Lawyers are experts in the law who use their expertise to help their clients receive justice. Some lawyers specialize in criminal law, working with people convicted rightly or wrongly of criminal offenses, and others specialize in things like property or even family law.
Regardless of what you need a lawyer’s help with the formula for finding one is the same: research, interview, and review. This post will expand upon this formula in great detail and explain everything you need to know (and consequently do) in order to find an experienced and great lawyer.
Area of Expertise
So you want to hire a lawyer? If the answer is yes then the first thing you need to establish is what you need one for. In other words, you need to find a legal professional who specializes in the area of law for which you need assistance. If you need a lawyer for car accidents then you are looking for a personal injury lawyer or if you are having a dispute over property boundaries you need a property lawyer. Once you have defined your lawyer’s area of expertise you can begin conducting Internet searches ideally using either Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Bear in mind that upon conducting an Internet search at the very top of the search listings you will see companies that are sponsored. Do not give the claims of sponsored lawyers credence as they pay for their positioning. Instead, prioritize firms that appear organically at the top of the search listings.
Reading Online Reviews
Once you’ve conducted a search and found a law firm you are interested in working with, the very next thing that you need to do is begin reading reviews. A law firm’s reviews can give you a clear picture of what working with them will be like. It does need to be mentioned however, some law firms have not got reviews and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes firms have no reviews simply because their clients have nothing bad to say about them. An absence of reviews should therefore not be viewed as something negative. In fact, an absence of reviews can actually be very positive.
Conducting Interviews
Upon finding a lawyer that you think will be suitable you need to arrange to meet with them so that you can hold an interview. During this interview, it is likely that your chosen lawyer’s legal secretary will ask questions relative to your case. Questions of this kind are asked so that the firm can get an accurate idea of how likely you are to win. If you do not have the money to pay for a lawyer’s help then you can always ask to be represented as per a contingency plan. Contingency plans are no-win no fee arrangements. In simpler times you only pay the law firm you hire if they win.
Researching Several Firms
Unless you live in a small town or rural area there will likely be a number of different law firms operating locally. If there is more than one law firm specializing in the area of law with which you need assistance, then rather than working with the first one that you find conduct some research, interview several different lawyers, and then make a decision based upon your findings in these interviews. Of course, if you do not have the money to pay for representation, you need to prioritize working with the firm that offers the best contingency arrangement.
Finding an Unbiased Lawyer
Most of all, you need to find an unbiased lawyer to work with. Your case’s outcome hinges on your lawyer’s ability to win it for you. If the lawyer you hire is driven by emotion and their biases then they won’t be able to get you the best result. Ensure that the lawyer you hire is professional and has a good attitude and most importantly, is not an emotional person. You can quickly tell whether or not a lawyer is overly emotional by sitting down and interviewing them. Be sure to do a little bit of research into the lawyer your chosen firm designates to your case personally, so you can find out how successful they are in court.
Ensuring Professional Attitude
Make sure that the lawyer you hire has a professional attitude. You don’t want somebody who is not in control of themselves representing you. You can find out if a lawyer is professional or not by sitting down with them.
If you are in need of a lawyer’s support then make sure that you find one who is experienced and professional. You can tell whether or not a lawyer is these things by interviewing them and getting to know them.
