What's the best way to find a small-claims lawyer for a civil lawsuit?

EmperorSeth

The short version I was scammed by someone last summer. Someone pretending to be a friend of mine got her old phone number and tricked me into believing it was my friend in need of money and help. Being a naive idiot, I wired money to her. I later learned the truth and tried to get the cops to investigate, but since the whole thing was done largely by phone and out of state, responsibility got tossed around and they proved to be no help. So trying to sue those involved became my last option, assuming it even is. Ideally, it won't even go to court; I'd be fine settling for part of the money lost, but I have no idea how likely that is or if it's even possible. Hence the need to speak to a lawyer.

Thanatos

You don't need a lawyer for small-claims court. You do, however, need to serve them.

What you really need to do, though, is get ahold of the FBI. This is wire fraud, and I believe falls under their jurisdiction.

CoJoeTheLawyer

Malingering Layabout Scumbag wrote: »

What you really need to do, though, is get ahold of the FBI. This is wire fraud, and I believe falls under their jurisdiction.

This. What you described is Wire Fraud, and outside the jurisdiction of the local cops.

Although I suspect that there is more to this story...how can a complete stranger manage to convince you that he/she is one of your friends in desprate need of money? For that matter, how did you find out later that it wasn't your friend? Do you know the person who tricked you? Details, my good sir...

MeeOk

You could always look up a law firm, and ask them to refer you to someone in the area that you need help with. But keep it short and simple. I am an entry level clerk at a law firm, and I cover the receptionist's breaks, as well as a lot of other things. In any case, calls from people asking to speak with an attorney get routed to our Human Resources person. You won't get a chance to even talk to an actual attorney. But, if you quickly outline it, then maybe they can recommend somebody. Also, make sure you're calling an actual firm that might deal with your kind of problem. There are so many kinds of litigations out there, after all.

EmperorSeth

CoJoeTheLawyer wrote: »

Malingering Layabout Scumbag wrote: »

What you really need to do, though, is get ahold of the FBI. This is wire fraud, and I believe falls under their jurisdiction.

This. What you described is Wire Fraud, and outside the jurisdiction of the local cops.

Although I suspect that there is more to this story...how can a complete stranger manage to convince you that he/she is one of your friends in desprate need of money? For that matter, how did you find out later that it wasn't your friend? Do you know the person who tricked you? Details, my good sir...

The short version of the story is I'm an idiot. The long version is similar. My friend 's phone was stolen, but it was on the payment plan of an ex-friend of hers and a said friend's crazy boyfriend, so the number wasn't disconnected. She got a new phone number. Meanwhile, I didn't see her for a while, so I texted her to see how she's doing. A few days later, she texted back, saying she was in trouble; she and her friend were stranded in California and had no way to get money. That's the main problem; we communicated only via texting and when her friend (the ex-friend in question) called me. I suspected something was up, but sympathy for my friend in a horrible situation overcame my suspicion, made worse by the fact I was at work at the time and distracted. I sent them money, twice (yes, I know I'm an idiot,) before checking my friend's facebook and noticing that she had and new number. I immediately talked to her, got the number, called her, and explained all this. Since then, I've been waiting for the police and been distracted by other crises.

Neaden

This is a pretty common scam. Here is a site about it, though mostly focusing on older people.

EmperorSeth

Well, it's good to know it's a common thing, even if I now feel worse about falling for a scam normally used on grandparents. At least I can recognize the voices of my own family members. Now, if I wanted to contact the FBI about this, where would I start? Is it too late to even start? It has been 3 months at this point.

Hevach

http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

Find the nearest local office and call them up. 3 months is not too long, the statute of limitations varies by state, usually 2-6 years, and is usually counted from the time you became aware of (or should have become aware of) the fraud, not from the time it was committed.