Looking To Hire A Law Firm? 9 Essentials Every Firm Should Have
You might be in a pickle and need to hire a good law firm to help you out. You needn’t fret as there are many of them out there. Unfortunately, this makes choosing the right one difficult as there are so many at your disposal. Below, we’ve run through the essentials any law firm worth your while should have. With these in mind, you’ll be able to work with the best of the best. So keep reading to find out more.
Credibility
If you want to hire a law firm, you need to work with one that’s worth your time and money. That’s why the firm you’re interested in should have a great reputation. This saves you time because if they’re credible, you won’t have a bad experience down the road. What’s more, they wouldn’t have garnered a good reputation if they weren’t so good at their job.
An Estimate Of Their Services
Working with a lawyer is certainly not cheap. It’s one of the most expensive things you could do and frankly, working with a firm that offers an estimate of how much you’ll have to pay is the best move you could make. It’ll prevent you from working with a lawyer who overcharges, leading you to get into debt. Some firms even charge for their lawyers picking up your calls.
What’s more, you can find out how you’ll be charged, and whether it’ll be a flat rate or an hourly one. The common consensus is that flat rates are the best.
A Limited Number Of Clients
You just found an amazing law firm. However, they also have many clients. As a result, the lawyer assigned to you has 50 other cases to work on. This is a disaster waiting to happen as your lawyer’s attention is divided. So, you could very easily lose your case though you had a better chance of winning by working with a smaller, cheaper firm.
Trying to find out how busy your lawyer is is not easy. The firm won’t tell you, so you’ll have to do some investigative work. Don’t be afraid to spend time online as customer reviews would show you if previous clients felt satisfied or not.
Thankfully, however, more esteemed firms don’t do this as they know how important individual attention is.
Availability
A major feature that any good law firm has is availability. Although there are countless lawyers and not that many clients, the former may have a fixed schedule. If you can’t meet them during this period, you won’t be able to at all. This lack of availability will make the firm hard to work with, as you can imagine.
When you speak to them, they should mention how available their lawyers are at once. The best firms have lawyers that are available at your whim and can be contacted during after hours. Certainly, this is what you want as your team will be your confidants. Hence, they should also answer their phones quickly and be timely when answering emails.
Flexibility
Who knows what could happen in your legal proceedings? It could go in any number of ways so your lawyer needs to be someone that can handle a range of situations. That’s why he or she should be an expert at negotiations as well as trials.
When it comes to flexibility, you may have a couple of requests. The best lawyers would be flexible enough to handle them, for example, if you want them to meet you at home.
Have Young Lawyers
You might not realize this, but young lawyers are the best. They’ve studied newer syllabi in the uniform bar exam and its constituents, so they have a different outlook altogether. Moreover, they’re young, so they’re easier to communicate with. If you know anything about working with a lawyer, communication is key.
Of course, they shouldn’t be fresh out of law school either. This means that they’re seriously unexperienced. Instead, they should have been in the game for a couple of years, and know enough to handle you.
You won’t know how old the firm’s lawyers are unless they have a list of them on their site. You could always ask but this may not be appropriate.
Be Comfortable To Work With
As discussed, communication is key. That’s why you need to be comfortable working with the firm, including their customer support and receptionists. If you’re not, you won’t be able to communicate that well. This is also influenced by how they treat you. Once again, checking customer reviews helps as you’ll be able to note whether they treat their clients well.
A Great Selection Of Lawyers
The best firms have a wide selection of lawyers working for them, so you’ll have a better chance of picking a good lawyer. To find out if a firm has a wide range of lawyers is not difficult. All you have to do is visit its site. Here you’ll get a better idea of how many lawyers they have and it’ll be easier to pick the right one.
If you want to go the extra mile, pick a firm that lists its lawyers’ qualifications on their site. This lets you make a more informed decision when picking one.
No Hidden Fees
Other than the fees, the firm may have several hidden ones. Unfortunately, quite a few firms have this characteristic. This could run you up quite a bill. To avoid this, see if customers have noted whether the fees are worth it. There are awards given to law firms as well, showing the potential of each one. You need to work with one that has several such accolades.
Without a doubt, there are several things to look for when choosing a good law firm. If the firm you’re interested in has the above features, it’s probably worth your time. So, if you’re looking for a law firm to work with, keep these tips in mind. This way, you won’t go wrong and will be sure to win your case!