Over the last ten years or so, we have seen a large number of claimants make the same mistakes over and over that make their employment case weaker or ruin any possibility of winning and/or obtaining compensation altogether – handling their own case without legal representation. Many workers (and some employers) are tempted to do all the research about their legal issue on their own and try to handle filling and pursuing their case by themselves. After all, theoretically all the information about employment laws and the case filing process is available to the public online.
However, the legal process or proving or defending an employment or wrongful termination case is challenging enough for lawyers, let alone for those who engage in employment litigation for the first time. By the time a party who represents himself realizes that they can’t handle their case on their own and without representation, all kinds of errors have probably already been made – from suing incorrect parties, filing thei case in an incorrect court, to bringing the wrong types of claims and / or missing all kinds of important deadlines that cannot be extended later and therefore not having access to evidence critical to proving their case. I have heard “I am in way over my head” way too many times from a potential client who waited for way too long to hire an attorney because they were hoping to save on legal fees. Sometimes we are able to help them last minute, while at other times the case has been so irreversibly damaged that it makes it impossible for us or anyone else to help them. This is especially true in situations where a client contact us just a month or two before their trial date or a hearing on a motion to dismiss.
A fellow attorney in the community reported recently that a potential client who appeared to have a strong case against his employer contacted him after receiving $1,500 settlement offer from his employer which was obviously extremely low. When he learned that he would have to make a one-time retainer payment to that lawyer for about that much to cover initial costs, he decided to file a case on his own. The lawsuit was improperly drafted because it included claims that were simply inapplicable to that specific case. The case was dismissed less than four months after it was filed – something that could have been easily avoided had that claimant been represented.
If you are determined to represent yourself in your own employment case, I urge you to reconsider or at least speak with one or two reputable employment lawyers, so you don’t end up being penny wise and pound foolish. At the very least, you will get professional advice about your case that will be valuable to you even if you decide to represent yourself. And, if no attorney appears to be willing to represent you when you are looking to hire a lawyer, after you spoke with a few of them, chances are that your case is not worth pursuing for all the reasons that those lawyers have mentioned to you. We have been hearing all too often the “I should have listened to you and taken your advice back when we spoke last year, instead of spending so much money and time on a case that didn’t go anywhere”, but it doesn’t have to happen to you. Also, be sure to read about the three mistakes to avoid when hiring an employment lawyer.