Winning a legal case is premised on getting a very good attorney who can present your case very well. The task of finding a good attorney involves doing proper research on the kind of attorney that suits your case and it is worth the effort. It is advisable to get a lawyer who has handled cases similar to what you currently have. Also, the lawyer must strike a good connection with you personally as the perfect choice. How then do you do proper attorney research?
Determination of the type of attorney you need
The journey of researching an attorney must start with determining the kind of attorney you want on your case. Finding an attorney who specializes in your type of case, for example, criminal law, or employment law, according to the team of legal experts on this website, is preferable. You should also give preference to an attorney who is conversant with the laws of your area and isn’t strange to the court. After setting your priorities on the type of attorney you need, the next thing is to get a list of qualified attorneys in your area.
Contact Bar Association
Both state and local bar associations are good sources to get list qualifies attorneys. They have the details of attorneys licensed to practice in your area. They also have a list of previous complaints and disciplinary actions taken against attorneys in their area. Reaching your local or state bar associations can be done through their websites.
Evaluation of the attorney
After getting the list, review the online listings. Avvo.com and Rocketlawyer are few of the good places to get attorney reviews. Some sites provide a bigger picture by providing cross-referencing of reviews from multiple websites. This helps reduce the influence of bias on your decision.
Referrals
Referrals are one of the easiest and safest ways of getting a good attorney. Engage family and friends who recently used the service of an attorney. Ask them relevant questions like to ascertain how happy they were with the service, the type of service and the attorney they used. Finally, ask if they would recommend the attorney.
Make a List
After gathering information about a number of attorneys in your area, the next thing is to properly organize their details – name, office address, website address, and phone number. By doing this, a clear path is created for your attorney research.
Dig in
It is time to find out more things about each attorney, especially through their websites. There are a number of things to look out for when reviewing an attorney’s website and they include:
General information about the case you need an attorney for. You can also get insights from the ‘frequently asked questions’ section, as well as articles published on the website, which are usually the places to look. Top attorneys maintain websites equipped with loads of vital information. It is operated as a library.
The educational background and work history of all attorneys working with the law firm is also provided on the website. Lawyers with three to five years experience in the field of your legal issue and are still practicing should be of preference. Another place to get vital perception is the attorney’s social media accounts. Pay attention to the way they project themselves on social media platforms and you will be able to get a good understanding of how your relationship may work.
Size May Matter
Choose the law firm whose size suits your case. If what you have on your hands is a complicated organizational legal issue, big firms are usually best. If it’s a simpler legal issue, smaller firms are fine.
Appointment
Any attorney left on your list at this point is worth talking to. Set up appointments. Usually, this consultation is free, but some attorneys do charge a small fee – find out before making appointments. Now is a good point to drop some attorneys from your list. Any attorney who doesn’t make these things clear to you should be dropped.
Ask questions
Appointments or consultations are good opportunities to get to judge your attorney yourself. Ask relevant questions relating to the case and the attorney’s practices. Pricing, track record, and previous complaints are things to discuss here. The attorney must be willing to answer all your questions. The best time to know who might likely pick as your attorney is during the consultation period. At this stage, it is just as if you are interviewing the attorneys to decide who to go with. Take note as they talk with you. Any attorney you feel is not really listening to you or does not answer your questions as expected should be dropped at this point.
Consider and Negotiate Cost
Talk about the cost with the attorneys and see what is best for you.
Choose Your Attorney
Now is the time to choose your attorney and your choice informed by all of the above is expected to be a proper choice.