Whether you are looking for legal counsel for an adoption case, an accident, divorce, medical malpractice or fraud― choosing the right lawyer is the key to win your case.
Lawyers often provide a low-cost or free consultation to discuss the details of your case before hiring. This is the preliminary meeting where you can have a clear picture of whether to proceed with a lawyer or to explore alternate ways to handle your case.
Counsel from social contacts and friends is helpful, but you need to do your homework before setting up a meeting with a lawyer.
If you are looking to hire a lawyer to help someone in prison or facing charges, this is for you. Here are 5 things to ask before engaging a lawyer.
1. How long has the attorney practiced law, and how many cases like yours has he/she handled in their career?
Knowing about a lawyer’s expertise and experience is crucial for you before you hire a lawyer to represent you. Depending on the type of case you have, it is for you to decide if a beginner attorney can handle your case, or whether you need more experienced aggressive solicitors.
It is also crucial for you to know if the lawyer has dealt with cases like yours before. For instance, if it’s a divorce petition or an adoption case, you will want a family lawyer who mostly represents such cases.
Feel free to ask about the attorney’s record of cases won, settled, or lost.
2. What are your attorney’s fees and costs? How will you be billed?
This is certainly a very important question. You will have to ask the charges of the lawyer, attorney’s fee awards, etc. to know if you can afford their services. You also need to know from the very beginning how and when you will be billed- how often and the mode of payment.
Some lawyers charge a fixed amount, while some bill hourly. There can be other pricing models too. For example, in a “fee contingency” case, attorneys usually charge a part of the amount their client receives on a successful trial.
You must ask your lawyer if a part of your case will be handled by the lawyer’s legal assistants or paralegals. If yes, try to discuss a reduction in fees. Sometimes your lawyer can save you money by delegating certain tasks to their firm employees who charge less per hour.
Feel free to ask questions about who will be working on your case, in what capacity, and how much of it will be partaken by the lawyer personally.
3. Ask the lawyer how they perceive your situation or case?
Lawyers, of course, cannot promise or foresee results. But they are experts who can give you a fairly preliminary assessment of how your case looks like. So do not hold back and ask away. Any good counsel will also tell you how he/she will be strategizing for your case, as well as discuss the pros and cons.
4. What will be the estimated time to settle the case? How will you communicate?
While discussing a case strategy, your lawyer cannot promise you a fixed timeline as he/she does not control the pace of legal proceedings. But they should be able to give you an estimated timeline to get to a resolution.
Ask the attorney how they propose to stay in contact. You should be ideally able to have regular communications with your counsel during the preparations and trial. Both sides need to agree on how you want to stay in touch.
5. Is there any alternative to a trial?
Every attorney, regardless, should be able to review the possibility of negotiation with their clients, before trial. For example, in civil cases, your counsel can propose a mediation- wherein a neutral out-of-court third party performs a settlement negotiation.
Sometimes there are faster means of resolving issues. While in criminal cases, many people try to seek a good plea bargain. Depending on the case you have, your lawyer will tell you about alternate approaches if applicable to you.
After having all the answers to the basic but essential questions, you can later decide if you would hire the lawyer. If you do, feel free to ask more specific questions related to your case along the way. Good lawyers are not only good at asking questions, but also in answering.
You should feel free and comfortable at any time. Maintaining a good attorney-client relationship will be beneficial to you in the long run.
