Questions and Professional Answers

• A character reference letter for a sentence hearing.

  How do I receive assistants or reference material on how to write a character reference letter for a family facing assault charges?

  • Re: A character reference letter for a sentence hearing.

    It's really quite simple. Think about what you would like the judge to know about the persons being sentenced, such as accomplishments, service to the community, church affiliations, good reputation, etc. Then just get in in print and signed by the writer.Nancy L. Moore

    Nancy Moore
    Nancy L. Moore, Esq.
    15357 Farmington Road
    Livonia, MI 48154

• Wills and a letter of instruction on how to pass the personal property

  Must the will reference the letter of instruction for the letter to be valid even if the letter is signed and dated by the deceased and gives specific bequests of personal property. If the will requires the personal property must be divided so that it is substantially equal amongst the beneficiaries, is the financial value of the property the only factor that must be used ? How much authority does the executor have in deciding what satifies the will's requriement that the executor '' conclusively determines that the personal property is substantially equal amongst the beneficiaries?

  • Re: Wills and a letter of instruction on how to pass the personal property

    Under WA law:Yes. Yes. All. Depends on what the will says. Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell

    Elizabeth Powell
    ELizabeth Powell PS Inc
    535 Dock Street, Suite 108
    Tacoma, WA 98402

• blackballed

  I think I am being black balled by my previous employer. I did not use them as a reference. I did use one of the doctors working for them as a reference, who is currently serving in the golf war. He does not have any ownership in the company. And he givin me a written reference.What can I do, if anything? And if I have a good case can you or someone you recomend take the case on consignment? They have a bad reputation and have tried blackballing others in the past. I had a more detailed letter to send but it was to lenthy.Thank you,

  • Re: blackballed

    Employers in Florida generally have immunity when they give employment references and as a result I don't believe given the facts presented there is an actionable claim.

    Keith Stern
    Shavitz Law Group
    1515 S. Federal Highway, Suite 404
    Boca Raton, FL 33432

• reference question

  Current employer has asked me to write and pre date (by 2 weeks) a letter allowing them to release my information during reference checks. They have already released this information. Am I obligated to write such a letter?

  • Re: reference question

    No, but it might be good office politics to do so. What do you have to hide? On the other hand, the whole process is a little smelly and it may turn out that this particular employer will not be your long-term preference for this and related reasons.

    Bryan Whipple
    Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law
    P O Box 318
    Tomales, CA 94971-0318

  • Re: reference question

    Mr. Whipple is 100% correct. If it is a very large employer, you might want to go to the HR department and mention this incident to someone, mentioning that your boss might cause some lawsuits by releasing information before he has employee approval.

    George Shers
    Law Offices of Georges H. Shers
    4170 Glenwood Terrace, Suite #1
    Union City, CA 94587

  • Re: reference question

    Not backdated, and not normally unless you want it done.

    Terry A. Nelson
    Nelson & Lawless
    2134 Main St., #130
    Huntington Beach, CA 92648

• Employee references

  I was just recently laid off, and I contacted a current employee of the company about being a reference for me. She told me that she was expressly told by management that she can NOT be a work reference for me, that she can only be a personal reference. Is that true?

  • Re: Employee references

    It is, if that is company policy.

    Burton Padove
    Indiana and Illinois Lawyer, Burton A. Padove
    533 W. Ridge Road, Suite C
    Munster, IN 46321

  • Re: Employee references

    The only thing your former employer has to do is confirm that you did work for it and confirm dates of employment.

    Noelle Ansley
    Noelle Ansley
    P.O. Box 1725
    Chicago, IL 60690-1725

• Reference Letters

  I have reason to believe that my supervisor has written a less than stellar letter of reference for me. She has told me that she has written an excellent one, and that she wants to do whatever she can to get me to stay in my current job. She has never discussed with me any issues regarding my performance and I have received excellent yearly evaluations. What recourse do I have? My prospective employers require a reference from her.

  • Re: Reference Letters

    In giving references an employer is able to provide his/her own honest opinion with respect to the employee's performance. However, if an employer makes negative unsubstantiated claims there may be liaility for defamation, as well as a criminal penalty for blacklisting. I advise that you have an attorney review your particular circumstances.

    ruth kochard
    ruth e. kochard, counselor at law
    1211 Claxton Rd
    Richmond, VA 23238

  • Re: Reference Letters

    It would depend on what the letter said. If you could get a copy of it then maybe an attorney could advise you of a course of action.

    John Jackson
    Law Office of John A. Jackson, P.C.
    535 Stinson Drive
    Charleston, SC 29407

• A Very, Very Unusual Question

  I retained an attorney for (2) personal injury cases. When the cases closed, I wanted to keep in contact with this attorney as I felt that he became a friend of mine. We had a good rapport. He even gave me a very nice letter of reference, a character reference that I could present to a prospective employer. When the cases did close, his secretary gave me the impression that she did not want me to try to contact him. I asked him about it and he told me that she felt I took up too much of his time and that I should no longer be permitted to contact him. He did say it was o.k. that I still do keep in touch. Last Christmas, I called to wish him a happy holiday, and she slammed down the phone on me. I then sent him a certified letter to his residence and he refused to accept it. I feel that I have lost his friendship due to this secretary. Aside from the fact that this behavior on her part is insulting to me and demeaning, is there anything unethical about an attorney blocking out a former client? What if I had to contact him about something in reference to the cases? Also, her hostility to me is so severe that is is frightening. Is there anything at all that I can do about this? Please, please respond to me. I feel so badly.

