5 Things You Should Know Before Hiring for Legal Services

It’s no secret that the US is the world leader when it comes to litigation, with 40 million lawsuits being the average each year!

As a result, there might come a time when you’ll need to hire an attorney or other legal professionals. If you’ve been hit with a lawsuit or need to file one yourself, you need the best attorney services behind you.

But how do you ensure you have the best experience when it comes to hiring a lawyer?

Here’s what you need to know before hiring legal services:

1. Understanding the Scope of Legal Services

Each law firm will have its main focus on legal services offered. Within this scope, there might be additional areas of expertise.

For example, some personal injury lawyers will only focus on auto accidents. Others will assist with a range of legal services, from auto accidents to bicycle accidents.

You can get more info here to see an example of a law firm that offers such diverse services. Make sure the law firm you work with has extensive experience working with similar cases.

2. Speak to Your Network

You’ll likely see advertisements for attorney services throughout your town or city. But this isn’t the best way to find the best law firm in some cases.

While you should still reach out to them, you should first reach out to your network. They’ll help you decide what the best law firms to reach out to are. 

You might have a few friends, family members, and colleagues who’ve had experience working with attorneys. They’ll attest to the skill level of their attorneys. But more importantly, they’ll discuss their experience of working with their attorneys.

It’s important that you get along with the lawyer. Only if you have a comfortable working relationship can you expect to have success. Many cases get ruined because the client-lawyer relationship is weak.

You also have to learn about the reputation of the lawyer. 

3. Interview the Attorneys

Once you’ve shortlisted a few attorneys, you want to meet them at their law firm. You should have at least a one-hour consultation with them where you can ask them questions.

They’ll ask you several questions regarding your case to see if they can work with you. However, you must also ask them as many questions as possible to see if they’re a great fit for you.

You should ask them to provide you with case studies. While they can’t tell you everything due to client confidentiality, you want to make sure they have experience with winning a similar case to yours.

You must also trust your intuition when you meet with your lawyer. If you feel uncomfortable interacting with them, then cross them off your list. Trust your gut and only work with attorneys who you’ll feel comfortable with.

While we hope that your lawsuit ends as quickly as possible, this isn’t always the case. There are cases that can run on for months or even years.

This is something you’ll have to keep in mind. You have to make sure that you feel comfortable working with an attorney for months or years. A good relationship ensures that you both contribute to fighting your case.

4. Learn About Their Style

Each lawyer will have their own style on how they fight their case. From your favorite films and TV shows, you’ve probably gotten an idea of how lawyers fight.

Some will have the gentle and intellectual approach of Matlock others will be aggressive and sarcastic like Vincent Gambini. These might be fictional characters but you’ll see their style in many attorneys.

You have to decide which style you prefer. No way is better than the other and either style can win or lose a case.

But you should still feel comfortable with one approach. If, for example, the aggressive lawyer wins cases but you don’t feel comfortable with this approach then work with the gentler lawyer.

Make sure you discuss their style beforehand. Their style represents who you are. If you have an aggressive lawyer, you’ll be perceived as aggressive. If you have a gentler lawyer, you’ll be perceived as gentler.

In some cases, aggression can be seen as tough. In other cases, aggressiveness can be seen as vulgar and crass.

Likewise, in some cases, gentleness is perceived as intelligent and thorough. In other cases, being gentle is perceived as being weak and a pushover.

5. How Much Do the Legal Services Cost?

The final step is to look at how much you’ll pay to use the legal services. There are many factors that add to the cost of your legal services.

First is the consultation that we mentioned earlier. Many lawyers offer free consultations while others will charge a fee of a few hundred dollars. There’s also the method of how they’ll charge you for their services.

Some lawyers will charge an upfront flat fee. Others will put you on a monthly retainer that’ll end when the case ends. Some will request a contingency fee — which means you’ll pay them a commission only if you receive compensation in the lawsuit.

Many lawyers will also charge for additional expenses. These can range from delivering files, to making photocopies, to labor costs for preparing paperwork.

As one would expect, legal services can be very costly and can be an additional strain. You should ask the lawyer if they offer any payment plan options or discounted services. Depending on the type of case, there are even some lawyers who will work on a pro bono basis.

Get Legal Services

Now you know what to do before you hire legal services to help you fight your case.

Make sure you first understand the scope of legal services. You have to ensure that they have previous experience working with your particular case.

Research different law firms but speak to your network first to narrow down potential lawyers. Interview the attorneys to determine if you’d like to work with them. Make sure you also learn about the costs of legal services.

We’d also like to offer you another service. You’ll find more great information elsewhere on our blog.