Most people are well aware of the fact that a lawyer is a valuable asset to have when going into court for any reason. From criminal defense to a routine divorce proceeding, a lawyer is a great person to have by your side simply because they have studied the law and know how it works in practice. They are experts in their field, and they can help you get far better results in court than you otherwise would have. The question is, how do you go about finding the right one?
1) Look For Someone With Experience In Local Courts
A strong background in practicing the law in local courtrooms is highly valuable in any lawyer you may hire. The reason for the local focus is because practicing law in a particular geographical region gives that lawyer a leg up on others in terms of knowing the individuals who are in those courtrooms day in and day out. Namely, these are law enforcement professionals, judges, and more. They have networks with these people, and that makes a big difference to the outcome of your case.
2) Someone Who Has A High Win Rate
Lawyers like to keep their win rates up. Most will do whatever is necessary to keep that rate up. This means that they will settle cases out quickly and get the kind of results that they need for their clients rapidly. They will not take on cases that they don’t think they can win in many cases. Therefore, you should definitely hire an attorney who has a high win rate. There may be something wrong with the way that a lawyer practices if he or she doesn’t have a high win rate.
3) Check Out Their Fees
Different lawyers charge different rates and even via different payment structures depending upon who they are and what kind of work they do. One of the first things to do to find the right lawyer for your case is to check out their fee structure and make sure you understand it. Many attorneys will work for free until they win the case for you. That is perfectly fine, just make sure you understand the cut of your settlement that they are getting when it is all said and done.
4) A Trustworthy Lawyer
You have probably heard all of the lawyer jokes before about how they are not trustworthy and so on. Those may make for good comedy, but they are far from accurate. Most attorneys are very honest people who keep the information that their clients share with them completely private. Make sure you find an attorney who can do this for you at all times before making a hiring decision.
5) Do They Seem Capable?
You probably get a pretty good idea about how confident your attorney is just by speaking with them directly. You can almost tell by this alone if they will be a good attorney for your case or not. If you get a bad vibe from a conversation with any attorney just remember that you are under no obligation to hire that individual. You can certainly decide to take a pass on that and move on to the next one.
6) Check Out Their Reputation Online
This can be a tricky one because plenty of unhappy clients may flood the Internet to share their biased views about an attorney. Make sure that you give at least equal balance to the positive reviews as well. However, if you are having trouble finding anything positive at all about an attorney that you are considering hiring, then it may be time to cut and run.
7) Does Your Attorney Seem Interested In Your Case?
The final question to ask yourself is exactly how interested does the attorney you are considering hiring seem in your case in particular? Is he or she seemingly distracted by all of the other work that they have piling up around them? If that is the case, then you may want to go with an attorney that is a little less overwhelmed. It may just help to save your case.
