You would think finding a lawyer or an attorney should be easy, considering at last count there were 1.143 million registered lawyers in the United States. Finding a lawyer is in fact too easy, finding the right lawyer and the right lawyer for your particular case is the hard part.
Where to Look for an Attorney
You need to find a lawyer that specializes in the area of
law that you are concerned about. You wouldn’t use a DUI lawyer for a tax case
and you wouldn’t want to hire an injury lawyer for a real estate issue. Look in
any phone book and there are hundreds of listings for attorneys. Not lawyers,
look under A for attorney. They will usually be listed under the category that
they specialize in. Categories aren’t always that clear, if you wanted a
divorce lawyer you could also look under family law.
Ask people you know if they can recommend a lawyer. Ask your
co-workers, family members and your accountant if they can recommend a lawyer.
One thing to be aware of though, if you do ask a friend or family member to
recommend a lawyer and you do use this lawyer and lose your case, this can
sometimes cause you to have hard feelings towards the person who recommended
the lawyer. Remember that when you ask for a referral and you should lose your
case, don’t hold it against the person who recommended the lawyer in the first
place.
I have used a lawyer on a number of occasions over the years
and looking back, I can see where they can actually be put into one of a number
of categories. If you cannot find one in a certain category, try a similar
category.
What to Look Out For
Don’t go for the first lawyer that is rah-rah the second you
tell him/her your situation. This type of attorney will get you so fired up you
will already have spent your judgment on that new yacht you’ve dreamt about.
This type of lawyer will have you believing you cannot lose no matter what and
on top of that you will not only get your triple damages allowed by state law
but 20 times that amount for all kinds of reasons.
These types of lawyers are very fired up at the beginning
but as time, as talk and negations go on, you find yourself losing ground all
the time. Until when it is over you wonder what happened to your money and the
all fired up attorney is now telling you that you should just settle for about
$1.50 plus the attorney fees.
Another really bad sign that you haven’t yet found the right
lawyer for your case would be if he falls asleep at his desk while listening to
your situation. This actually happened to me one time, talk about losing
confidence in what you hoped to accomplish.
Beware of the slam-dunk lawyer, as they are the opposite of
the rah-rah lawyer. The slam-dunk lawyer seems to be only interested in a case
if there is no way you (actually the lawyer) could ever lose this case. Your
case is just so open and shut the lawyer couldn’t lose. These types of lawyers
always seem to say to you “you just never know what the judge will think”. Well
of course you don’t, that is why the lawyer has to do their job and present the
case properly. These types of lawyers always make you feel like you have a good
solid case, but they are always afraid of the judge and never seem interested
in taking the case.
Personally I like a lawyer who is interested in my case and
me and is willing to take the time to hear everything I have to say and read
everything I have. Sometimes you are wondering if you even have a case; make
some phone calls to a couple of attorneys and see if they will answer some
basic questions on the phone. Find lawyers who will do a free consultation,
many will have a free hour consultation and in that hour you can learn a lot
about your case and the lawyer.
Check up on lawyers as well, each state has its own attorney
regulatory board where you can check to see if there have been any disciplinary
actions against a lawyer. And while you’re at it check on the opposition
attorney as well. Start with your state bar association or the American Bar
Association.
If you find an attorney you like but cannot afford their
price, they might be willing to reduce their fee or work on a contingency
basis. This is when the lawyer gets one third of what you win in your case. And
the lawyer only gets paid if you win your case. There is also something called pro
bono which means the lawyer will take your case and represent you for free.
Be Clear
Make sure you are very clear on your attorney’s fees and how they charge before you hire them. You will usually be charged for everything including their mailing of letters, stamps and phone calls. That means every time you call your lawyer, don’t chitchat because that costs you money. By all means ask questions and make sure you do understand what is said to you. It might help if you were familiar with certain statutes or laws pertaining to your situation, that way you could ask informed questions and also understand more of what your lawyer is telling you.
Copyright © 2009 Sam Montana
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