Finding an attorney is a proposition that is daunting for many people. No one wants to pay too much, but you also don’t want the cheapest one in town. Vetting the attorney to make sure they have experience in the subject matter can be difficult in many cases. This multi-part series is designed to help you find the right attorney and discuss a few considerations that will be helpful along the way.
Part 1: Finding An Attorney
First you should determine what kind of attorney you need. Many people believe attorneys practice and know many areas of law. The truth is that the majority of attorneys have certain practices areas that they focus on and will refer potential clients to other attorneys within their firm or network if it is not the kind of case that they normally take on.
Beware the attorney that takes “all cases”. The phrase “jack-of-all-trades, master of none” would apply to such an attorney.
If you need a business/contract attorney, using your uncle who practices family law may get you a contract, but most likely will not be as good as one what you would get from working with an actual business attorney.
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Sally was starting a business, but she had never used an attorney. She had a partner, a business plan, and they had already started producing revenue. However they had no agreements between themselves, and she was concerned about what would happen to the business if her partner and her ever got into a dispute. She also wanted to get contracts in place with key vendors, and her employees. She wasn’t sure where to start, other than looking online.
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Once you have determined the type of attorney you need, you can check with other professionals you already know, such as financial advisors and accountants, who often work closely with attorneys. Asking them for a recommendation is a great place to start.
But even if you’re not acquainted with anyone working in those fields, you probably know people who need to network locally for their businesses. Those people will know local attorneys, or at least the reputation of local law firms and what their practice areas are.
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Sally and her partner were meeting with their accountant.
When the accountant said, “You should really have an attorney draw something up for you.” Sally asked if she knew any good, local attorneys. The accountant gave her two referrals for local attorneys that practice the area of law she needed.
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Stay tuned for the next installment, where we’ll discuss selecting an attorney once you’ve found some attorneys that practice in the area you need help.
Legal Disclaimer: This blog does not constitute legal advice. Reading this blog does not form an attorney-client relationship between you and our firm. If you have a legal issue, you should contact the firm or reach out to a licensed attorney in order to receive legal advice. Feel free to reach out to Aron Phillips at aphillips@aphillipslawoffice.com.
