What to look for in a lawyer

What to look for when searching for a lawyer?

There is a reason why lawyers are also called advocates and counselors. They have a professional commitment to counsel you to the best of their ability, fight legally on your behalf, and keep an open line of communication.

Great attorneys who use ethical and cost effective means to represent you are available in every state.

However, an attorney is only as good as the one you choose. There are many factors that play an important role in deciding upon the right attorney. Here are some of the key aspects that you should consider when looking for the most suitable lawyer for your needs.

Experience

This is an important determining factor in finding a lawyer. The right attorney would have experience in representing clients in the area of your legal requirement. For instance, if you injured your hand on the job, then you need a really good worker’s compensation attorney specializing in that area.

It is an added benefit if the attorney has represented other people previously who experienced a similar situation as yours.

You need to make sure that you identify the broad area of law regarding your particular legal need. You cannot hire a car accident lawyer if you want success with something that requires a maritime law specialist.

Client Pool

Different attorneys represent different categories of clients. For instance, some lawyers have experience representing only plaintiffs while others have experience with defendants.

Likewise, there are some who only handle divorce proceedings or personal injury claims, while others have the experience and experience with business disputes. It is vitalthat you find an attorney who has the right skill sets, knowledge,and experience torepresent you.

Affordable

This is a key factor because sometimes legal cases can take a long time to come to a conclusion. You would want to find an attorney whose services you can hire without disrupting your financial situation very substantially.

The ideal time to discuss fee structure is at the initial meeting before you retain the attorney’s services.

You may not want to hire a lawyer only to find out later that he or she is charging you by the letter or for each hearing. You may steer clear of such situations where a lawyer could potentially use it to their advantage while dragging a case unnecessarily.

You should always aim for getting an estimate in writing. This would curtail surprises at a later date. If possible, get an attorney to provide you with a written estimate of the maximum legal costs likely to be incurred.

Most attorneys prefer signing contracts and providing estimates to their clients from the outset. It is recommended that you at least get a signed estimate in writing even if your attorney does not offer you the contract.

Fair Pricing

‘Fair price’ is determined as per individual cases. However, your lawyer should demand a fee in sync with the industry standards. For instance, buying a local business can incur attorney fee in the range of $2,000 to $4,000. It may not be prudentto retain a lawyer who demands $6,000 in this situationin the age of tax cuts and a strong economy.

Size of the Firm

There are pros and cons of hiring big sized firms or dealing with a solo office. There are many advantages that can be accrued from online directories as well. You need to identify your needs and requirements from the outset.

Big sized firms might have the legal resources and combined capabilities. However, they also have numerous cases to juggle on top of partner obligations. They might not be able to afford all their clients with personal attention that solo attorneys can provide.

On the flip side, many opposing attorneys and judges respect large reputable firms. These firms typically have an ability to influence judgment with their intimidation quotient from cases won in the past. They also have greater resources and manpower to research your case and craft out a strategy.

In short, it is important that you weigh in all the pros and cons while deciding on the size of a firm. Use the crucial initial meeting to understand whether an attorney and his team can help you win or not.

Comfort Level and Communication

You should feel comfortable and open with your lawyer. This helps you share sensitive information about the case that might tip the scales in your favor. A lawyer can help you only if you are completely honest, frank and forthcoming about all the details.

Many cases like a divorce proceeding can last for months, if not years. You need an attorney who stays in regular touch with you and does not dump your case file at the bottom of the pile. You do not want to retain the services of a lawyer who avoids your phone calls or does not reply back to mails.

A simple way to test a firm’s commitment to your cause is to send them a mail right after your initial consultation. You could withhold a couple of questions from the initial consultation to ask later inyour email.

If the firm responds promptly within a day or two, then you know they care about their clients. However, if it takes weeks for them to get back to you, then they might just be too busy to take on your case and you should search for another attorney.

Located in the Jurisdiction Area

The right attorney will ideally be located in the jurisdiction area where you require representation. Often, attorneys have associate counsel in other jurisdictions and states to help them file responsive pleadings or to commence suit.

However, that is not a very efficient method of legal counsel. If you are choosing a new attorney then you should preferably seek one who is located and licensed in the proper jurisdiction area.

Attorney Reviews

You should conduct an online search on all shortlisted attorneys even before you meet them for the first time. These reviews and comments will empower you in making the right decision.

You should look for any malpractice accusations, complaints or misconduct charges filed against the attorney. This can be found on your state’s bar association website.

Poignant Factors

Many factors go into the decision of finding the right lawyer. Competence, trustworthiness, experience,and fair pricing are some of the critical considerations.

List of Online Legal Help Sites

List of Online Legal Help Sites and What They Offer

Many people are turning towards digital legal platforms and legal help websites to obtain pertinent information and to address some of their basic legal needs.

This is useful because it helps to factor in multiple variables like validity, cost, reliability and availability before hiring a lawyer. Digital advancements have made it possible to seek online legal help through dedicated sites.

