How to Find a Lawyer
It is important to not just find a lawyer but to find a good lawyer who is particularly suited to your specific legal needs.
There is no one, sure fire way to find a good lawyer but luckily there are many different steps one can take and methods one can use for finding a good lawyer. Some steps are not necessary for everyone and some people need to take additional steps to be successful. One method that works for one person may not work for another. If you are not initially successful in your quest, try a different way of looking.
Beware!
Beware that there are organizations and businesses that offer legal services even though they do not have actual licensed attorneys doing your legal work for you. Before you agree to pay for services, make sure that the person who will be doing the work for you is qualified to do what you need to have done.
More and more legal services on the internet that offer significantly lower prices compared to what lawyers usually charge for the same service, are being exposed as “robo” services where the individuals who are doing work for you site unseen, only know the most basic information about how to provide the services you are paying them money for. While it is illegal for someone to present themselves as a licensed attorney and to do things that only licensed attorneys are allowed to do, if you are someone who is unfamiliar with legal terms and services, you may not realize that one of these kinds of companies is not in fact offering actual attorney services.
Steps You Can Take
The following steps may help to guide you to some of the different steps that are important for many people to take when looking for a lawyer.
- Determine what kind of lawyer you need.
- If you have trustworthy friends, family or other people you know who work in the area of law you need help with, ask them for recommendations and about their experience of looking for a lawyer.
- Contact your local bar association (or the one that is closest to you) for qualified attorneys in your area.
- Look for online reviews of attorneys from previous clients and professional organizations. It is recommended that you cross reference reviews from different sites to help counter source bias.
- Make lists. Making lists that include contact information for potential attorneys and other pieces of information you feel is important to why you think they might be good for your situation, can be very helpful to organize your search for when you begin to move forward to selecting the one you think is right for you.
- Review a potential attorney or law firm’s online presence. Look at an attorney’s website as well as other online avenues (such as social media) to give you a feel for the “personality” of a potential attorney or law firm.