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In selecting
a lawyer, great care
and deliberation are essential. Most lawyers are extremely well-qualified in
the areas to which they devote their practice. Lawyers have been well-trained
by law schools, their law firms, and the individual lawyers with whom they have
had associations. Most State Bar Associations require not only the successful
completion of law school, but they also require the passing of special bar exams
to be certain that lawyers understand both the basic precepts of the law, which
apply to various fields of law, and also the appropriate ethical considerations.
The State Bar Associations and the local Bar Associations assist in the policing
of its' members to make certain that lawyers comply with ethical
considerations, comply with certain rules and regulations, and correctly apply
the practice of law.
In many localities, lawyers are permitted to advertise in the yellow pages for
an area of specialization. Often the area of specialization is regulated by the
Bar Association. The Association requires that lawyers maintain a skill level,
which mandates the annual completion of additional study in the area of
expertise under which each lawyer is listed. For example, if a lawyer lists
his area of expertise to be Corporation Law, then that lawyer must, in certain
states, maintain continuing legal education for a set number of hours each year
in that area of law. This is often true of other areas of specialization such as
Trials/Litigation, Administrative Law, Domestic Law, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy
Law, etc. In some instances, a special test is required for proficiency in a
particular area of law such as Intellectual Properties, including patents,
copyrights and trademarks. Often other areas are internally protected by the
government agency that administers a particular area of law. An example would
be Securities Law, wherein government agencies regulating securities will
require lawyers to meet certain standards and objectives.
Some states
and some localities have referral services that will at random
refer an individual to a lawyer who has developed a certain
area of expertise in a specific field, such as Domestic,
Bankruptcy, Landlord/Tenant, etc. Additionally, there are certain
services that will rank lawyers or rate lawyers, such as the
ratings system we apply to lawyers listing on our site. However,
caution should be used in viewing any ratings assigned to a lawyer or law firm within any publication since such ratings may be politically motivated. Some
services look at the number of years a lawyer has practiced.
Sometimes special ratings are given to lawyers who are members
of large firms. Therefore, if a lawyer is not rated as highly
by some of these various services, it does not necessarily mean
that the lawyer is not extremely skilled or well qualified for
that particular purpose. These sources of lawyer rankings may be
helpful, as is the case with our ratings system that ranks a
lawyer or law firm on their Internet and computer savvy in
order to establish how technologically advanced the firm and their
services may be, but these ratings should be a secondary matter in the process of
selection.
The primary considerations in selecting a lawyer should be
whether the client feels comfortable with the lawyer selected
and if he is confident that the lawyer is competent in his field
of expertise. Much depends upon an individual's judgment, and many
times a lawyer is hired on the basis of referrals from other
individuals who have for one reason or another experienced a
lawyer/client relationship as a result of work performed. The
client must feel very comfortable with the lawyer and must feel
confident that the lawyer selected is the one who can capably
handle the client's needs. Some of the questions that would be
helpful to most individuals in selecting a lawyer include the
following:
- Has the lawyer handled
matters like this one before?
- Approximately how many matters
like this has the lawyer handled previously?
- Does the lawyer specialize in
the area of law in which the client is interested (e.g.
Corporations, Contracts, Domestic, Criminal, etc.)?
- Will the client be charged for
the first
consultation?
- How much does the lawyer
charge per hour?
- How many hours does the lawyer believe it would take to complete the task?
- Does the lawyer object to the
client obtaining information about the subject matter before
visiting with the lawyer? If so, for what reason?
- What is a contingent fee, and
what percentages does the lawyer charge?
- Are there any government
licensing fees or filing fees for this type of work?
- Are there any statutory
guidelines for this type of work?
- Does the lawyer provide the
client with a written contract or a letter confirming employment? If
so, can the client see an example?
- Does the lawyer have any
references?
- When did the lawyer graduate
from law school?
- Has the lawyer ever been
admonished or cited by an ethics committee? If so, for what reason?
- Has the lawyer ever had any
complaints filed against him? If so, for what reason?
- Has the lawyer ever lost his
license and, if so, for what reason?
- Does the lawyer object to the
client asking these questions? If so, for what reason?
- Does the lawyer (recognized
by his peers for his expertise) receive referrals from other lawyers relative to this particular area of law (Corporations,
Contracts, Domestic, etc.)?
- Is the lawyer licensed in any
other state or has he ever been?
- Has the lawyer ever received
any honors; if so, identify and describe the honors.
- Has the lawyer ever
published? If so, identify the publications and area of publication.
- Does the lawyer advertise? If
so, why and where does he advertise?
- Has the lawyer worked with
any other lawyers or firms to whom the client may be referred for
evaluation of a lawyer?
- Does the lawyer refer work to
other lawyers in other areas of the law where the lawyer is not
an expert?
- Identify some of the seminars
the lawyer has attended during the past several years and what
have been the areas or topics of discussion?
If, after asking
these questions, you are still uncertain about your choice of legal
counsel, we suggest you contact your local Bar Association.
However, if you are ready to select a lawyer, you may choose to utilize these search
avenues.
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