Top Tips for Hiring an Attorney

Whether in matters of business or family, you may find yourself in need of legal representation. Going to court, where the stakes can be high, means that choosing the right lawyer is a critical decision that you can ill afford to miscalculate. With these three top tips for hiring an attorney, you can find a lawyer you can trust to be transparent and actively engaged with your case.

Rely on Word of Mouth First

Though it’s no easy feat to earn one’s law degree, there is no shortage of practicing lawyers in any major metropolitan area. Finding the best legal representation for your needs can be daunting as you scan through firms and names, from downtown Big Law firms to small and independent partnerships. Before you start cold-calling, ask trusted friends, relatives, and colleagues for their personal recommendations. If they’re willing to give you their endorsement to an attorney, you can start exploring those options first.

Ask Questions

Sitting down with a lawyer for the first time can be intimidating. Their years of studies and practice have lent them specialized expertise in a critical field of our society. As such valued professionals, many lawyers occupy prominent roles in their communities. But remember that lawyers, like physicians, are doctors—Juris Doctors, in this case. And just as a self-advocatory dialogue is necessary to receive the best medical care possible, a similar discourse with your attorney is instrumental to receiving the best legal representation possible. Ask any questions you may have before hiring an attorney, and continue to ask questions while deferring to their expertise while they’re handling your case. Don’t be afraid to ask tax attorneys about their relationships with IRS agents and colleagues alike or to ask family law attorneys whether they’ve encountered similar cases that can prepare them for your circumstances.

Seek Transparency

The third of our top tips for hiring an attorney is to look for honesty. To say that practitioners of the law have picked up a bad reputation over the years would be a gross understatement—anyone could fill a book with lawyer jokes, and by now, someone surely has. But today’s best lawyers have shed the perception of unscrupulousness by offering transparency in their schedule of fees and by being, at times, brutally frank with potential clients regarding their likelihood of success in the courtroom. Find an attorney who won’t promise you everything and more right off the bat or catch you off guard with undisclosed filing fees or compensation for expert witnesses.