by Pat Rapacchiano

Created on: July 30, 2010

Retaining the right attorney can make a huge difference in the outcome of your potential case.  Some attorneys can charge in upwards of $400 per hour.  You want to make sure you will be getting your monies worth. 

 There are some very important things you need to look for prior to choosing an attorney for representation.  First, you want to make sure that they are licensed within the state that you live.  In addition, it helps to learn of any disciplinary actions that may have been taken against the attorney.  Disciplinary actions against an attorney can tell you a great deal about his or her general character.  Disciplinary actions can be anything from a written reprimand to actual license suspension.

 Even if an attorney has a clean record, it is helpful to know how previous clients feel about the services in which they received.  Simple positive or negative comments made by previous clients can help you significantly when trying to find a competent attorney.

 Fortunately, there are some helpful Internet sites that can help you make an informed decision prior to hiring an attorney for representation.  One site in particular Lawyers Ratingz.com is a free website that provides the user general information about a particular attorney.  Basically. The website provides name, address, age, years in practice and general comments concerning work ethic.  Lawyers Ratingz.com allows users to post comments about an attorney in which they work with in the past.   Comments may be posted anonymously or you may post your name.  This website is good for general information purposes.

 Avvo.com is a fairly new website and is one of the more popular.  Avvo.com is a free website that provides general information such as attorney name, education credentials, address, age, overall rating and information regarding disciplinary actions.  In addition, Avvo.com allows users to post comments and give the attorney their own personal rating.  Users must register in order to post on this website.  Once user posts comments, a waiting period of 48 hours is in effect until the customer service department approves the comments.  A defamatory comments or inappropriate language is not permitted on this website.  Comments may be posted anonymously if desired. 

 Finally, Martindale.com is a website that is similar to Avvo and Lawyer Ratingz.com.  The website provides information about an attorney pertaining to his or her overall performance as well as education information and reviews by former clients.  New users must register for an account in order to post questions or comments.  Martindale may prove helpful when searching for basic information and work ethic about a particular attorney.  

 My experience with attorneys has been positive for the most part.  I have viewed Avvo.com prior to hiring my last attorney and I must say it proved very helpful to me.  

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