Is It Too Late/ Probable Cause To File For Libel Defamation

Once criminal charges have been filed, the only way you can remove them is by filing a petition for expunction, and obtain an order expunging the criminal history information. If you want to accomplish removal of this info, this is how you can do it. It will cost you about 4 hrs of an attorneys time, plus the filing fee charges by the clerk. It takes 3-6 months to complete. Lawsuits are usually filed two ways: retainer agrements, and contingent fee agreements. You certainly can find an attorney to file a defamation suit for you if you pay a retainer fee (usually 10-15 hrs or more of the hourly rate up front), and then the attorney bills against that until its depleted, then sends you a bill to refill the retainer. If you can afford it, you absolutely can find a lawyer this way. But you will be extremly unlikely to find a lawyer to file a lawsuit for defamation for you on a contingency fee agreement. This type of fee structure means the attorney fronts all the costs for litigation, only getring paid out of a settlement or judgment in the case. The reason? Defamation cases are difficult to prove. In a dismissed criminal charge case, you'd have to prove they intended to file false charges knowing they were false. Damages are hard to prove as well. For those reasons, you are probably not going to find an attorney to file your lawsuit hoping to get paid down the road. If you want it off your record, hire an attorney to help you get it expunged.