Tag Archives: family law

Blog, Family, Legal News

Parents sue South Glens Falls schools after bullied son kills himself

Parents of boy, 13, who killed himself claim South Glens Falls school failed to address bullying, abuse or to alert them of situation

By Bethany Bump

On the day Jacobe Taras killed himself, he had an appointment to see the school guidance counselor.

A couple weeks earlier, before spring recess and the family trip to Florida and the sunshine and the open waters, the 13-year-old had filled out a survey in class. It was from a school counselor, and it asked whether there was anything anyone needed to talk about. Jacobe wrote “no,” then crossed it out and wrote “maybe.”

He never went to see the guidance counselor that first day back from vacation, on April 13, 2015. And as far as his parents are aware, no one at the Oliver W. Winch Middle School in South Glens Falls ever tried to find out why. Jacobe went home that day and shot himself, leaving a note for his parents describing the torment at the hands of his bullies.

On the day Jacobe Taras killed himself, he had an appointment to see the school guidance counselor.

A couple weeks earlier, before spring recess and the family trip to Florida and the sunshine and the open waters, the 13-year-old had filled out a survey in class. It was from a school counselor, and it asked whether there was anything anyone needed to talk about. Jacobe wrote “no,” then crossed it out and wrote “maybe.”

He never went to see the guidance counselor that first day back from vacation, on April 13, 2015. And as far as his parents are aware, no one at the Oliver W. Winch Middle School in South Glens Falls ever tried to find out why. Jacobe went home that day and shot himself, leaving a note for his parents describing the torment at the hands of his bullies.

Sourced From – http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Parents-sue-South-Glens-Falls-schools-after-7951546.php

Blog, Divorce, Family

Top 5 Things to Ask Your (Potential) Divorce Lawyer

by 

While there are many things you should ask your divorce lawyer, you should really also ask yourself many things such as simply “do I feel good about him or her.” There is often not much time to decide upon which lawyer to choose, so your gut instinct may be your best guidepost. But to help you, here are some questions you can ask that might help you determine whether or not a certain lawyer will be a good fit for you.

5. Tell me how your fees work?
Any good lawyer should be more than willing to discuss his or her fees with you. Not just what their hourly rate is, but what could make the case more expensive and how to conserve costs. While it is impossible to predict what a divorce will cost (unless it is a flat fee because it is uncontested, or the lawyer is willing to set a flat fee, or flat fees based on certain criterion), a lawyer should be able to give you a general idea of what it could cost and why. If the lawyer won’t answer this, or does not answer this to your satisfaction, maybe that’s a bad sign?

4. Do you know my spouse’s lawyer, and what do you think of him or her?
While you may think it is good to hire a lawyer who already dislikes the other side’s lawyer, this is often the opposite of what’s in your best interests. Good lawyers know and respect each other and will try to move the case along with as little friction as possible. Of course this can be difficult, given the emotional nature of divorce, but adding a layer of hostility (lawyer to lawyer hostility) on top of the potential hostility between spouses is not a good thing.

3. Do you practice in other areas of law?
While some lawyers, especially in small towns, handle different types of law (often because in a smaller community they may need to because thankfully there is not enough divorce work to keep them busy full time), a lawyer who handles divorce every day, all day will have more experience than a lawyer of similar years in practice who also handles other types of cases. Plus, divorce is unique. It is one of the very few areas of law where the parties will often need to maintain a relationship after the case, so how the case is handled may well set the stage for the post-divorce relationship of the parties. Divorce lawyers know this and hopefully keep it in mind. Make no mistake, a lawyer who handles other types of law may be a great lawyer, and may be a great divorce lawyer, but the more you do something, the better you should be at it (although of course there are exceptions).

Full Article – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randall-m-kessler/top-5-things-to-ask-your-_b_8240184.html