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| Working with a Discrimination Lawyer |
Find a lawyer quickly
You want to have legal representation throughout the entire process. Without a lawyer you may emphasize the wrong facts or leave out vital information and jeopardize your case.
Certainly don't wait until after the agency has reviewed your case to look for a lawyer. Many lawyers who specialize in discrimination law have extremely full caseloads and will not take a case in which the expiration date for suing is fast approaching.
Don't be surprised if it is difficult to find a lawyer: discrimination lawyers are able to represent only a small percentage of the people who contact them with potential cases.
Some lawyers specialize in class action cases, in which groups of people join together to combat discrimination at a certain company or organization. A class action can very often get you a good result without the wear and tear of taking on a powerful entity on your own.
Watch the time limits for filing
This is likely either 180 or 300 days. If you haven't gotten a lawyer within a few months after the discrimination occurred, you might want to consider filing with the government agency on your own.
The stronger your proof and the more you have been damaged, the more likely you will be able to find a lawyer who is willing to represent you on a contingent basis - that means they get paid at the end of the case after you have won or settled. If you ultimately win at trial, the law requires the defendant to pay your attorney's fees and costs.
Because these cases are notoriously hard to prove, however, some lawyers only take them if you can pay their hourly rate.
Other lawyers will expect to take up to 50 percent of your winnings if the case goes to trial.
Most lawyers expect individuals to pay some or all of the costs of getting a case to court. Those costs include depositions, experts, copy costs and filing fees, and generally total at least $10,000 - considerably more if a psychiatric examination is required.
Even though no one can guarantee you'll win your case, any lawyer you hire should be able to tell you what kind of damages you may be able to win and how strong or weak your case appears.
Possibility of settling
There are three points in time when cases are most often settled: (1) before the litigation starts and both sides have spent money on lawyers; (2) after both sides have investigated the facts and a court has said the case can continue to trial; and (3) "on the court house steps" - right before trial.
The least risky and emotionally draining time for settlement is at the very beginning - before you and your lawyer sink time and money into the case.
If your case is filed in court, you will be expected to provide evidence of how you have been damaged. If you are claiming wage loss, you will have to provide records about your income. If you are claiming emotional distress, you will usually have to turn over most of your medical records, especially psychological records.
Claiming you were emotionally damaged by discrimination also usually opens up your private life to investigation. The defendant's lawyers will want to show that your distress is because of personal problems, not discrimination. You may also have to be examined by a psychiatrist selected by the defendant.
These cases may drag on, first through the administrative agencies and then through the courts.
Stay involved
Months may go by without much happening. Talk to people with knowledge of the case who might have leads and notify your lawyer if you discover potential witnesses. Some cases are won on the client's footwork, not the lawyer's.
Jean Boler has practiced law for 18 years, concentrating in employment litigation and discrimination.
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