What you NEED in a Denver Law Firm

The idea of entering into a law suit is not a fun one. It is stressful and bothersome. It is so overwhelming that some even decide against it either because they do not want the headache themselves or because they do not want to inflict suffering upon someone else. The right Denver law firm offers information to educate victims of their rights and entitlements. Their resources will put you at ease when considering legal remedy and put you in touch with an attorney in your local area.

Common legal procedures include personal injury, divorce, criminal defense, bankruptcy, immigration law, and employment law. If your legal matter falls in one of these areas it may be comforting just to know that you are definitely not alone and that others, like you, are standing up for themselves to receive compensation for their hardship. The right Denver law firm offers comprehensive guides in each of these procedures, as well as many others. From definition to compensation you will find the answers you need to proceed with knowledge and confidence.
In addition to knowledge you need advice. How do you even know that you have a case? Submit your details to the right law firm in Denver and they will provide you with a free case evaluation from a local lawyer. You won't have to wait around for your case information either. Most replies are received within minutes of their submission.

Once you make contact with a Denver law firm and your local Denver attorney, you will discuss all your concerns and address any questions you have. But maybe you would like to immerse yourself in some knowledge first. You may just wonder how a personal injury claim works. Or how does one prove medical malpractice. These answers and many more can be found in the Resources area of Lawfirm.com

The right Denver law firm also knows that in addition to knowledge, awareness provides education and comfort to a person considering or entering into a law suit. That is why they offer current and relevant news stories consisting of case reviews, current laws, and new laws being passed. Whether the new stories are directly related to the matters of your case or not, the articles provide insight and understanding of laws and court cases, how they work, and what to expect.

The right Lakewood law firm in and of itself is an easy to understand and non-intimidating resource for people pursuing legal remedy. It offers advice and assistance from the first stage of consideration to receiving compensation for a one stop shop of legal advice and service.

Positioning in a Law Firm

If you run into a legal dispute, and everyone does, you may need to hire a Denver law firm to represent you. If so, it helps to know who is who in regard to positions in the law firm. It may be confusing but we'll try to clearify it in this article.

Positions in a Law Firm
It may come as a surprise to learn that Denver law firms tend to be very rigid in their structure. From the very beginning, the law firm has maintained a layered structure that just seemed to work. As the years have passed, there has been little or no change to this structure. If you retain a Denver law firm to represent you in any legal matter, it helps to understand the positions and who you will be speaking with.

At the top of the organization chart is the lead attorney on your case. This is where the buck stops when it comes to strategy, final decisions and problems. The lead attorney is often a partner in the firm, but not always. He or she is the attorney you will probably meet with when you first come into the firm. The attorney is responsible for practically everything on your case, but has a team that does much of the leg work on day to day matters.

Below the lead attorney, one tends to find an associate lawyer. The associate is typically a less experienced attorney who is earning his or her stripes and trying to work their way up to a partner position. When it comes to communicating with the firm on your case, you will inevitably talk with the associate on numerous occasions. He or she will often call with questions related to factual issues and will address many of your questions as they arise.

Next comes the valuable paralegal. The paralegal is not a licensed Denver attorney, but is often very knowledgeable on legal issues and strategies. The paralegal role in a firm is to do most of the detail work. This can include hunting down witnesses, setting depositions, compiling filings and so on. He or she will often share work with the associate attorney.

Finally, the law clerk is a person in the firm that will probably work on your case a lot without you even knowing it. A law clerk is almost always a law school student trying to get some experience in a Denver Law firm to beef up their resume. To pick up practical experience, the law clerk takes a part time position with the firm. The job duties vary from firm to firm, but often are focused on doing legal research on various legal issues. Much of the legal regulation of a situation is determined by case law opinions issues by appellate or supreme courts of the states and federal jurisdictions. A law clerk spends a lot of time in a library reading these as they relate to your matter and reporting the results back to the associate and lead attorney. This is a very important position for your legal case but often the credit is not given to the legal cleark.

Denver's Best Lawyers

Preeminent Denver Trial Lawyers

The attorneys of The Overton Law Firm provide pragmatic and cost-effective representation to large corporations, small to mid-sized businesses, and individuals in Denver and throughout Colorado. The firm is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and all of our trial lawyers have at least 20 years of trial experience.

Our firm focuses on sophisticated trial work in virtually all areas of complex business litigation. Companies and corporations rely upon us to provide sound business counsel and personalized legal services. Employers and employees alike trust our employment law lawyers to resolve a range of employment concerns and labor disputes. We also seek compensation and justice for clients in serious injury and wrongful death claims.