  • Re: A Very, Very Unusual Question

    confused please call

    John Kubasch
    The Kubasch Law Group
    P.O. Box 15342
    Scottsdale, AZ 85267-5342

• Character of Reference Letter - Written on County Letterhead

  An co-worker was arrested on a personel matter and asked me to write a Character of Reference Letter on her behalf to help assemble information that may be used in preparing her defense.I am in a management position within County Government and I wrote the letter on County Letterhead. Her court case has since be heard and the charges were dismissed.The Department Head has a copy of the letter I wrote, and told me that he had told all management personnel in this office that they are not to write a Character of Reference Letter for this Employee, as he wanted her to be convicted and then he could fire her. He did admitt that he forgot to tell me not to write a letter.The Department Head now would like to enact a disciplinary action on me for writing this letter on County Letterhead. He told me that I should get a attorney as he felt that I had no legal right to write the letter using Letterhead, and that he would enact the maximum disciplinary action he could.Is there a Law that states when Letterhead can and can not be used? Should I get an attorney? If so, what type?

  • Re: Character of Reference Letter - Written on County Letterhead

    Since your boss is threatening you with serious disciplinary action, you should consult an employment attorney in your area. There is no statutory law regarding use of your employer's letterhead, but there may be local rules that apply. A proper evaluation of your situation requires a review of several factors, including the practice in your office, whether you had prior notice of the rule, and what recourse you have under the County's rules for appealing adverse actions against you.

    Paul Crost
    Reich, Adell, Crost & Cvitan
    501 Shatto Pl. Ste 100
    Los Angeles, CA 90020

• Can I Be Sued By A Former Co-Worker Because Of A Personal Letter

  Can a former co-worker, who has now been laid off, initiate a lawsuit against me based on a letter I wrote her and gave her at work? The letter details a year of what I observed as far as poor work ethics, building a personal business on company time, ridiculing our boss and the company, etc. In the letter I told her my personal, private opinion of her character. I did not use foul language. She sent a letter to our HR Dept. before she left claiming that I had caused her physical & emotional distress by this letter. I don't know if she sent the actual letter itself to HR.

  • Re: Can I Be Sued By A Former Co-Worker Because Of A Personal Letter

    she will not win any lawsuit based on a letter you sent to her.

    Ken Koury
    Kenneth P. Koury, Esq.
    22425 Ventura Blvd., #286
    Woodland Hills, CA 91364

  • Re: Can I Be Sued By A Former Co-Worker Because Of A Personal Letter

    The simple answer to your question is yes. Anyonecan sue anyone else for whatever they wish; all ittakes is a couple hundred dollars and a complaint.Once the complaint is filed, and a copy of the complaintserved on you, you are in litigation.That having been said, whether your ex-coworker isable to win a lawsuit against you is another matter.Unfortunately, whether your coworker wins or lossesher lawsuit, you are likely to incur substantialcosts in the form of attorneys fees and costs todefend yourself, which you may never be able to recover.If you are served with a complaint in this matter,you should IMMEDIATELY, contact an attorney in yourarea to discuss this matter. If you are sued, andyou do not respond to the complaint, you riskhaving a default judgment entered against you thatin essence would give the plaintiff whatever reliefshe seeks in the complaint. This response mustbe filed within a specified period of time (usuallywithin 30 days, in California) after the complaintis served on you.

    Roy Hoffman
    Law Offices of Roy A. Hoffman
    13800 Heacock Street, Suite C126
    Moreno Valley, CA 92553-6264

  • Re: Can I Be Sued By A Former Co-Worker Because Of A Personal Letter

    Your Former Co-Worker can file a lawsuit against you. However, based on the facts that you stated, you should prevail in any litigation stemming from the letter. Unfortantly, you will have to get an attorney to defend yourself in the suit. I suggest you hire an attorney as soon as you find out she did file a complaint agianst you. Good LuckMichael Burt

    Michael Burt
    Diamond, Burt, & Akhkashian
    3055 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 800
    Los Angeles, CA 90010

• Former Employer Lost My Information

  My former employer based in Pennsylvania sent me a letter informing me that they lost personal information including my social security number when a laptop containing the information was stolen. Do I have grounds to sue for negligence? I have the letter for reference.

  • Re: Former Employer Lost My Information

    Negligence for what adverse event which has actually occurred and which has actually resulted in your provable damages?If there be none such you can forget it.

    Michael E. Hendrickson
    Attorney & Counsellor at Law
    211 North Union Street Suite 100
    Alexandria, VA 22314