5 Things to Look for in a Lawyer
Posted by guestcontributor on Apr 15, 2011 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
By the time you require the services of a lawyer, you probably need one as of yesterday. This doesn’t necessarily give you time to sift through candidates and conduct thorough research on every law firm that you’d like to consider. And yet, you don’t want to choose wrong and end up with some inexperience shyster who takes your money and throws you to the wolves. You have a couple of options, though. You can try to find a good lawyer before you actually need one, so that you have the number handy when a legal situation arises. Or, if you are already in a dicey position, you can put together a checklist of requirements for your ideal legal representation. Here are the five things that should be on that list.
1. Character/ethics. The first thing you need to ascertain is if your lawyer is on the up-and-up. If he comes across like a corner-cutting slime-ball the first time you meet, he’s not the lawyer for you (unless you’re into something nefarious and you need an unscrupulous lawyer who is willing to look the other way). For most of us, someone who is not only trustworthy, but well aware of ethical considerations, is preferred. And you can usually tell within a few minutes if you’re dealing with a person who has strong quality of character or if you’ve stumbled upon the other sort.
2. Reputation. One great way to find a lawyer is through referrals. If you are able to secure the services of someone who has been recommended to you by way of a good reputation (whether you hear about him from friends or by word of mouth), then you’ll probably feel a lot better about your odds of beating your legal troubles and coming out the other side intact and no worse for the wear.
3. Qualifications/expertise. The type of legal representation you hire will depend largely on the type of problem you’re facing. A person trying to set up a living trust and manage their estate planning probably doesn’t need a litigator. And someone facing felony charges would almost certainly want a criminal defense attorney rather than, say, a family lawyer. There are many facets of the law, each with their own particular rules, histories, and complications, so you need to find someone who has the knowledge and background to handle your specific issue.
4. Experience. This may not seem important, since all lawyers more or less have the same level of education. Right? Actually, not so much. Without any experience to tell you what they’ve done, who knows what kind of lawyer you’re getting? If you want a better chance of winning, you’ll need an attorney with a proven track record, someone who knows their way around your type of case and has defended similar clients with a positive outcome. This isn’t a John Grisham book where the green lawyer, fresh out of law school, navigates treacherous legal waters to save the day. If you know going into it that your lawyer has a 95% success rate, you have a much better chance of winning.
5. Dedication. When you get hauled off to jail in handcuffs, you want to know that blowing your one phone call on your lawyer is going to result in immediate action (and probably bail). If you have been leaving messages for your attorney for days with no callback, it may be time to hire someone else.
Jamie Lewis writes for Corboy and Demetrio, a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Corboy Demetrio Law Firm is one of the nation’s premier practices.