More information about the background, experience, and accomplishments of our attorneys, can be found in their individual profiles below.

Thomas J. Overton
Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy

Since graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law with High Honors in 1982, Thomas J. Overton has practiced exclusively as a trial attorney. Mr. Overton is certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, an organization accredited by the American Bar Association. Mr. Overton is trial tested. He has been lead counsel in numerous trials and appeals in both federal and state courts in Colorado and across the country.

Mr. Overton acts as a Hearing Officer for the Colorado Supreme Court Attorney Regulation Board. He has served on several community boards, including the Denver Children's Home (past president) and the Colorado Intermountain Fixed Guideway Authority. He is also active in the American Inns of Court.

Mr. Overton founded the predecessor of The Overton Law Firm in 1991 after spending several years with a nationwide law firm. His clients include multinational corporations, professionals, entrepreneurs, small and medium sized businesses, and individuals and families.

Mr. Overton is committed to fighting the battles that have to be fought to protect his client's rights and interests. His experience includes a wide variety of complex business litigation as well as cases involving serious personal injuries and death. Because of his recognized expertise, Mr. Overton is often hired by other lawyers to act as special trial counsel on cases they are handling.
Mr. Overton has been selected as a Colorado Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and identified as a "go-to" Lawyer by Fortune Magazine.

Mr. Overton is highly experienced in handling contentious litigation. He works closely with his clients to achieve their goals and favorable results on their cases.

Dan S. Cross
Dan S. Cross has practiced in the fields of labor and employment, business law and commercial litigation since his admission to the practice of law in 1979. He is a cum laude graduate of Duke University (B.A., Public Policy Studies), and Mr. Cross is a graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. From 1990 to 1996, Mr. Cross was Senior Human Resources Counsel at U S WEST. Now a partner with The Overton Law Firm, Mr. Cross has built a successful practice representing businesses of all sizes.

Mr. Cross has been selected as a "Super Lawer" by 5280 Magazine and identified as a "go-to" lawyer by Fortune Magazine.

In addition to corporate law, his practice emphasizes labor and employment law and litigation, and he represents both executives and businesses. His more than twenty-five years of multi-state experience includes labor negotiations, reductions in force, sexual harassment, non-compete issues, wrongful terminations, employment litigation, and compliance with all labor employment laws, including the FMLA, FLSA, ADEA, and ADA. He is a featured speaker to human resources professionals and to attorneys for their continuing legal education credit on employment issues such as drug-testing, executive separations, employee discipline, and unlawful discrimination.

Mr. Cross is acknowledged by all levels of management to be responsible, practical and well-informed. His advice is pragmatic and usable, and he offers aggressive and personalized representation to businesses, executives and management employees.

Richard J. Gleason
Richard J. Gleason has practiced for more than 20 years in the fields of commercial litigation, personal injury litigation, municipal law and business representation. Prior to practicing law, he worked as a certified public accountant for a Big Four accounting firm. Mr. Gleason is a graduate of Colorado State University and the University of Denver College of Law.

Mr. Gleason served as an assistant city attorney for two Denver metro cities for more than eight years. In addition to litigation, he has worked extensively in the areas of land use, construction, and liquor licensing.

Mr. Gleason's practice is founded on his understanding that people engage attorneys in order to achieve solutions to problems and to resolve disputes. He is committed to providing the most cost-effective means of achieving his client's objectives. He knows that these goals can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation, and he is skilled in each of them.

The Overton Law Firm

A “GO TO” law firm for America’s top companies
(as listed in Fortune Magazine 2006)

The Overton Law Firm provides aggressive and personalized legal representation to individuals and businesses in Denver and throughout Colorado. Quality legal representation begins with experienced, knowledgeable and trial-tested attorneys. Each of our lawyers has more than 20 years of legal experience. All of our attorneys are AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale Hubbell and we are proud to be listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. Two of our attorneys have been named Colorado Super Lawyers® in their areas of legal specialization. The Overton Law Firm is included in the Colorado Corporate Counsel Black Book.

Whether you are a top 500 company or an individual who has been seriously injured in a car accident, your legal concern will receive the attention it deserves from a lawyer who understands the complexity of the issues involved and the laws that apply. Contact the Overton Law Firm to speak with an attorney regarding your legal concern. In personal injury matters, we offer free initial consultations to help you decide the best course of action.

Business Litigation ● Employment Law ● Personal Injury ● Business Services

The Overton Law Firm provides legal representation in four primary areas: business litigation, business law, employment law, and personal injury law. Additionally, individual attorneys assist with other legal matters such as products liability, real estate, disputes, professional licensing, business break-ups, construction law, and business counseling.

