If You’re Looking for a Lawyer, Make Sure You Ask These 4 Questions
When choosing an attorney, you should have an initial meeting with potential lawyers to help you decide whether or not to go forward with them. It’s important to ask a few basic questions to get started, and this article is going to provide the basics of what to ask an attorney before you hire them to handle your case.
How long have you practiced law?
Depending on your situation, you may want a more experienced lawyer to represent you. For other cases, your legal issue may very well be handled by a lawyer with less experience. While it all depends on your specific case and budget, you’ll at least want to know about the lawyer’s experience and how long they’ve been handling cases for.
Who is your typical client/what types of cases do you normally handle?
No matter what your legal situation is, you’re going to want an attorney who has handled cases similar to yours. For example, if you’re looking for someone to handle your car accident case, then you should find legal representation that has dealt with similar cases before. Seeing as how 3,154 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers in 2013 and approximately 424,000 people were killed, you should have no trouble finding an experienced auto accident attorney. However, your divorce attorney may not be the best choice to handle this case, no matter how qualified they are to practice family law.
What does your track record look like?
While this may seem like a blunt question, it’s important to know how many cases they’ve won or settled, and how much money they’ve recovered for their clients. This may be key in knowing that this attorney will be able to get you a good outcome with your case. Additionally, a good attorney should be able to inform you of any alternative, less expensive, and time-consuming options, if there are any available to you.
What will the outcome of my case most likely be?
It’s important to remember that there is no right answer and that you’re just looking for the attorney to be honest with you. By asking this question, you’ll be able to prepare yourself for the journey ahead. The best lawyers are the ones who are honest with you about your situation but also inspire the confidence that they’ll do everything in their power to help you.
No one attorney is going to have the same answer, but you should use these questions as a guide as you decide what to ask an attorney before hiring them. These questions should give you a better understanding of the lawyer’s experience and skill set and whether or not they’re a good fit for your case.