{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Instagram Followers Don't Make You a Lawyer","description":"I'd rather be in prison than on a fast boat in the ocean, but my kids love it and I love my kids. When I got off the boat in the Bahamas I had a kind text from a guy who scheduled a call with me for Monday. He asked me to review his indictment and his potential plea agreement before we talk. I won't, and here's why. A consultant in Florida who has been to prison twice told someone he might as well go to trial, because if he loses the sentence is the same either way. That guy got nine or 10 years. Another guy, apparently because he has some followers on Instagram, told a doctor to take the deal since he would get the mandatory minimum of two years for identity theft. The doctor got four years. We're not lawyers. I have a degree from USC and I teach from 17 years of lived experience, much of it learned from my partner Michael. Nobody but your lawyer should be reviewing your indictment or your plea. That's why they went to law school and that's why you hired them. What you can influence is the process. Be vested with your lawyer. Make sure they understand the facts, and stop telling half truths, minimizing, and dodging. I don't want you signing a plea you don't agree with because you didn't work well with your lawyer. Ask better questions, like why haven't the Dodgers won in August, and what are you doing to work better with your lawyer. ","author_name":"White Collar Advice","author_url":"http:\/\/WhiteCollarAdvice.com","html":"