Choosing the best lawyer for your situation can be quite tricky. In fact, this could be among the most important decisions in your life. Legal mishaps can be particularly costly and may even have lifetime implications. As an example, a major car accident or medical malpractice can be very expensive, so you need a proper legal backup. The path of justice isn’t always easy, especially if you are not knowledgeable enough. Your need for an attorney could be caused by unexpected moments. Often, victims are badly injured psychologically and physically, making them incapable of getting involved in courtroom. There are also mistakes that clients may do:
- Not discussing fees in advance: If you don’t discuss fee structures, this may result in consternation and confusion about compensation percentages and upfront costs. Before signing any contract, you should discuss everything ahead of time.
- Mistaking compassion for competence: You will need to deal with plenty of emotions when hiring lawyers. A good lawyer definitely needs to be sympathetic to the plight of the clients. However, you shouldn’t think that it’s a sure sign of competence. A compassionate lawyer isn’t always fully knowledgeable about relevant area of law.
- Not discussing availability: Handling legal problems takes a lot of effort and time. A lawyer may be able to meet you in person, but he/she could not allocate much more time for your case. Regardless of how skilled and experienced a lawyer is, you won’t get anything satisfactory if he/she doesn’t have enough time for your case.
- Losing control of the case: It won’t do your case any good if you are losing control. The lawyer also can’t do the job well, if you are not organized. Be prepared to get involved and keep yourself updated to any development.
- Not feeling comfortable with the lawyer’s style: Legal proceedings could be based on rigid rules, but lawyers can be quite flexible with how they handle the case. If you are not feeling comfortable, try to communicate with the lawyer and negotiate whether you can change a few things. Most of the time, you will need understand that each person is unique and let lawyers to do what they want, as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the case.
- Feeling intimidated: This could happen among female clients who are feeling that they are intimidated in a male-dominated courtroom. Things are also a bit more difficult, due to the fact that women are more reluctant to incur extra legal cost.
- Failing to check the specialization and experience of the lawyer: Lawyers are much like medical doctors and they have specialization. After you find a lawyer with the right specialization, you need to make sure that he/she is experienced and competent.
- Relying solely on referrals: A common method is to ask friends and family, whether they know any qualified lawyer for your legal case. However, you should check deeper than that. It’s a good sign if the lawyer has plenty of referrals, but you need to make sure that he/she is appropriate for your situations.