Top 5 Questions to Ask When Finding a Lawyer
Lawyers as a profession tend to have a bad reputation. Yet, at some point in your life, you, your business, a friend, or a family member will need a lawyer. While this is not a complete step-by-step guide, these are the five top questions that should always be asked when selecting a lawyer:
Who is actually working on my case?
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2. How will we communicate?
Shockingly, many attorneys today still exist in the world of having clients call a secretary, leave a message, to then respond to the client days or weeks later. This delay is particularly evident with most law firms closed on weekends, creating a huge amount of lag time between the client seeking answers and receiving a reply. Does the attorney allow communications via text message? Does the attorney use Slack, WhatsApp, or Wechat? Does the attorney do video conferencing? These are all key questions that must be asked, particularly when many questions can be quickly answered via a single text message which may take one minute, as opposed to waiting days to have your lawyer call you back.
3. How often will we communicate?
Finding a lawyer who will provide you with updates regularly will best allow you to make an informed decision. "I am not sure what is going on with my case." "I have not heard any case updates since retaining my attorney." "My lawyer is very busy, I guess." These are all common complaints made by clients of their lawyers. From the outset, it is key to ask whether or not updates will be regularly given. How often do we plan to touch base? Will you keep me apprised as to what is happening in the case? Do you have any protocols in place to communicate with clients? Learning months or years later that either no progress has occurred or that your case has gone downhill is devastating for any client.
4. Does the lawyer make you feel comfortable?
To effectively and best represent a client, a lawyer needs complete candidness - the good, bad, and the ugly. Regardless of protections provided by attorney-client privilege, a key question that you will need to answer at the core of any attorney-client relationship is whether the person makes you feel comfortable. Do you find this person trustworthy? Do they seem honest to you? Can you see yourself confiding in this person? If your answer is no to any of these questions, you are better off finding another attorney.
5. What are the odds of winning my case?
This is a simple "hack" to quickly separate the good from the bad. If any lawyer ever tells you that you are either "guaranteed to win" or will "win 100%" - they are most likely trying to sell you as hard as possible to obtain your business and I would be highly skeptical. If something is too good to be true, it probably is. Most experienced attorneys will be able to explain to you the strong and weak points of your case without such fabrication.
*Do not be fooled. Many awards are nothing more than advertising companies who solicit purchases from lawyers and law firms.