Choosing the Right Attorney
Throughout the course of your legal problems, you will have to make some tough decisions. For example, if you were involved in an auto accident then you would have to choose between bringing criminal damages or pressing charges with a plaintiff case. Or say you have a small business that was involved in a deal, then you'd have to decide whether to let it pass or sign it. There is no simple answer in many of these cases, and getting the right lawyer is study the benefits of choosing a lawyer in a pre-paid legal plan as opposed to hiring your own lawyer, as well as some easy steps you can take to choose a good attorney.
The number one criterion has to do with a lawyer’s legal ability. A good lawyer lays the law down for you, presents you with different paths of action explains the ramifications of each decision you make and gives you recommendations on the best course of action. In this day and age of complicated legal matters, many lawyers are more and more specialized and you stand to get better information from someone with a practice focused in a particular area of the law than a generalist who deals with a wide spectrum of legal issues. Building rapport is also very important: Your relationship with your lawyer can make or break your case. You need a lawyer who gives you candid advice and council you can trust, someone with enough perspective to step back from an issue and look at it from all angles.
Pre-paid legal plans greatly limit client-lawyer relationships. Because of the “preventive” nature of most plans, your contact with your lawyer will be restricted on many occasions. You seldom get to talk to your lawyer in person, as most of the consultation is done over the phone- and even when you get to talk to them, it’s not easy to build rapport when your office consultations are limited to a dozen hours a year.
Therefore, I suggest hiring an attorney only when it is truly essential.
If you find your attorney on the Internet or from referrals, plan interviews with them. Most don’t mind receiving inquiries about what they do and how able there are. Ask thorough questions: How many years have they been in practice? How satisfied are their past clients? How many legal problems of interest to you have they taken recently? Also, verify their State Bar Association standing. It's important to find an attorney who is knowledgeable in the specific legal field you need aid with. But, it is also crucial to find an attorney you feel comfortable working with and one who will be easy to stay in touch with.
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