A legal professional is an advocate. She should fight in your stead, using reasonable, ethical, and cost-effective means. You ought to have an open type of communication with your attorney. After all, there’s a reason why attorneys are also known as “counselors.” Great attorneys can be found in high rise office buildings, small firms, solo offices, and in online directories.
With a great Best DUI Lawyer Orange County professional being defined in so many ways, what qualities should you look for?
Comfort
The first, and perhaps most important, quality is that you should feel comfortable in your counselor’s presence. A comfortable and open relationship will help you to share relevant information to your case openly, honestly, and completely. In the end, a legal professional can’t fully assist you without knowing all of the pertinent information.
Clear Fee Structure
Another absolutely important characteristic of a good lawyer is a clear, honest, and appropriate cost structure. For just one, you’ll want to make certain that the price of the lawyer is worth the case. Smaller disputes generally don’t warrant hiring the priciest counsel. Moreover, you should ask your attorney if they bill by the hour or if a flat charge arrangement is an option. While some attorneys might advertise an extremely low flat fee, you’ll also want to inquire as to any additional fees. The advertised price may well not include court filing fees, or even the price of printing documents for your case.
The Record
Before you even meet with the attorney, you should seek out her or his name on the Internet. Look for online reviews and other comments that may be online about the attorney’s services. You should also talk to your state’s bar association website to see if any complaints, misconduct charges, or malpractice accusations have been filed against the attorney.
You should also ask the legal professional about her experience. Is this her first-time handling this kind of legal matter? For smaller matters, that might be acceptable and can even save you money. For larger disputes, you may consider a more seasoned (and likely more costly) attorney.
Communication and Availability
If this is more than a short-term dispute, such as a contentious divorce, you want in which to stay contact with this legal professional regularly over a few months, if not years. What you want to avoid is the attorney that does not return phone calls or emails in a timely manner. Though your case may be routine for him, it is vital for you and should be treated as such.
One way to test the firm’s communication is to email them questions soon after your initial visit. Withhold a few questions from the consultation and follow-up via email. If it takes days to respond, the firm might be too busy to handle your matter. Alternatively, if you are impressed with their response time and answers, you might have just found your attorney.