussing the various types of lawyers that you can come across on a day-to-day basis.  Here’s the first breakdown of types of lawyers in Toronto (please keep in mind that this list of the types of lawyers out there is not exhaustive):

• Toronto Real Estate Lawyers: help you buy and sell residential, investment, farm, cottage, recreational, condominium, and cooperative properties.  They also you get a mortgage financing and refinancing as well.

• Toronto Personal Injury Lawyers: help you litigate, settle, or otherwise resolve claims arising from:
  • accident benefits claims
  • dog bites
  • disability claims
  • medical malpractice
  • motor vehicle accidents
  • negligence actions
  • personal injury claims
  • product liability
  • slip and falls

• Toronto Business lawyers: help you to incorporate and organize, merge/amalgamate, and dissolve your business.  They can help prepare, review, interpret, revise, negotiate, litigate, and resolve the following business documents:
  • shareholder agreement
  • partnership agreement
  • joint venture agreement
  • franchise agreement
  • commercial leases
  • business acquisitions
  • regulatory compliance
  • constructions contracts
  • employment agreements

• Toronto Wills and Estates Lawyers: they offer services from a basic will and powers of attorney  to more complicated tax-planning structures, such as inter-vivos trusts and estates freezes.  They can also help personal representatives in the administration and distribution of estate assets.  Finally, they can litigate on behalf of beneficiaries or the estate trustee on issues such as mental capacity of the testator, validity of a will, etc.

• Toronto Family Lawyers: they can help you with your marriage breakup by drafting a separation agreement.  They can also help you with issues such as divorce, spousal and child support, child custody, possession of the matrimonial home, and the equalization of net family property.
  

• Toronto Criminal Defense Lawyers: they can help represent you against government bodies that have charged you with criminal or provincial offences (e.g. careless driving), including:
  • DUI (driving under the influence)
  • assault
  • sexual assault
  • fraud
  • theft

written by admin \\ tags: accident, accidents, business acquisitions, business lawyers, businessdefense, commercial leases, criminal, custody, family law lawyer, franchise agreement, injuries, injury, investment farm, joint venture agreement, lawyer, lawyers, lawyers in Toronto, litigants, marriage, negligence, negligence actions, negligence cases, negotiating, Negotiations, offence, partnership, personal injury claims, personal injury lawyers, personallawyer, real estate lawyers, separation, shareholder agreement, toronto, toronto motor vehicle accidents, toronto business, toronto personal injury, Toronto real estate Types of Lawyers, trusts and estates, vivos trusts, Wills and Estates

Legal People?  Who are they and what are they capable of?

Well, here’s a short description of the more popular legal people that you’ve always wondered about but never really knew what it was all about:

Lawyer: A person who goes to school for a long time to get trained in analytical and legal reasoning. Lawyer services can be used for various legal issues – ranging from facilitating transactions (like buying or selling a home), representing parties in trial or administrative proceedings or providing answers to legal questions.  Lawyers are very good at reading, writing, researching, thinking, and speaking (both on their own behalf and on behalf of their clients).

Judge: A lawyer who acts in the capacity as a trier of fact/law and renders judgment in cases.  A judge is presumed to be impartial, neutral, and unbiased. They are supposed to conduct trials in a fair and efficient manner to all parties, and (in certain circumstances) weigh the evidence and assess the credibility of witnesses and their testimony.  If an accused is convicted in criminal court, a judge is also responsible for handing down a sentence i.e. prison term, monetary, etc.  In civil cases, a judge must determine what, if any, compensation, award, damages, declaration or other order is warranted in the circumstances.

Paralegal: Is not a lawyer.  In Ontario, they were only recently required to be licensed by the Law Society of Upper Canada.  They are capable of representing parties in Small Claims Court matters (i.e. less than $10,000), minor criminal matters, adjudicative proceedings before Ontario or Federal boards and agencies, provincial highway traffic offences, and statutory accidents and benefits claims.  Paralegals are often found assisting lawyers with their files and typically work under their supervision.