These online legal help websites not only provide valuable information and advice, but also enable individuals to identify reliable and already vetted for various legal requirements. Some of the legal help websites also provide do-it-yourself legal support such as creating and printing legal templates or accessing advanced legal resources.

While Legalbase.com.au is focused on the Australian market, here are a list of sites not exclusively in Australia to give you an idea of what is out there.

Austlii

Austlii.edu.au is a government site that contains legislation and case law and many of which can be accessed for free. This is a site maintained by the Australian Government.

LegalZoom

LegalZoom is a premier online legal service provider which has been around for 12 years. It caters to both businesses and personal legal requirements.

Their prime service is to help you find attorneys without hourly fee structures. However, they also cater to providing legal documents that are accepted by courts and agencies all over the country.

You can get help regarding wills, patents, trademarks and other legal matters through their website.

You can complete their free questionnaire to receive multiple options without any compulsion to purchase any legal documents. LegalZoom accepts all major credit cards to make easy and quick payments.

Their process is completely streamlined, but their customer support might have scope for improvement. It can take two to three days for them to provide a response. However, they do have a telephonic customer care that works over the weekend as well.

LawTrades

LawTrades caters to both clients and lawyers. You can access this website if the legal requirement area is business, immigration, patents, employment, contracts or other similar fields. They do not deal in taxation and family law matters.

They are known fortheir immigration service expertise. LawTrades frequentlyhelps immigrants settle in USand open up small businesses. Their vast network of lawyers spread across all 50 states makes this easy.

It is easy to find a lawyer on LawTrades if you know the kind of specific legal assistance you are looking for. You can get multiple options in the menu tab where you can compare different lawyers based on user reviews and comments.

First time users will have to sign up through Facebook or email. Attorneys at LawTrades claim to provide discounted hourly rates or flat fee packages. There are two approaches to retaining the services of a lawyer.

You can choose a LawTrades package where you pay upfront and the website connects you to one of the reputable lawyers.

The second option entails custom pricing where you deal directly with a lawyer you found on their website. In the first option, your money is kept in an escrow with LawTrades and paid to the lawyer upon successful completion of work.

Nolo

Nolo offers thousands of legal documents and forms. You can pay for their services on the basis of per document under self-service option. Nolo is a bit different from the above two legal service providers as it does not charge anything to match you to a lawyer.

Nolo has a huge database of lawyers who are categorically placed under the law and jurisdiction area. You can easily connect with the right local attorneys in your area by reviewing their profile. Nolo, however, does not provide the benefit of comparing reviews.

This legal service firm started as an extensive database of online legal forms and resources. You can now avail thousands of legal forms and online documents here. It also has a huge section of customizable business operations and formation documents such as breach of contract notices and independent worker contracts.

HG.org

This is an online legal service provider that helps you find a local lawyer. Their lawyer listings are neatly categorized as per the state and county to make it easier for you.

However, HG does not take part in the contract. They provide contact information with details of practice and a short profile of individual attorneys.

You can search for counsel by posting your legal dilemma which HG communicates to all partner lawyers in your area. They contact you at a convenient time to discuss your legal issues. They also have an extensive database of legal articles and a self-help section.

UpCounsel

Their main focus is in legal areas such as immigration, business, and copyrights. The procedure to seek legal help is simple. You fill in an online questionnaire stating your legal requirement. Within hours you will receive multiple proposals and quotations to choose from.

Once you decide upon an attorney, UpCounselwill share contact information of both sides with each other. The lawyer you hire has the added benefit of requesting for an initial upfront fractional payment. You can make this payment through debit or credit card on the UpCounsel portal.

You will have to enter your billing information before starting work even if the attorney does not ask for an upfront partial payment.

RocketLawyer

RocketLawyer provides legal assistance on personal areas of taxation, loans, divorce and estate planning. They offer easy methods of creating and reviewing legal documents. The best part is that you get your first document for free.

Another USP of RocketLawyer is that it helps multiple types of businesses such as non-profits, LLC, sole-proprietorships with incorporation, copyright and trademark procedures. They also offer a week’s online service for free on trial basis which can be cancelled at any time. Their monthly charges are $39.99 to create and print reliable legal documents.

Their customer service is good with ‘On-call’ lawyer service. However, they only accept credit cards with a US or UK address.

LawDepot

LawDepot has more than a decade of experience in DIY legal templates and documents. They are a leading legaldocument publisher and even offer a week’s free trial. You can publish as many documents as you require during this period.

You are automatically subscribed to the monthly plan at $33 if you do not cancel the weekly membership. Documentation offered by LawDepot are in the legal areas of Family, Business, Real Estate,and Financial Services.

Their ‘ask-a-lawyer’ section gets you immediate responses to your legal query over online chat. These questions are answered either by JustAnswer or theexperts in that particular area of query. You can sign up for a membership by paying through a credit card.