Business Litigation and Counseling: The Overton Law Firm represents a broad range of corporate clients, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Whether your company's problem involves significant financial transactions or complex procedural issues, our lawyers will work with your management team to develop a strategy to achieve your business goals. Our collective experience and team approach to business litigation can protect your company's interests in business litigation, negotiations, mediation, or arbitration.

Employment Law — Employers: The Overton Law Firm provides counseling to corporate clients ranging from closely-held businesses to Fortune 500 companies on such issues as severance, stock options, non-competition agreements, overtime pay, employment contracts, Department of Labor investigations and union issues. Our attorneys have in-depth experience and are recognized as creative problem-solvers and strategists.

Personal Injury Lawsuits: Our Colorado personal injury attorneys are highly experienced in helping people who have been seriously injured and the families who have lost loved ones in motor vehicle collisions, industrial accidents, or from using dangerous or defective products. We have reached successful resolutions through trial and settlement for clients with serious head injuries, back and neck injuries, and other traumatic injuries.

Employment Law — Employees: The Overton Law Firm's trial attorneys represent business executives and managers in employment litigation. The Overton Law Firm provides counseling to business executives on such issues as severance, stock options, non-compete agreements, terminations, and employment contracts. The Overton Law Firm's attorneys focus their strong analytical and communication skills on practical and effective resolutions to employer and employee disputes.

Contact our Denver law office to schedule a consultation with a Colorado trial attorney at the Overton Law Firm. We offer free initial consultations in personal injury and wrongful death cases.

The Significance of a Denver Trial Lawyer for your Case

Written by Carla Ballatan

Cases concerning personal injuries could be traumatic enough as it is, without having to undergo a trial. It is most unfortunate, though, nowadays, insurance companies are more daring than before, which was around the 70s and 80s era.

Now, these insurance companies are in favor of the cases going to a Denver trial as opposed to their usual caution before not to have a case go into trial.

Even the propaganda of insurance companies may now have certain effects on the potential jurors' insight about cases. Now days, most jurors coming to court may already have the expectation that they would find a scam or fraud artist who is professing to be severely injured because of a minor incident.

The broadcast and print media have fairly warned the people repeatedly regarding "Jackpot Justice" wherein people could go before the court asking to be rewarded with millions just because of an incident where they have been spilled with coffee, have fell down into a puddle of water in the department store or had a minor fender bender. These cases are usually termed as frivolous cases.

The insurance companies' propaganda may be right in some cases. Probably these cases are not that numerous but are highlighted so that some victims become discouraged in ever filing a claim, much less a lawsuit before court.

Due to these, there are additional challenges for a Denver trial lawyer with specialization in personal injury and its myriad aspects, to bring light on the significance of a client's case. Even if the jurors and the other participants of a trial case may or may not understand it yet.
The Denver trial lawyer will make every effort in order to let them see your plight as sincerely as possible to thwart off the pre-conditioned thoughts on the minds of the jurors and the other participants. Your trial lawyer will also know how your case can be steered off the possible instances wherein the whole trial would become a terrible experience for you.

Here are the following general steps during trial wherein your Denver lawyer could have a hand in stressing the credence of your case.

Selection of jury or Voir Dire - the lawyers can do the jury selection according to the state's rules. In this process, the lawyer could be subjected to legal rules on what to ask the jurors. However, a brilliant trial lawyer would be highly skilled in knowing how to recognize the potential jurors with a pre-conditioned opinion about the case or with potential for prejudice and discrimination about your situation.

Opening statements - your lawyer, considered, as the Plaintiff's lawyer may be first to deliver his/her opening statements before the Defendant's lawyer or the lawyer for the person/entity you have sued.

If your Denver lawyer is highly competent and a persuasive and expressive speaker, to boot, then he/she can make your case stronger than it actually already is. It takes in-depth research for the trial lawyer to give a factual picture of your pain and suffering and not only move the jurors and the audience's emotions regarding your pitiful state.

Likewise, the witness presentation and cross-examinations up to the final arguments give your lawyer a good fighting chance to provide more emphasis on your injuries and its implications to you and your family's life.

You will be more vindicated in putting your stakes and trust an expert trial lawyer when the jury deliberation passed and they decided to give you the just compensation you are entitled to receive.

