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O.K., you’re still reading, I guess we’ll get serious.
Finding a good lawyer is no easy task. I’m reminded of an experience my wife and I recently had with one of our children. Our neighbor recommended a school teacher. Our child got that school teacher but didn’t do well. Why? Was the school teacher bad? Obviously not, our neighbor loved the teacher. Was my child bad? I’d say no. I think the problem was a personality conflict. A teacher may be great for one child but not so great for another.
I bring up that story because I think it illustrates the perils of finding a good attorney. Many people use emotion to find an attorney. If they are getting divorced, they look for a bull dog. They want an attorney to reflect their negative emotions onto their former spouse. Sometimes people find attorneys based on referrals. That can work great but can also be a big mistake. An attorney recently told me that his old boss told the office staff that they should put the interests of chiropractors over clients. The chiropractors were the life blood of the firm since chiropractor referrals was where they got the majority of their business.
So what do you do? Here is what I think you should look for in an attorney:
Experience — does the attorney have experience in the type of legal issue you need solved.
Persuasive ability — can the attorney persuade others. Bulldogs are not always the most persuasive. Slick salesmen don’t always get the best results either. The best attorney can be both when the time is right.
Hard work — does the attorney put in the time to get results?
Knowledge — does the attorney know the law?
Referrals — do other people recommend the attorney?
Honesty — sometimes people want a lawyer who is willing to cut corners and even cheat to get results. Problem is, word gets around quickly in the legal community. Other attorneys and judges quickly adapt. End result is they spend a lot of extra time to get bad results.
Longevity — has the attorney been around long enough to have a reputation that is more than a first impression?
Don’t be afraid to call around and don’t be afraid to interview several attorneys to get a feel for them.
Now, that being said, I’ll go back to selling our law firm. We believe we excel in each of these areas. Perhaps the best evidence of that is that we get referrals from other attorneys. Check out our google places page. We’ve gotten great marks from many former clients.
Still have questions. Please call, we’ll answer them for free.