Hi,
I have recently been summoned to the prosecutor’s office regarding an altercation I had with an Uber driver a few months ago.
I would love to have a lawyer with me, but they all seem so expensive.
I have also applied for the legal aid fund but was rejected.
Does anyone know any reliable and cheap lawyers in Taipei that I could contact?
Here you go! These is my law office and lawyers and they speak English fluently.
They are reliable. Lawyers are not cheap unfortunately. You can’t put a price on protecting your rights.
Were you a passenger?
Kuo and Kuo seem like good lawyers, but they are unfortunately not inexpensive.
Are you able to tell us the stakes OP? Are you just looking at a fine?
Maybe it would be better to suck it up, and straight up apologize, instead of lawyering up… that can blow up in someone’s face, very expensively.
However… if you really feel he’s at fault too… you may have a case.
I am in the middle of a legal process now. The best thing you can do is write out exactly what happened, and make your case as best you can.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.
I’m not really sure what the stakes are. My letter from the prosecutor seems to describe it as “injury”. I did touch the driver but he didn’t fall over and I highly doubt he was hurt. I was planning to just go without a lawyer and hope it can just be settled but the closer it’s got to the date the more worried I’ve become about going without a lawyer by my side. Any insights about the legal system would be much appreciated!
Yes, but I was sitting in the back.
Thank you. Do they operate in Taipei?
Yes. Just give them a shout. Sometimes emails may be sent to junk so email a few times if you don’t receive a reply, or call.
I mean. They are. I have direct experience.
A lawyer will tell you what to do in order to keep your rights fully protected. A lawyer can do those negotiations for you without emotion and with knowledge of the law.
It most certainly won’t blow up in your face. One’s reputation and clean criminal record is in my opinion, worth it.
Hard to say… he might be an opportunistic diver, in British slang… looking for a payout. Looks like there are legitimate shades of grey here.
Maybe more…
Are you able to contact the other party?
In my limited experience, the person who asks for mediation may stand in good stead.
Fair enough… but what if OP pays 50 to 80 grand, and he still gets some sort of fine or sentence? I do not doubt K and K’s sincerity or competence… I’m just saying… if the case against him is open and shut… he may hurt himself more financially by going the lawyer route.
Just my opinion.
Contrary thoughts are welcome, as I do not pretend to know it all.
My lawyer advises what the best options are. The point of this is to protect your rights as much as possible, not get out of a crime the OP may have committed. It is possible the lawyer advises to settle in exchange for no criminal charges pressed. But they can review evidence for you and know more than you. They may know something you don’t or can see something you can’t. They may be able to call out someone’s bullshit. Neither of us know the facts and OP doesn’t even know all the facts. The lawyer works for you.
In my opinion, the end goal is not necessarily avoiding fault, but avoiding a conviction/long lasting effects. I can’t put a price on that and absolutely cannot stomach the risk to my reputation and clean record.
My lawyer won’t take cases that are open/shut against his client.
I was attacked on Monday by someone threatening to prosecute me.
I’m using my lawyer to speak and advocate for me.
What is the likelihood of getting a nonprosecution? Is this something prosecutors often choose?
You make some fair points, which make a lot of sense.
I cannot dispute anything that you said, if money is no object.
But consider the greater context…
OP is looking for a ‘cheap’ criminal lawyer; -His words-.
For some people on this site, 100,000 is chump change. For others, three months salary. As we are gentlemen, we do not pry into OP’s finances, but we do know that budget is a primary consideration.
OP, due to cash constraints, is not looking at hiring Kuo & Kuo… he is looking at hiring M.Hutz of Zhuwei…
To move this thread forward…
Maybe it would be interesting if you could estimate the costs he might pay at K and K.
OP, all I know is, the more of the story you tell anonymously, but publicly, the better chance you may have at someone shedding light on the subject. If you don’t want to go on a Taiwanese site, for understandable reasons, there are other places.
You need to talk to the lawyer about that. I don’t know enough and it is impossible for me to know enough about your case.
Money is definitely an object for me. I am in deep debt. But to me, my reputation and clean record are worth all costs.
That’s his choice. I provided a good lawyer and someone that has no issues rejecting clients and their money that are likely to end in failure.
But I don’t risk it. I don’t have the money either but I will definitely find a way to avoid my record being stained. In the grand scheme of life, the expense is IMO, a blip.
That’s why I tell people to contact them first. Then they can tell you the costs.
All I can say is make his life easy, be prepped with all the evidence as much as you can and costs go down. He does give discounts to people I refer. Be legally literate and be prepared to do some of your own discovery to get a lower price.
Did the driver do anything to you?
Would you be able to counter-sue?
Not really no. I felt he was being rude and we argued. It was not very big. I was very surprised when he said he was going to call the police. In the West I don’t think the police would have been called. If they had, they would have just broken us up and told us to go home. But I did still touch him. Also, from what I understand, insulting people is a crime in Taiwan too. I don’t remember what either of us said but we did shout at each other. I don’t really want to get into suing and counter suing, I just want this to go away without me getting a criminal record and plunging myself too much into debt.
Are there lawyers who will represent people at a cheaper price? I have only see. Lawyers that charge 40,000 or more just to come with me to the prosecutors
Well, it’s likely recorded in the taxi. The lawyer can help get that footage for review.
If he said stuff, he might be on the hook too. The lawyer can help say lets cool heads and walk away from this.
But a lot of the locals are vindictive and definitely like to weaponise the police.
