How to Find a Lawyer

Choosing an attorney can be a daunting task. Knowing what kind of lawyer you need and how much is a reasonable fee is often very difficult to determine without prior knowledge. Here’s a brief guide to selecting the best lawyer for your legal matter.

It is always a good idea to obtain a recommendation of friend or associate who has had dealings with an attorney. A friend's past experience can reveal whether your experience with an attorney will be a good one. If you can’t find a friend to make a referral, you should contact a local or county bar association. For a nominal fee of $10-35, the bar association will refer you to one or several attorneys appropriate for your legal matter.

Most attorneys will spend 10-20 minutes on the phone with you to determine your legal problem and advise you whether they can handle your case. Most attorneys will not offer legal advice over the phone or during an initial consultation, mainly because the attorney does not have all of the information needed to adequately analyze and recommend a course of action in a phone conversation or initial consultation.

Most attorneys will also refuse to guarantee the outcome of your legal matter; this is a good thing. Legal cases usually involve variables (judges, witnesses, juries, quality of evidence, etc.) that can never be fully be accounted for until after a legal case has been tried and concluded. You don’t want an attorney who promises you an outcome because he’s gambling with your hard earned money and has a 50/50 chance of losing.

You can call several attorneys, general practitioners or specialists, in your problem area and select one based on your conversation and comfort level. The attorney should state his hourly fee. If the attorney requires a retainer of over $1,000, the attorney must provide a written retainer agreement or letter of engagement for your review and signature.

You should ask for the approximate time it will take to resolve your case, however you should understand that any time given in an approximation because of the variables listed above.