If you’re in a place in your life where you need to find a lawyer, chances are that you’re in a stressful situation where you want to find the best help available. You’re probably wondering how you can determine whether a lawyer suits your needs and can help you win your case. Fortunately, according to The Barnes Firm, there are a number of factors that can help you determine whether a lawyer you’re considering is the right fit for you and your case.
Starting Your Search
When it comes to starting your search for the right lawyer, you’re going to want to go about it logically and methodically. Start by looking up lawyers in your area through your state’s bar association, and then use a combination of online customer reviews and conversations with your potential lawyers to determine which one is the best fit for your case.
While searching, you may have a hard time knowing where to start and what factors to prioritize when finding the right lawyer for you. These 4 factors are among the most important when considering your potential candidates.
1: Area or Areas of Expertise
This is probably the most important factor to consider, and it should be the first one to help you whittle down your list of potential lawyers. The lawyer you hire should be actively practicing in the area of law that concerns your case. There are many different areas of law, and the legal system is complicated enough that most lawyers only have a few individual areas of expertise. You’ll want to make sure that your lawyer has experience in the right area for you case and avoid lawyers who say that they can take cases in a massive variety of areas.
2: Cost of Legal Counsel
Legal counsel can get very expensive, very quickly. In order to be able to plan for how much you will potentially need to spend, ask your potential lawyer for an estimate during your initial consultation. Good lawyers will be able to give you a reasonably accurate estimate based on what they know about your case, and they will also be able to tell you about financial options and how much you may be able to expect the opposite side to pay in the event that you win your case.
3: The Legal Team
While some lawyers work by themselves, many are attached to a firm that has paralegals and other experts who can assist them in various aspects of legal work. There are both advantages and disadvantages to choosing either of these options. A lawyer that works for a firm with a large available legal team will likely be more expensive, but they will also be able to put more manpower towards your case and handle more complicated legal questions using experts. On the other hand, a lawyer working by themselves will likely be less expensive and allow you to know all members of your legal team, but they may not have the same access to additional legal help and expert opinions.
4: Level of Communication
Different lawyers will be willing to provide different levels of communication with you. Some will be willing to keep you closely in the loop, while others will only communicate if they need you to provide information but are willing to answer questions. Knowing the level of communication you want from a lawyer will save you a lot of frustration down the line by avoiding clashes in communication style. At minimum, a lawyer should provide you a way to get in touch with them if you have any questions and be able to estimate how long it will take for them to respond, but beyond that the level of communication depends on both the lawyer and your own preferences for the level of communication you want them to provide.
