Going to Court

Criminal, Municipal Court, Traffic 1. You must fully cooperate with the Law Firm and provide all information relevant to the issues involved in this matter. You must fill out the Interview Sheet accurately. If you do not provide accurate information to the court and your attorney, you may expose yourself to a higher DMV surcharge assessment. You must also provide details to your attorney on what you told the police. We recommend you contact DMV, now Motor Vehicle Commission, and obtain a driver's license abstract. 888-486-3339 or 609-292-6500. This will help your attorney when you go to court.

2. You must call the Court or Law Office 24 hours before all hearings and court appearances to confirm the case has not been adjourned.

3. You must bring all your original papers and entire file of all documents and letters you have received from the attorney, the Court, insurance companies and the DMV/ MVC connected to your case whenever you come to the law office, to court, or other appearances where both you and your attorney will be present.

When you arrive at Court, please check in. Hearing times are often delayed. If by chance the attorney handling the hearing is not at the hearing room when you arrive, please do not panic. The attorney will soon arrive to handle the case. The attorney often travels from other courts. Please remain in the courtroom/hearing room until the attorney arrives, if possible. Usually the attorney will go to speak directly with the Prosecutor or Court Clerk prior to going into the courtroom. In municipal court/traffic cases, we recommend our clients not speak with the Prosecutor but rather wait for your attorney to arrive. If you will have to pay court costs or a fine, bring a checkbook or cash. Most towns and state agencies still do not accept credit cards. Do not leave the court and go home until instructed by Mr. Vercammen or a member of our staff.

4. You must notify your attorney and the court immediately if your address or phone numbers change.

5. Under the NJ Rules of Professional Conduct and Court Rules, the attorney cannot send a letter of representation to the court until the Retainer is paid in full. All fees and requirements under this written retainer agreement and any other written documents must be complied with. You must also pay all legal bills. If you do not comply with these requirements, the Law Firm will not represent you. Failure to comply with all requirements shall permit the law office to withdraw its offer of representation. The Law Office always charges a fee of between $50 - $100 for bad checks.

6. The attorney does not usually adjourn hearing dates once the Court sets the hearing date by computer notice. If the client wants a new date, they should call the Court directly. The law office charges an additional $75.00 to cancel Court dates and reschedule once the court date is set.

7. The Law Firm agrees to provide conscientious, competent and diligent services and at all times will seek to achieve solutions which are just and reasonable for you. However, because of the uncertainty of legal proceedings, the interpretation and changes in the law and many unknown factors, attorneys cannot and do not warrant, predict or guarantee results or the final outcome of any case. Your payment of the legal fee indicates you have read and agree to this Agreement. This is a non-refundable retainer/representation fee, pursuant to Superior Court decisions and New Jersey RPC.

Personal Injury- Arbitration at the Courthouse

We provide our clients with a draft of the Arbitration Statement which we will file with the Arbitration Office. Please advise the attorney immediately in writing with any changes in the Arbitration Statement. The Arbitration is held before an attorney selected by the Assignment Judge who will read medical reports and statements submitted by the parties, then listen to testimony from the parties for approximately 15 minutes. The Arbitrator will make a decision as to who they feel is responsible and whether damages should be awarded. We suggest you visit the accident site during the week prior to Arbitration, and call all of your doctors to confirm all bills are paid.

We always provide our clients with a copy of the Answers to Interrogatories. Please carefully review the Answers to Interrogatories before the Arbitration. You should be fully familiar with the information which was supplied by way of answers to interrogatories because many of the Arbitration questions will involve the same information. If you cannot locate your copy of the Answers to the Interrogatories, please call my secretary and we will forward to you another copy.

You must be present in court and prepared to proceed at that time. You should bring all of your papers in connection with your case to Arbitration. Please call my secretary approximately 24 hours before this hearing to confirm that the Arbitrator has not adjourned your hearing.

CONTACT DOCTORS TO DETERMINE UNPAID AMOUNTS

Under NJ Law, you personally will be liable for all unpaid medical and treatment bills. Many MRI facilities and physical therapy centers fail to provide notice of unpaid bills to clients. They sometimes fail to properly submit to insurance, major medical or other available insurance's. You should call all doctors, hospitals and any other medical providers to determine the unpaid bills and confirm when they sent their bill to the insurance companies. If there is an unpaid bill, have the medical provider send a copy to you, and fax a copy to my office. Under the New Jersey Collateral Source Law, a defendant can never be liable for any bills unless the bill is first submitted to the insurance companies.

APPEAL OF ARBITRATOR'S DECISION

Either party if unhappy must pay $200.00 to appeal and have a trial. Usually insurance companies appeal to delay payment. Under Court Rule 4:21A-6 (1), a formal Trial De Novo must be filed within 30 days of the arbitration. If you are unsatisfied with the decision by the arbitrator, you must obtain a money order or prepare a check for $200.00 payable to Treasurer, State of New Jersey, Court Rule 4:21A-6. A trial week is scheduled three to four months after the Arbitration. Your doctors will usually require you to pay them up front for their testimony. They will often charge you up front between $2,500.00 and $4,000.00 for testimony. On the trial week, you will have to sit around at the courthouse for several days until a Judge becomes available.