Simply put, consultation is an important part of every stage of the process when you’re meeting an attorney for the first time. Because every legal case has a significant impact on the person involved and their family, of course, it is your right to know about the questions that you will have to ask the lawyer. After all, everyone wants to rest assured that they are working with a true professional. However, if you don’t come across a certain individual, it is good to move on. This is the main point of consultation because investing in an attorney is equivalent to taking a big risk. So if you haven’t ever hired an attorney before, you’ve come to the right spot. In this feature, we will shed light on the questions you have to ask the prospective attorney. Make sure to sift through each of these questions till the end so that you can develop a better understanding of everything.
Table of Contents
How Long Have You Been Practising?
Of course, there’s no particular answer to this question. In this profession, it is essential to weigh the number of years a person has worked in the industry. Especially when the law is concerned, you need to rest assured about the experience of a certain attorney. Since this is going to be your first meeting, you need to ask them about the experience. Secondly, if you don’t want to know about the experience in person, you can go through the profile of the attorney on the web. After all, we are living in a digital age where everything is showcased on social media. In fact, most of the attorneys have profiles on social media so that they can find more audience. Secondly, you need to ask about the area of laws that they work in.
Who is Your Client?
Before you try to develop an understanding of the concept, we need to tell you that there are two types of clients, the business clients, and the individuals. So if you want to work as an individual, you might not want to hire an attorney who works with business clients. Similarly, if you want to hire an attorney for your business startup, you might not want to rely on the attorneys who work with individuals and offer personalized services. Secondly, ask if the attorney has worked with a famous personality in the past. After all, this will add value to their portfolio easily without much effort. If you know about the famous OJ Simpson case, it proved to be a milestone in Robert Kardashian’s career when he decided to work as an attorney for his friend.
What Kinds of Cases do you Handle?
Even if you are about to meet the most sought-after lawyer in town, if they don’t have hands-on experience in the area that your case is related to, it wouldn’t be worth it for you to spend time in the interview. After all, everyone wants to know about the type of cases that a certain attorney works in. This way, you can decide whether or not the other person is the right fit here. Ultimately, an attorney will always handle a case that they’re good at. Because the law is a diverse field in itself, not every lawyer knows everything about the profession. In fact, most lawyers choose a certain area of law and work on it for the rest of their lives.
What Kind of Special Degree do you Have Apart from the Law Degree?
Although it sounds weird wh ask this question? If you don’t know, even the most common niches such as criminal or family law have sub-niches that you would probably want to know about. For example, an attorney who specializes in DUI charges might be the best for criminal law as well. Because attorneys are working hard to improve their skills set, they settle for different certifications that can easily boost their careers. For this reason, you will see a lot of young people practicing as paralegals in the beginning so that they can understand the process of paperwork in this profession. So if you ever find an attorney with additional masters, never overlook their services because they can help you out in various ways. Check out Van Nuys Criminal Lawyer on the web and sift through their academic qualifications. This way, you will get an idea of how lawyers from different fields have to earn additional skills to solve issues.
How Will You Represent Me in the Courtroom?
In other words, you need to ask the lawyer’s strategy to win your case. This will eventually make things transparent and give you confidence about winning the case. While some cases are pretty straight forwards, some can be very gut-wrenching and cutthroat. If you’re the latter right now, you will have to hire an attorney who can help you out to the fullest. After all, nobody wants to get stuck with working with an attorney who has little experience and doesn’t even stand out in the courtroom. As a client, you stand a 100% chance to ask about the strategy and everything related to the case. Even if a tiny detail is concerned, you are allowed to inquire about it.
What are the Costs?
Ask about how you will be billed and if there are any hidden charges involved. Also, ask if the attorney will charge any additional fee for travel or food. You also need to know if the attorney will seek their compensation from the final verdict or charge an hourly rate. Bear in mind, if everything isn’t available in written form, you and the attorney might end up engaging in a verbal spat. Therefore, it is essential to have clarity on everything. Once you hire an attorney, you will incur a lot of expenses for sure, so you better ask about every sort of hidden charge. Furthermore, you need to see if you can afford to work with a certain attorney or not. Once you’re answered properly, then you can decide to proceed with the individual.
What are the Alternatives?
Just because you have decided to hire an attorney doesn’t imply that you will cement the decision to work with them. Simply put, there’s no harm in a free consultation, especially if the attorney is willing to provide it. Sometimes the best route is to ask about the alternatives that are available. In some instances, you can rely on the arbitrator too. This means things can be settled out without the need to rush to the courtroom. For this reason, you can consider an arbitrator who will solve all of your problems. Here, again you will have to go through the client reviews before hiring the right person for this task. If you aren’t rest assured about the reply of the attorney, you can meet more people and see the options that are available.
How Will You Inform me about the Developments in the Case?
Long story cut short; communication is an imperative part of the legal process. Therefore, you need to ask how an attorney will inform you about the development of the case. Ask about the different ways that are available right now. Today, attorneys inform clients through texts, emails, phone calls, and even video conferences. However, if you’re working with the most sought-after attorney, it is hard that they will contact you through each of these mediums. So it is best if you get to know about the exact model of communication and when the attorney will inform you about the progress in your case.
How Long Will it Take?
Although there isn’t any defined answer to this question, an experienced lawyer can give you a rough idea about how long it can take for a case to get resolved. Especially if the case is related to a charge that can have a significant impact on your life, you need to know the time it will take to get rid of the problem. However, even if the attorney gives you an idea about the time frame, don’t consider it an absolute answer. Some cases get piled up in weeks, whereas some problems might take months to get solved. Secondly, you can also ask about the probability of success in your case. Here is when you will understand the honesty of the law. As a client, you need to know the prospects and the other alternatives in case you lose. After all, when one is willing to spend a lot of money on such cases, it is best to know the chances of success and failure without any hesitation.
How will You gather Evidence?
Although this sounds off guard, you need to know how the lawyer will gather evidence? Especially if you have been charged with a felony or any major criminal offense, your lawyer will have to gather evidence to prove your innocence. Without an effective strategy, it will be hard for you to have the right evidence collected. As a client, you need to ask how your case will gravitate towards success and the different modes of collecting the necessary evidence. Once you and the lawyer have clarity on this, you both can proceed to the next step.
