frequently asked questions

Hi, this is Michael Kuzilny. These are some of the frequently asked questions people ask me on a daily basis. Here are some short & sharp answers. If you need more information, please feel free to call me anytime, and I will do my best to clarify any of your concerns.
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Who is MK LAW?

The team consists of me, Michael Kuzilny, my legal assistant and some external support staff. We pride……simplicity!!

The good news is that I will represent you at all times. I will not pass you on to a junior lawyer or anyone else. You will always be able to speak to me direct without having to go through a secretary or a third party.

I will urge you to open up and discuss with me anything you choose. My role is to help you, not judge you. If you can convince me that you are essentially a good person who has made a mistake because of unusual pressures or circumstances in your life, I will give you good, solid legal representation. If after analyzing all the evidence, there appears to be a defence to your charges, I will then vigorously defend your rights, and try to get you found not guilty. If this is the case, we can also then claim costs. Everything we discuss will be confidential and protected by legal professional privilege. If I choose to take on your case, and you agree to have me, we will tackle your problem as a team to produce the best result. I will give your case 100% and will not cut corners. I will keep costs to a minimum and charge you a fair price for my services.

If you try to ring me and the phone is busy or the answering message is activated, please leave a detailed message and I will return your call promptly. I am in court most mornings, so generally I return my calls in the afternoons or in the evenings, but have no fear, your call will be returned !

As you now realize, I deal exclusivley in criminal charges, traffic offences and drink driving legislation, and unfortunately cannot give you advice on any other areas of the law such as family law, contract disputes or civil cases, but I can refer you in the right direction.

If your legal problem is one I do not handle, you can call the Law Institute of Victoria on - 9 607 9311 - and ask for the Referral Section. This section will put you through to a lawyer specializing in your area of the law, in the area you live.

Do I need a lawyer ?

If you have been summonsed or bailed to appear in court, you almost certainly need to appoint a lawyer to represent you. Deciding to represent yourself is usually foolhardy. You might save yourself a bit of money but you stand far less chance of obtaining a good outcome. Furthermore, if you waste the court’s time because you don’t know the correct procedures and protocols, you risk incurring the magistrate’s or judge’s displeasure. The best advice is “Leave it to your lawyer”. If he/she presents your case properly and explains the mitigating circumstances, you stand a much better chance of impressing the court and receiving more lenient treatment.

Will all lawyers get the same outcome ?

No. Like any profession or trade, there are competent lawyers and others who are not so competent. Your appearance in court is too important to be left up to chance. If your lawyer gets it wrong, you’ll be faced with having to spend additional sums on an appeal. I’m not motivated by money. I will not charge you the proverbial “arm and a leg”.

How much does it cost ?

There’s no simple answer to this question. Once I have spoken with you by phone and obtained a good understanding of your case, I will give you legal advice for free. If I think you don’t need a lawyer, I will tell you. If you do need a lawyer and you want me to represent you, I will keep the costs down. I will tell you my fee and that will be that. I won’t charge you for phone calls or find other smart ways of making your bill larger.

What will Michael Kuzilny do to get me the best result possible ?

I will give you honest, prompt and first class service with a down to earth attitude and costs. If we decide that I can help you with your case, I will meet up with you at the earliest opportunity and find out all the positive things about you and your case, and find out exactly what happened on the day of the offence. We will then together decide if we should plead guilty or not guilty.

Yes, I want to know all about you, your life and your family, and at the end of the day so does the court.

I will then look at the court date, and if this day is not suitable for yourself or we need extra time, I will adjourn your hearing to another day.

After our meeting, I will then have conferences with the police informant, and the police prosecutors, I will get the brief of evidence, and do as much damage control as I can.

I've been around the system for many years, and I will do my very best to clean up the brief of evidence as much as possible before it goes to court. So once we meet up and I get my instructions from you, you can then sit back and relax. There is nothing more you need to do except come to court on the day.

What happens if I'm not happy with my outcome ?

If you are not happy with the outcome at the Magistrates' Court, we can appeal within 28 days to have the case re-heard at the County Court. This means we get a second chance to represent the case. It is very rare that I have appealed any of the cases I have appeared in. I think it is better to get it right the first time, and get the problem out of the way at the earliest opportunity. Most of the appeals I run are for people who used another lawyer at their initial court case and were not happy with the outcome.