Denver Trial Attorneys

If you have been charged with a crime, whether it’s a summary offense or a felony, Denver trial attorneys can be invaluable members of your legal team. Representing yourself in a Denver criminal court is almost a sure way of getting convicted of the crime in question. The law is complicated and only an experienced Denver trial attorney should be trusted with case preparation and presenting your defense to a court of law. One factor that affects the seriousness of your case is the classification of the crime you have been charged with. If you hire a Denver attorney early on, you can review the classification of the crime to plan how you will prepare your defense.

Crimes Against Justice
If a crime is classified as a crime against justice, it means that the crime was committed by interfering with law enforcement or government officials. Crimes against justice can include obstruction of justice, bribery of government officials, and lying under oath. If you destroy documents that are needed for a civil or criminal case, or hide or destroy other evidence, this can also be considered a crime against justice. If you have been charged with this type of crime, consult with a firm that has several Denver trial attorneys so you can find the best attorney for your needs.

Incohate Offenses
An inchoate offense sounds complicated to understand, but it’s actually simple. An inchoate offense is when someone tries to commit a crime but is unable to carry out their intentions. Examples of inchoate offenses include conspiracy to commit murder, attempted theft, and acting as an accessory to a crime. If you are charged with an attempted crime, you cannot be charged for the actual crime itself. If you are charged with an inchoate offense, Denver trial attorneys can help you prepare your defense.

Crimes Against the Person
Crimes against the person are crimes that physically or emotionally injure someone or cause death. Good examples of crimes against the person are kidnapping, manslaughter, homicide, and rape. Crimes against the person are considered to be serious offenses, so you should immediately meet with Denver trial attorneys so you can select one to help you prepare your defense.

Crimes Against Property
Crimes against property are crimes involving property damage or the removal of property from its rightful owner. Examples of crimes against property include arson, larceny, burglary, and computer crimes. Many of these offenses are serious crimes and have serious criminal penalties for convicted offenders. If you have been charged with any crime against property, New Jersey trial attorneys should be your first line of defense.

Denver trial attorneys can be valuable sources of legal advice and make ideal advocates for defendants accused of any of the four types of crimes. If you have been charged with a crime against the person, crime against the property, crimes against justice, or an inchoate offense, work with a group of Denver trial attorneys to prepare a solid defense for your trial.

Are you looking for the best Denver trail attorney? Look no further, check out our Denver attorney website today!

Tips to choosing an Injury Law Firm

If you have suffered severe injuries, even significant property, and economic damages as a result of an accident that happened due to someone else's fault, you need to understand what sort of legal actions to pursue. This is the time that you will need the services of a personal injury law firm and / or a particular lawyer only with expertise in these cases.

If you were keen on hiring one, most probably you would look up the county or city phonebook listings of PI attorneys. Whoa, much to your bewilderment, you behold such a lot of number offering their services. With this you are faced with the question - how do you find someone who is really an expert and not just someone claiming to be one?

Questions like what particular quality should you are looking for pop into your head. What questions should you address?

Here are some great tips on the things you have to know before you finally decide on the injury law firm or lawyer to hire:
1. Keep in mind that as a victim, the sooner you are able to hire a Denver lawyer the bigger advantage for you. You must start searching for the personal injury lawyer to offer expert help on your case before two weeks has passed by on the actual date of your accident.
If you are not able to launch the search yourself since your accident and because of disability, request a friend or family member to start the search for you. Discuss with them the qualities of those they have encountered.
Even the Denver lawyer will be aware of the necessity and urgency of building your PI case as soon as possible.

2. Select a PI lawyer based on the particular type of injury you have sustained. It is important to check out his or her length of experience and expertise in handling injury cases such as you are suffering.

Before you sign into the denver lawyer's retainer agreement, visit the law firm or lawyer's site first and read the history of the firm, the biographical profiles of its lawyers and other key information to help you judge the trustworthiness and expertise in handling your case.
Request for references and do not be ashamed to ask about the length of experience that they had undergone in handling injury cases similar to yours. Further, look up the settlement awards that the law firm/lawyer has won for their former clients on cases similar to yours.

3. Remember to conduct a personal meeting with your potential Denver lawyer. He / she will become your closest consultant during this complicated and stressing time of your life. Tune out your feelings towards him/her. You need to be comfortable around him / her and be able to trust and depend upon him / her.
This can be arranged by having a personal sit-down meeting with your attorney and discuss your case. A good injury lawyer even offers the initial consultation as a free service.

4. Also, make sure that the lawyer you will hire espouses the contingency fee system. It means that you will not be paying for the lawyers' services unless he / she win your case.

Be wise enough in choosing a reputable Denver Law Firm with expert Denver Attorneys to represent your case.