Why get an attorney?

In a perfect world, there would be no need to get an attorney for a gun permit. However, I have received a lot of anecdotal evidence that permits have been denied on “technical grounds”. A decision regarding a gun permit must be made within 30 days. Nevertheless, clients have waited for over a year just to get any number of excuses such as: your prints haven’t come back yet, we are too busy, we switched people who handle the permits, the Chief has been out, your references haven’t called us back, we are too busy, etc. In addition, permits have also been denied for old DWI’s, minor criminal offenses and domestic violence charges where the applicant was found not guilty or the charges were dismissed.

In fact, I had one guy call me recently that said that he was denied based upon a report that an ex-girlfriend made with the police many years ago.  Since no charges were filed, he didn’t even know that was out there.

I have been able to help many clients with the permit process and avoid most of these problems.  I monitor every step of the process to make sure that everything is in order and a decision is made within the mandatory 30 day time limit. This saves you money as an appeal can be costly.

For example, I recently helped a client, Robert B. with a permit. He was denied by his local chief of police. I fought hard at the appeal hearing and won. Afterwards, the Chief told me that if I was involved from the beginning, he would have approved Robert’s permit application. This would have saved Robert thousands of dollars. While it may seem like an odd thing for an attorney to say, my goal is to always get you the best result for the best price.

How we can help

While I can get involved at any point in the permit process, my fee is generally the same regardless of when I get involved, so I prefer to be retained before the application is made.  This way, I can discuss all possible issues that may give you problems and how we can deal with them.  In other words, it is better to be proactive then reactive.  I can also help you with the application itself.

Once the application is made, I take over.  I make sure thatt everything is handled in a timely manner.  I notify the Police Chief that I represent you and that I am fully aware of all of the controlling law and that I expect it to be followed.  A letter from any attorney causes just about anyone to take notice.  For lack of a better term, my letter tends to freak out many police departments.  While I don’t intend to scare anyone, I’m glad that they realize that I mean business.  It makes the rest of the process must easier.  Over the next month or so, I continue to follow up with them to make sure that there are no delays.

There is more to this than just making sure there is no delay.  I also want to make sure that there are no other issues that will prevent you from getting your permit.  Thus, I discuss and handle any and all concerns that the police have before the final decision is made.  Again, this prevents an appeal.

Cost Savings

As I previously mentioned, an appeal is expensive because it requires legal research, briefs and a hearing that is essentially a trial.  My retainer for gun permit applications is less than what I charge for a speeding ticket.  However, an appeal can cost several thousand dollars.  I do this because I believe it should not be expensive to have your Constitutional rights enforced.  I also know that if you need any legal services in the future, you will use our services again.

Resolving disabilities

If you have been denied before or if I discover any possible disabilities, I will work with you to resolve the issue before the application is made.  One of the most common disabilities is a previous arrest of a criminal offense.  Regardless of the final outcome, the arrest itself can be used to deny your application.  An expungement is a legal process where the records of the arrest and conviction are essentially erased from your record.  When I lower my fees for handling the expungement and permit application together since there is some work that only needs to be done once for both issues which saves time.

No office appointment needed

A gun permit application is fairly straightforward.  I have a number of  offices in New Jersey and you are always welcome to meet with me in any one of them.  However, everything can be handled over the phone.  Thus, you can call me at 1-855-9JEFLAW (1-855-953-3529). If you get my voicemail, leave me a message and I will call you back, usually within a few hours.

For payment, I accept Amex, Visa and Mastercard which I can take right over the phone.  Otherwise, it is check or money order.  Obviously, cash is only accepted in person.