Per Diem Attorneys can be an invaluable part of your law firm practice and are especially helpful to small and mid-sized law firms.
The benefits of a per diem attorney are incredible:
Per Diem Lawyers are an incredible tool for small and mid sized law firms to have in their arsenal. Preparing your Per Diem Attorney is the key to successful coverage. Here are the best ways to utilize a Per Diem Lawyer:
- Provide Case Name and Docket Number. This may sound obvious, but many times attorneys do not provide this information or many times the information is not forthcoming until the day of the appearance.
- Provide the Per Diem Lawyer with Case Background. The Per Diem should know what type of matter he/she is handling. Handling a personal injury case, a contractual dispute, a medical malpractice case are all very different. Forwarding a Complaint or items such as a Bill of Particulars or Interrogatories is usually sufficient since it will have information regarding the case.
- Provide Your Objectives & Goals. Advise the per diem attorney if you would like an adjournment, oppose an adjournment request, enter into a stipulation, not enter into a stipulation, attempt to settle the matter, argue one issue in earnest, etc. To achieve the outcome you desire, your per diem needs to know what your objectives & goals are.
- Is your Per Diem a Superhero? Per Diem Lawyers can many times seem like superheros in court, because of their ability to think quick on their feet and get the job done professionally and competently. However, they do not possess superpowers. If you receive an outcome you are less than satisfied with, often times it not because of any action your per diem attorney did or did not take. For example, if a motion was rejected because it was defective, or an adjournment request was denied because the matter was marked final at the last appearance, etc. - this is beyond the per diem attorney's control. Or maybe like you, the attorney did argue vociferously in support of a motion and still lost. Per Diems are great, amazing and practical and can even overcome what may seem impossible, but they do not have superpowers.
We have complied and brought together Part Information and Telephone Numbers for the following courts:
A per diem attorney travels to court and handles specific legal matters on a per diem basis. The rates charged by per diem attorneys is usually determined by various factors including the type of matter, where the per diem has to appear and the court involved, among other things.
Per diem attorney rates can be inexpensive when compared to the time and expense it would take for the attorney of record to prepare for the appearance, travel time to and from court, and lawyer time spent in court (which can be at least 3-5 hours of attorney time).
Most freelance per diem attorneys can only handle matters in one courthouse or courtroom. A per diem attorney does not usually travel to different courtrooms or courthouse. The downside to hiring a freelance per diem attorney is that he or she will usually turn down any request that is not in the same courthouse or courtroom that he is handling on a particular day. Another downside is that a freelance per diem attorney i usually in court until the afternoons and are difficult to communicate with and may take several days or over one week to provide an outcome or a report.
When a freelance per diem attorney goes on vacation or is sick, then he or she will generally be unable to handle any matters and the attorney who requested coverage will be left without coverage at unexpected times.
A per diem attorney is a freelance attorney and independent contractor. A per diem attorney appears in varied courts on behalf of law firms who are the "attorneys of record" for a client on a given legal matter.
The per diem attorney is provided with information and specific instructions by the handling attorney and attorney of record. The matter and court appearance is handled in accord with the attorney of record's instructions.
The per diem attorney's appearance in court is strictly limited to the particular appearance made and the handling attorney remains responsible for the matter at all times.
Per diem attorneys usually only appear in one courthouse or one courtroom on a given date.
Zuniga & Rinaldi provide quality per diem services to law firms across the state. We offer two types of coverage, traditional court appearances and our "virtual associate" service, a unique service offered by Zuniga & Rinaldi.
We are not your ordinary per diem attorneys. Our per diem attorneys go above and beyond in all aspects of the assignment to ensure client satisfaction. We are responsive and provide immediate confirmation of coverage requests and we also email appearance reports within twenty-four hours of the appearance.
Our lawyers cover matters in all of the following venues:
- Queens Supreme, Queens Civil, Queens No-Fault, Queens Night Court;
- Bronx Supreme, Bronx Civil, Bronx No-Fault, Bronx Night Court;
- New York Supreme, New York Civil, New York No-Fault, New York Night Court;
- Kings Supreme and Kings Civil;
- Richmond Supreme and Richmond Civil;
- Suffolk District Court and Nassau District Court;
- Bankruptcy Court and More.
Our clients include solo practitioners who are seeking to avoid spending hours in court, mid-sized law firms geographically located outside of the greater metropolitan region and "in-house counsel" preferring to assign "local" counsel to handle their litigation cases in bulk.
Quit fighting traffic. Quit losing hours of time and money in court. Let us handle the stress while you meet your deadlines and focus on the bottom line. Our per diem services are cost effective and extremely practical. Our rates are reasonable.
Contact Zuniga & Rinaldi for all of your per diem needs at 1-877-737-8539 or at firm@nyperdiems.com
NEW ORK PER DIEMS - BRONX, QUEENS, NEW YORK, KINGS, NASSAU, SUFFOLK, WESTCHESTER - PER DIEM ATTORNEYS - WE ARE NOT YOUR ORDINARY PER
