I would appreciate a little help from those living in SW Florida areas. Using the USCCA app on my phone or doing a database search here on the web page, I’m trying to designate an attorney.
Do you personally have a favored attorney in this area of Florida? Do you personally have direct experience with an attorney in this area of Florida. I’ve done some research and have checked out one such attorney. However, his social media postings and rantings leave me desiring someone more professional. Please don’t ask who I am referring to. I won’t share his name in public.
I’m not in the FL area, but have you checked out AVVO.com? It’s a review site for attorneys. (Not an endorsement of their service, just one I’ve heard of.)
I would also suggest asking local range owners and other instructor’s who they’d use.
Sorry I don’t have a more concrete answer for you, @Frank73.
I know that I have had conversations with other members who have called a few of the Network Attorneys in their area to build some rapport and connection with them.
It is important that you trust your attorney if, God forbid, you were ever forced to defend yourself and need their assistance.
I agree 100%. And, some of my clients/students have questions about attorneys. So, I’m working the phones today to get this nailed down. Hopefully, I NEVER make that call.
I’ve done some research for attorney’s in FL. You may not realize that you qualify for a public defender, and you should try for that first despite the bad rap that they get. Your paid for attorney gets paid for more trouble for yourself. The public defender earns resume, stature and position for winning. The system is atrophied so you have to participate by researching and scheduling meetings, filing documents and even begging sometimes. However, my experience with 2 different public defenders in 2 different states has been good so far. My next choice is pro se by a long shot.
Thanks for the reply. I would like to hear from @MikeBKY regarding that advice. Personally, my membership in the USCCA includes certain coverage for my defense. In addition, the network of attorneys means that someone else has already done some of the footwork for me.
One additional thing to consider as well; As an Instructor who teaches the materials that were developed with the help of not only firearms experts but, experts in the field of law, law enforcement and in the realm of emergency medicine I believe that it’s important for USCCA members to make their attorneys aware of their training.
In fact, I teach my clients to develop a professional relationship with an attorney and to make him or her aware of topics such as the physiology of the fight or flight syndrome and the effects on the body after a critical incident. These are topics that a Public Defender may not be as well versed in because they defend a myriad of clients and their cases.
In my former life, I’ve worked with Public Defenders and there are a few that I wish lived near me. They are good attorneys without question. I want an attorney from “in network” who is at least remotely familiar with USCCA and at best, a member themselves. I’ve been in communication with my selected designated attorney, he’s even suggested that we get together to go shooting sometime.
I cannot direct you to an attorney in your area @Frank73, but I will say you are right about talking to and finding someone you can talk to and will trust.
I agree with @USCCA about looking at ratings on sites such as Avvo, Findlaw, Justia, lawyers.com and a bunch of others. The one thing I will say is that these sights have good information, but, you might go to the more obvious such as Google, yelp, facebook and all the others out there. Google is my go to for most searches so I promote clients to leave reviews for me there. I answer a lot of peoples questions on Avvo but I do not make any effort for reviews there.
As for Public Defenders, I have the utmost respect for them. They do a great job but their caseloads are often overly burdensome. The biggest complaint I hear is that the only time a client speaks to their PD is right before walking in to court. It is hard to get them on the phone or to sit down with them because they are just so busy. Additionally, not everyone is qualified for a public defender. You are likely not eligible if you own a house or a car or have a decent job. If the court knew you had a paid attorney available for you through USCCA, I would venture to guess that you would not be eligible for a PD.
Good luck in your search!
Please forgive this small hyjack of the thread. I’ve noticed in a couple of threads a reference to being able to designate an preferred default attorney to your membership. I have not been able to find how to do this. Is it possible and if so please provide instructions to this big dummy. Thanks
After more searching I think I found the answer to my question. I have to call to get the attorney added to my account. Thanks