Finding an attorney is super simple, right? All attorneys are basically the same; they have to follow the same set of laws, right? Wrong. Bad attorneys are not worth their weight in manure, while good attorneys can save you thousands of dollars, get you out of a lot of trouble, or make you thousands of dollars. Depending on the situation, finding the right lawyers could be a real life saver.
So how does one go about finding the right lawyer for a particular legal issue? Stay tuned for our handy list of tips for finding the best lawyer, below.
Four Tips for Finding the Best Attorneys
- Ask around for referrals.
No matter how good a lawyer is at the job, the impression they’re going to try to leave you with is that they’re the cat’s pajamas. However, there is no faking a positive referral from someone you trust.
In order to find an applicable referral for a great lawyer, consider finding people in your community have gone through the exact same situation; they know best who’s good and who isn’t worth the time and money. For example, if you need a lawyer to pursue a sexual harassment lawsuit, ask around in women’s groups in your area. Ask what lawyers have been used and how their experiences were. If you talk to five or six other people who have gone through similar legal situations, you’ll most likely uncover the industry leaders in that area of legal work.
However, just a good review from someone else shouldn’t be your sole reason for hiring a lawyer. Every person is different, and so are the experiences they have. One person might really like a lawyer for the same reason that you wouldn’t jive with them. While gathering personal referrals is a good way to get started, continue through our next steps to find the best lawyer for the job. - Utilize technology.
There are a variety of websites available that help clients find the right local attorneys for their situation. Some legal websites simply take your information and then identify legal resources in your area that apply to your circumstances. Other websites collect client reviews so that you can read the good, the bad, and ugly about a lawyer you might be considering. And some websites are good resources for letting you know the accreditation and any complaints with the bar association that a lawyer might have.
Whatever your legal needs are, utilizing technology from the research phase all the way to the hiring phase will help ensure you have the best man (or woman) for the job. - Contact businesses who utilize similar legal services.
The average person likely only has a particular legal issue once or twice in their life, however, a business who regularly needs to deal with particular legal issues might have extensive experience working with the lawyers who specialize in that particular area of law. For example, if you need a probate lawyer, perhaps you should ask a few nursing homes which lawyers regularly work with the patients in their home. A nursing home probably knows every probate lawyer in town, and can tell you who gets the job done best. - Use a lawyer referral service.
A lawyer referral service just makes it their business to know whats up in the local law community and who is best for the job in any particular situation. All lawyer referral services are accountable to the state bar association, and must be credible in order to maintain their licensing.
However, the level of effort that each lawyer referral service goes to to make sure that they have the best legal aid for your needs varies from one service to the next. Some lawyer referral services interview and screen the lawyers on their referral list, to ensure that the professional they are recommending to you is the best for the job. Some lawyer referral services simply maintain a list of which lawyers specialize in the area of law you need, and is in good legal standing with the bar association. So in some ways, you need to do your research in looking for a lawyer referral service to use, to research the lawyer you should use. However, this requires less effort and due diligence than finding the right lawyer for the job by yourself.
