Choosing the right attorney is a bigger deal than most think. Use our resousrces to check many different law firms and attorneys.
Once you have a list of prospective lawyers, use the following guidelines to do some initial screening and narrow your list down to three or four prospective candidates:
- Look at biographical information, including whatever you can find on Web sites for the lawyers and their law firms. Do they appear to have expertise in the area of family law that you need? Do they have any information on their Web sites that is helpful to you?
- Use search engines to surf the Internet. Do searches under the name of the lawyer and his or her law firm. Can you find any articles, FAQ's or other informational pieces that the lawyer has done that that give you a level of comfort?
- Ask other people if they have heard of the attorneys and what they think about them.
- Contact your state bar association or visit their Web site to find out if the lawyer is in good standing.
- Check out the yellow pages of your telephone directory. Does the lawyer advertise? If so, do you find it compelling? Helpful? Tasteful?
- Check out the online archives of your local newspaper. Has there been any publicity about the lawyer or the cases that he or she has handled?
- Consider any special needs you have. For example, could you benefit from an attorney who speaks a language other than English?
- Your analysis of each prospective lawyer begins with the first phone call. Many lawyers with predominantly courtroom practices are hard to reach on the telephone, so you may be spending a good bit of time with the person who answers the phone. Does the person answering seem pleasant? Well informed about the issues you are facing? Able to deliver results?
- Are you able to schedule an appointment with the lawyer easily? If the lawyer can't see you to talk about new business, it may be even harder to get his or her attention to talk about your case once it's been underway for a while.
Use your common sense and gut instincts to evaluate the remaining lawyers on your list. You'll want to be comfortable with the lawyer you hire. You want to choose the best lawyer who you think will do the best job for you. Start making some phone calls.
