by Michael Mcculley

Created on: April 25, 2009

First and foremost, you need a lawyer with experience in handling your type of legal matter. Lawyers frequently run into trouble when they take a case in an area of law that they are not thoroughly familiar with. Check with your state bar association (most have websites) to see if they have a board certification process for different fields (such as personal injury law, employment law, trusts & estates, bankruptcy, etc.). If not, the bar might have some other way to indicate each member attorney's major field(s) of interest. You may then use the bar's membership directory (again, these are usually available online) to search for attorneys in your local area with the appropriate specialities.

Once you have a few names, look them up on the web to see what they say about themselves. Pick two or three promising candidates and call to schedule appointments. Ask whether a consultation fee is charged and, if so, how much.

Whether or not you should agree to pay a consultation fee depends on the type of legal matter and the area where you live. As a very rough rule, personal injury lawyers in urban areas generally do not charge consultation fees. On the other hand, labor & employment lawyers usually do because employment case evaluations (such as for discrimination, harassment, unpaid overtime, severance package evaluations, alleged breaches of non-compete clauses, etc.) are complex and time consuming. However, any lawyer that wants to charge you a consultation fee should first be willing to briefly discuss your matter over the phone and tell you whether it would be worth your time and money to even come in for a consultation.

When you meet a lawyer in person for the first time, allow at least 1 to 2 hours for a thorough discussion of the situation. The lawyer should question you at great length about what happened and what you hope to accomplish. If you are contemplating filing a lawsuit, ask the lawyer to estimate the odds of your recovering enough money (either through trial or settlement) to make litigation worthwhile. Be prepared for bad news. If you ask, a good lawyer will not hesitate to tell you the strengths and weaknesses of your case, or will at least advise you to give him or her time to perform some research before answering.

If you get the impression that the lawyer is trying to hurry through the meeting or is just not interested in your story, then you should disqualify him or her immediately. A good lawyer wants to know everything and investigates

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>