Justice of the Peace (JP): Is an appointed official (sometimes elected, depending of the region) that deal with certain minor court-room matters, such as scheduling a date for trial, hearing and trying provincial offences, performing civil marriages, etc.  It is not necessary for a JP to have a formal education in law or to have been a lawyer (as is required to be a judge).

Notary Public: Is a public officer who performs non-litigious matters e.g. powers- of-attorney, administering oaths, verifying documents (passports), etc.  Notary Public’s do not necessary have to be lawyers, however lawyers qualify as notary republics so long as they fill in the application, pay the $150 (or whatever it costs) government fee, and get themselves an embosser (around $60 at Staples Business Depot).

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Some lawyers have been asking me: why do I get new posts e-mailed from Dynamic Lawyers and what do I do when I get a post in my email inbox?

Here’s the answer:

Instead of searching and browsing Dynamic Lawyers all day long to find the right post to reply to, Dynamic Lawyers has a feature that allows user posts to be automatically sent to lawyers who have registered to receive those posts – based on their City, Legal Area, and Matter(s). For example, if a lawyer registered in Toronto (City) indicates that they practice Criminal Law (Legal Area) and Assault (Matter), then they would receive all the posts that match those 3 criteria. Another example would be that a lawyer registered in Toronto (City) indicates upon registering that they practice Family Law (Legal Area) and Legal Separation (Matter) would receive all the posts that match those 3 criteria.

When that lawyer gets a new post in their inbox, it appears as a post and there’s a line that says at the top of the e-mail something like: “PLEASE REPLY ABOVE THIS LINE”. If the lawyer wants to respond to the user who made the post, then they would simply need to click ‘reply’ to the post and then reply above the line. When the lawyer sends the e-mail, it actually gets sent to us first (i.e. Dynamic Lawyers) and we automatically forward the response to the user’s e-mail (to maintain anonymity).

written by admin \\ tags: criminal, Dynamic Lawyers, lawyer, lawyers, new e-mail posts, reply to e-mails, s, separation, toronto

I am a sole practitioner here in Toronto. I established my practice straight after articling and getting called to the bar (June 2008). People like me often don’t know where their next client is going to come from (typically referrals). But I started getting a client here and there from craiglist.org (I would just respond to individuals who were posting their legal problems).

That gave me an idea: I wanted to come up with a website like www.craigslist.org but which focuses on legal services.

That’s why I created Dynamic Lawyers.

The idea is simple: allow ordinary people to freely and anonymously explain, through an online post (which can be public or private), why they need a lawyer and then receive quick and multiple e-mail responses and quotes from local lawyers. For their part, lawyers specializing in the legal areas sought after would be able to directly and effectively market their services to the public. I believe that this website will simultaneously satisfy two pressing needs by bringing prospective lawyers and clients together.

While the idea is not necessarily new (see www.craigslist.org, www.kijiji.ca, www.lawyerahead.ca, www.canlaw.com, etc.), the way we are going about it is different. We are focusing initially on Toronto. We are focusing on certain legal areas (i.e. high volume transactions with fixed costs). We are not going to litter the website with ads or peripheral services. We are focusing solely on “Need a Toronto Lawyer? Make a Post. Get FREE Quotes!. We are not trying to be everything to everyone. Nor is this service going to be expensive for lawyers who wish to register: we’ve been giving lawyers 2 months free to try it out and we only charge $30 per month after that. My motivation is simple: I don’t like being charged a lot (particularly since it cost me about $15,000-$20,000 to set up my practice with no advertising), so I don’t want to charge individuals in my position a lot either. Finally, the website is going to be very much like a cross between www.google.ca and www.craigslist.ca (clean, simple, and easy to navigate).

Lawyers who have an account also receive new posts in their e-mails and will be able to instantly respond.  The posts are e-mailed out to lawyers based on certain criteria – namely, their geographic area (e.g. Toronto), legal area (e.g. criminal law), and matter (e.g. theft under $5,000). I figure that lawyers like me don’t have all the time in the world to roam the net or the website for clients, so why not just get notifications in my inbox when a new post has been made?

written by admin \\ tags: ads, criminal, Dynamic Lawyers, dynamics.com, lawyer, lawyers, Michael Carabash, motivations, need aaccountants, practitioner, publicity, quotes, referrals, toronto