by Ryan McKeen
My neighborhood has lots of bears. If I were a bear, I’d live in my neighborhood. It’s sandwiched between a river, several hundred acres of protected land, and mountains.
Sometimes when I’m running or walking the dog, neighbors will stop me and warn me that a bear is roaming around. I’ve read in the Ultimate Survival Guide that there’s no safe distance between you and a bear.
That makes sense to me. Bears can run fast and climb things.
Judging from my time in last week’s X-Treme Scramble, I’ve got no chance outrunning a bear. So I head home.
How does this relate to law?
Here’s how: Avoiding a bear is a prudent course of action. The bears in my neighborhood seem friendly but I’m not taking any chances because I don’t want to become bear food.
Bears are to be avoided.
All too often, I see clients treat legal problems the same way I treat bears. On some level, such an approach is understandable. Getting served with something is scary. Running and hiding may seem like a good strategy but it’s not.
No matter what you’re legal problem is avoiding it will make it worse.
If you’re charged with something, failing to appear in court does nothing but add a charge against you. If you’re facing foreclosure, you may lose your house or the money you have in your house if you fail to appear.
I see situations like this all the time. Avoiding a legal problem does nothing but make a bad situation worse.
Take my advice: If you see a bear, avoid it. If you see a legal problem, seek counsel.