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People often ask me if they really need to hire a lawyer when facing a DUI charge in Philadelphia. My response: everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but without a good lawyer, you’ll never find the weakness in the prosecution’s case.
When you meet with me, we will discuss all aspects of your defense. If you retain me to represent you, I will do the following:
Some issues I will raise in preparing a DUI defense:
These are just a few of the grounds for fighting a DUI charge in Philadelphia. Call for an appointment so we can discuss the particular facts of your case. Join me on December 2 for a discussion inspired by the Neshaminy High School newspaper controversy. This Constitution Conversation sponsored by My Daily Constitution will focus on the free speech rights of high school students and the government’s power to regulate that speech.
The dispute began when student editors of the Playwickian newspaper decided last year not to print the term "Redskin" in reference to the school's sports teams. Since then, the controversy has been the subject of extensive local and national media coverage. At our conversation, we’ll discuss the law underpinning the controversy, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Tinker v. Des Moines, Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, and West Virginia v. Barnette. Best of all, attendees can take home a free copy of the U.S. Constitution courtesy of My Daily Constitution. Tuesday Dec 2 6 - 8 PM Levittown Branch, Bucks County Public Library Large Meeting Room 7311 New Falls Road, Levittown, PA 19055-1006 Thanks to Linda Pollack and My Daily Constitution for inspiring and coordinating the event. For more information, contact me using the contact button above or reach out to MDC at info@mydailyconstitution.org. Tomorrow afternoon, I'm scheduled to teach a continuing legal education seminar entitled "Fundamentals of New Jersey Residential Landlord-Tenant Practice." Much of what I teach in the seminar comes from practical experience I gained as a legal services attorney representing people in landlord-tenant disputes. I won't say that I've seen it all, but I've seen a lot: landlords who lease illegal apartments unfit for human habitation; government agencies that often miss the mark in providing services; and, yes, some tenants who are bound and determined to game the system.
The seminar runs from 4 to 8 p.m. at Rutgers Law School in Camden, NJ, and seats are still available. If you're interested, click on the link above to register, and be sure to stop by and introduce yourself during the break. Welcome to the McLaughlin Law website. As you can see in the Attorney Profile section, I have 10 years of practice experience. I worked for several years representing low-income tenants and consumers at a local legal services office, where I had hundreds of trials and contested motions. Most recently, I worked for two years as a visiting clinical professor and managing attorney of the Federal Prisoner Reentry Project at Rutgers Law School in Camden, New Jersey.
Working at Rutgers Law was a fantastic experience. I got to work with some exceptionally bright, talented and motivated law students and help them develop into practice-ready attorneys. My students and I represented clients who were incarcerated in federal prison, and we assisted them with a variety of legal matters in both civil and criminal courts. A good lawyer will always learn something from an experience. So what did I learn as a legal services attorney and clinical professor? Many things. First and foremost was this: clients who have a good attorney almost always get a better outcome than clients who don't. Another thing: there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Lawyers have to take the time to listen to their clients and learn all the facts of each client's case. As an attorney, if you don't devote time to a case, you may still get a good result -- sometimes. But eventually, an unprepared lawyer will have an unhappy client. I'll write more soon on the value of trust in the attorney-client relationship. For now, it's back to work. |
AuthorWilliam R. McLaughlin, Esq. 
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