Some people have encountered problems when they try to handle, on their own, legal matters that warrant a lawyer’s attention. Here are some examples:

*       A horse owner, after years of boarding out her horse, purchased her dream property where she could finally keep her horse at home. She hired no lawyer to help her in the purchase, and she never checked the zoning regulations. Later, after she spent considerable money installing new pasture fencing and building her horse a stall, the local government threatened to shut her small stable forever because she had broken the law. What she never realized was that local ordinances required her fences to be placed very far inside her property lines. Unfortunately, because her lot was long and narrow lot, the law required her horse pasture to be no larger than a dog run.

*       A stable was sued by someone who was hurt while test-riding a horse. Shortly after the lawsuit papers arrived, the stable owner, on her own, called the lawyer who brought the suit asking him to drop the case. The lawyer not only refused her request, but he promptly asked the court to issue a judgment against the stable because it failed to respond to the suit in a proper and timely manner.

*       A race horse trainer was served with a lawsuit after her horse injured an assistant. Thinking she would quickly persuade the lawyer to drop the case, the trainer simply mailed the lawyer a copy of her state equine activity liability law. The trainer threw out the lawsuit papers and never hired a lawyer. The lawsuit continued with full force.

These examples are true, and each of these people contacted me to help them after their own efforts failed. If each of these people had hired a lawyer much sooner, many of these problems would have been prevented.

Risks of “Do-It-Yourself” Lawyering

Certainly, it is everybody’s right to proceed without a lawyer. And it is true that legal fees can be expensive. However, those who handle legal matters on their own, especially more complex matters, face risks. Here are a few of them:

*      Complexity. Legal issues can be very, very complex. Often, legal questions have no obvious or easy answer. Lawyers are trained to research and analyze the law.

*       Procedures. The small claims court process is designed to be simple so that people can easily and quickly proceed without a lawyer. By comparison, the regular court system has technical rules of procedure, and litigants are expected to follow them to the letter. For example, courts impose certain deadlines, information is usually exchanged upon certain types of written and in-person requests (lawyers call this information-exchanging process “discovery”) that often require special formats and time limits, and when a party asks a judge to take a specific action such as dismiss the case outright or issue a judgment against the other party (lawyers usually call this request a “motion”) the courts usually require specially written documents accompanied by an explanation of the law. Also, legal procedures and rules can be especially complex when a case proceeds to trial; ask any lawyer about the hearsay rule and its exceptions.

*       Changes. The continuing challenge of the practice of law is that the law is ever-changing. New court rulings emerge and new laws are passed each day. Lawyers are trained to research these changes in the law and determine what impact the changes have on their clients’ matters.

*       Mistakes. If you represent yourself on a legal matter and then make mistakes – such as learn that the court is about to toss out your case because you missed an important deadline – you might end up spending more money in legal fees for a lawyer to attempt to undo the damage and bring your case back on track.

This article does not constitute legal advice. When questions arise based on specific situations, direct them to a knowledgeable attorney.

About the Author

Julie Fershtman is one of the nation’s most experienced Equine Law practitioners and has been a lawyer for nearly 20 years. In 2004, she won 3 jury trials, 2 appeals, and a major federal court case, all on equine lawsuits. An independent lawyer rating service gives her its highest rating. She can be reached at (248) 851-4111, ext. 160. To learn more, visit www.equinelaw.net and www.equinelaw.info.

Learn more about Equine Law and avoid disputes by reading Ms. Fershtman’s books. MORE Equine Law & Horse Sense sells for $22.95 + $5 shipping and handling, and Equine Law & Horse Sense sells for $17.95 + $5 shipping and handling. Order both books together for $42.90, first-class shipping included. To order, call Horses & The Law Publishing at 866- 5-EQUINE, a toll-free number. Or, mail check or money order to Horses & The Law Publishing, P.O. Box 250696 Franklin, MI 48025-0696.