What Are the Signs of a Qualified, Competent Lawyer?

The decision to hire a lawyer is a major one. Lawyers are expensive, but there's a good reason behind that. An attorney can have a significant impact on your life. As such, you want to do everything you can to ensure that the lawyer you hire is qualified and competent. How can you find attorneys that meet these criteria? Here are three specific items you can look for.

Track Record

The track record of a lawyer can be discovered with some research. You can start by checking out a lawyer's website and seeing what they say are their successes. You should also ask friends for recommendations and find out what sort of experiences they may have heard about with the lawyer you are looking at working with. LawFirmSites advises that you can see their successes by checking out lawyer-specific review websites. However, don't be thrown off by one or two negative reviews. Anyone in the legal business long enough will have their share of detractors.

Reputation

According to Podium, building a good reputation as a lawyer includes aspects such as work experience, peer endorsements. awards, and publications. Furthermore, a good attorney's reputation will often speak for itself. If you speak with people who operate in the legal profession, you should be able to determine very quickly if an attorney is known for their honesty, integrity, and intelligence.. Make sure to ask people who have worked with lawyers before making a choosing one yourself. Pay particular attention to the word of mouth surrounding an attorney's reputation.

A Clean Ethical Record

The above two items are very important, but it's also vital that you check your lawyer's ethical history in order to ensure that they are more than just a good attorney, but a moral and ethical one. According to Enjuris, it's relatively easy to check this information. Just find the appropriate professional board in your state. Additionally, you can always go to Google News and search to see if your prospective lawyer has had any complaints listed against them. This also has the bonus effect of letting you check if your lawyer has been in the news.

Hiring a good lawyer isn't like picking a dry cleaner. It's something that you must invest time and legwork into. It's time well spent, however, as the difference between a good lawyer and a bad one can make a massive impact on your own life. Don't cut corners in this regard, and don't go cheap.

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