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Last Updated on November 10, 2017 by Work In My Pajamas
You will find a number of lawyers in your area and all of them will agree to provide you the best of their services. However, considering U.S.A each year alone produces 34,000 lawyers, how do you decide?
Therefore, to help you out we mention top 6 mistakes which you should avoid while choosing a legal counsel for your family or company.
- Not Knowing What They Need
People often tend to hire lawyers even before knowing what they need them for. This firstly does tend to affect their financial status as they spend a lot on hiring the best in the field and are not able to get the desired returns. We, therefore, suggest that you hire a legal intern and or a legal clinic which will guide you through small legal issues and help you with some legal documentation. This is something which you don’t necessarily need an expert for. You can, of course, hire a lawyer later should you have some serious court matter to resolve however hiring one without need is a waste of your money.
- Hiring Relatives with Some Legal Exposure
There are companies rather startups who would want one of their uncles who went to law college to join their team. This might be a money saving option for you but the same may cause issues in the long run. Every type of legal matter be it corporate, civil or a criminal has lawyers specializing in any one, two or in rare cases three fields. Therefore, don’t hire your uncle who practices civil law to help you with a criminal case as he might know the law, but he doesn’t specialize in same. And going forward with him might cost you your life and or the future of your organization.
- Going for Big Multinational Law Firms
Unless you are some big multinational organization’s owner or are having a case involving millions, going to big law firms isn’t the best decision you can make. Such law firms wouldn’t involve their top attorney to your case and it probably would be a lower associate handling all the legal proceedings. And to top it all of you these firms would charge you amounts which might run you to bankruptcy. If you are a budding startup of a small organization the best decision you can make is to go for a comparatively mediocre level firms which will provide you quality assistance directly and will also charge less compared to the top-level ones.
- No Negotiation Mistake
People often do not negotiate with their attorneys on their professional fees, which even we don’t understand why. You are hiring a lawyer just as you would hire any other contractor, mechanic etc. You can always negotiate with your lawyer as far as his professional fee is involved and get the terms of his payment figured out before finally giving him your case. You can provide him an equity in your company and or decide how you want to pay him. The payment schedule can be monthly, hourly and or per appearance in court.
- Not Knowing the Attorney Inside Out
Do not hire an attorney just because a friend recommended him/her to you or because you saw his great advertisement being flashed on thescreen. Before hiring an attorney, you need to research about him/her thoroughly and find out about his past cases and success. You need to find a lawyer who truly does care about the case and isn’t in it simply to make money. Avoid lawyers who simply pressurize you to go for a court trial instead of consulting and providing you with other available options.
- Making Rash Decisions
Often when you do require an attorney you are either in a state of shock or in a state of anger. People blinded by emotions take rash decisions and hire an attorney who is presented first to them. To avoid this, you can always have some relative or confidant who can also evaluate and help you make the best decision in the situation. He can on your behalf negotiate with the lawyer so that in the end you are not left with a regret.
So, the next time you hire an attorney give these 6 points a look, see if you are committing the above-mentioned mistakes which may cost you your case, as well as peace of mind.
I like your advice about having a relative or a confidant it would help me evaluate a lawyer to ensure that I am making the right final choice and not making rash decisions. My sister would benefit from this advice because she plans to hire an insurance litigation lawyer soon to adjust her home insurance claim. I’ll call her tonight and offer to be that confidant. Thanks.