26 Jan Find a lawyer – 5 tips to get it right the first time
For some unfortunate people, the first time they realise their lawyer is not as competent as they need to be, is when they’ve lost out on money, relationship, time or rights, or even all of those. They may not even realise it until years later, if ever. This is because people often don’t have enough experience in working with lawyers to understand the difference.
Find a lawyer who is a problem solver
As with a patient and doctor relationship, you bring your legal problem to your lawyer, and they resolve it. A great lawyer will solve the problems you might not even yet be aware you have.
Find a lawyer you like
Ideally, you’ll be looking to build a long-term relationship with your lawyer. It is likely that he or she will become an integral part of your business operations. Finding someone whose personality is compatible with yours goes a long way in helping to build that long-term relationship.
Find a lawyer who will be honest with you
Avoid a ‘yes-man’ – often lawyers are approached by clients who already have a pre-conceived idea of what the solution should be. And sadly there are those lawyers who will go to great lengths to appease their clients, just to win their business. Instead they should be pointing out the folly in their client’s thinking. You are paying for the advice and opinion of your lawyer. Make sure they’re giving you an honest analysis, and not just feeding your ideas back to you to avoid telling you what you don’t want to hear.
Find a lawyer online
We believe every lawyer worth their salt should have an online presence. Read up on their skills and experience and find out which professional associations they are involved with.
Find a law firm of the right size
There are pros and cons to working with solo practitioners, small firms and big firms. If your business grows to be the next Amazon, you’ll probably need to engage the services of a large law firms – until of course you have your own in-house legal department!
Sometimes (although this is by no means always the case) startups and small businesses can find they are a lower priority for larger law firms.
Another potential issue of working with a larger firm, is that you never know who you’ll actually be working with (see first 3 points). We all need to start somewhere of course, but do you want your work assigned to a new lawyer fresh out of law school?
Till Death Us Do Part
Of course nothing lasts forever, and if you don’t feel you and your lawyer are on the right page, it’s probably best to pick up the phone and discuss your concerns (better to do this in a conversation than via an email).
If that doesn’t work, and you feel you’d like to come to another arrangement, your lawyer is, in most circumstances, obligated to return your files to you or forward them to your new attorney. If you have funds remaining in the retainer account, these should be returned to you as well.
If you’d like further information on how to find a lawyer that will suit your needs, or you’d like to discuss any legal or conveyancing issues, contact the legal team at Quay Law – we’re here to help.