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Vtlegalhelp.com
"Information is Power"
October 2009 |
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Greetings!
In this newsletter, our focus is litigation and its many component parts. We do a great deal of litigation here, from personal injury, to family law issues, commercial and contract disputes, real estate and environmental litigation. There is a common thread in any litigation: a lawyer must gather and analyze the pertinent evidence, review and analyze the law, interview and prepare witnesses, and organize the evidence and testimony in a way that the trier of fact can easily digest. A lawyer who has lived with a case for months and years must present that case to a judge or jury who often has little knowledge of the case. It is a classic communication problem that is interesting for a lawyer to solve. A good litigator must also be tenacious, honest and professional with clients, the opposing party, and the court; and be a good negotiator. Over 90% of all cases settle, before trial but if a lawyer is not prepared for trial--and negotiations-- a good settlement is far less likely.
Warm regards,
Deb Bucknam
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Nancy Knowles, R.N., nurse consultant
Nancy Knowles analyzes medical records as a part of our litigation practice. Medical records are an important part of many cases, including personal injury, medical malpractice, divorce and custody cases, and employment discrimination cases. Her reports on medical records are invaluable to us in analyzing issues such as extent and cause of injury and disability, effectiveness of medical treatment, and malingering (or lack thereof).
Nancy has an interesting and varied background. From her earliest childhood memories, she felt a calling to nursing, having close family members as role models. Her nursing career has included long term and home health care nursing, nursing in Vermont's correctional facilities, in physician's offices, and in acute hospital settings.
She is has an R.N. license in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Nursing is not her only talent. She began piano lessons at the age of 5, and played for Leonard Bernstein at Radio City Music Hall when she was 11. She has played, danced and sung with dance bands, jazz bands, concert bands, in piano bars, in summer stock and in churches. She was director of musical liturgy for several large parishes on the Jersey seacoast.
She has been an inveterate explorer of the mountains and valleys of New England, and loves snowshoeing, skiing, bicycling and hiking.
Nancy is married and has 5 children and 7 grandchildren
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Quiz: What is the only right that is deemed "sacred" in Vermont's constitution?
Find scales of justice to see answer.
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Deborah T. Bucknam & Associates, PC
 Serving Vermont and New Hampshire Legal and Real Estate Needs |
I hate going to court--what can I do?
By Deborah T. Bucknam, Esq. There very few people who enjoy court--besides attorneys and judges. Being a witness is an anxiety producing experience that most people want to avoid. But there are times when you must be a witness at a trial. There are ways to make the experience less painful Here are some suggestions: - Be prepared. Your attorney should go over your testimony ahead of time, and provide you with exhibits he or she wants you to identify. Your attorney should also go over with you likely questions the opposing attorney will be asking. Even going to the courtroom ahead of time and finding out where you will be sitting is a way to feel more comfortable about the experience.
- Be brief. Many people come to court thinking they have to present their case. If a lawyer is involved, that is not true. It is the lawyer's job to present the evidence in the case. A witness's job is to answer the questions truthfully and briefly. Witnesses who want to make sure they tell the court everything they think is important often hurt their case, because they do not have the tools to analyze what information is important to the court.
- Tell the truth. Similarly, many people come to court afraid that the opposing lawyer is going to somehow fool them into testifying about something that is not accurate. That is also a needless worry. An honest witness can never be fooled by a lawyer.
- Remember that your lawyer will be able to ask you questions after cross examination to clarify any issues brought up during cross examination. Here is a secret lawyers know: cross examination can often help to bring out issues that the lawyer could not bring out in direct examination because of the rules of evidence. So cross examination can be helpful to your case.
 Answer to Quiz question: The right to civil jury trial.
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Will contests--How to Challenge, and How to Avoid
By Deborah T. Bucknam, Esq.
Will contests are one of the most interesting cases for a lawyer, but one of the most painful for a family. If someone has died leaving a will, the law allows interested parties to contest the will. Interested parties are people who would have inherited if there was no will, such as children and grandchildren, and parties who were beneficiaries of a previous will. For example, if Grandma willed her bank accounts to her favorite charity, then changed her will to give the accounts to her favorite nephew, the charity has standing to contest the will.
"Standing" is just the first requirement in a successful will contest. The next step is to determine if the testator's will was executed properly. In Vermont, that means that a testator must sign his/her name in front of two witnesses, who must also witness each other's signature. The witnesses must satisfy themselves that the testator has testamentary capacity and is not under undue influence. The testator should declare that the will represents his/her wishes regarding his/her assets, and that the testator wants the witnesses to witness his signature, and that of the other witness. Witnesses do not need to know the contents of the will. If the will was executed properly, the contestant must prove that the testator did not have the mental capacity to execute a will, or was under undue influence of someone else when he or she executed the will. A person can be mentally disabled and still execute a will. The test is "testamentary capacity", which means testators must understand what they are doing when executing the will, have adequate knowledge of what they own, perceive and understand how they want to dispose of the assets, and have an understanding of who will be the beneficiaries of the will. Read more....
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Deborah T. Bucknam & Associates, PC
1097 Main Street
PO Box 310
St. Johnsbury, Vermont 05819
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