How to Choose a Lawyer

It is always interesting to see how many people think that all lawyers are all-knowing about all things legal. That is just not the case. It is true that many lawyers have what is called a general practice. This is not to be confused with a lawyer who can do anything for you. Typically, a general practitioner does a few things very well. For example, a general practitioner may be great at wills, real estate and civil litigation but not know anything about copyright law.

There are lawyers who specialize. This means that they will usually practice in one area of the law and are usually quite good at what they do. Or at least you hope they are. Great examples of lawyers who specialize are criminal and immigration lawyers. There are general practitioners who dabble in criminal and immigration work but if you have a serious issue like your freedom or whether you are ever going to be allowed back in the country, you don' want a dabbler. In serious situations, you are going to want someone who specializes.

Another great example of how important specialization can be arises in family law situations. It is not uncommon to hear stories about family law lawyers disappointing their clients. It is also not uncommon to hear stories about family law lawyers achieving tremendous settlements for their clients. Most of these stories come about as a result of the fact that the subject matter is highly sensitive and personal. Unfortunately family law lawyers become a necessary evil in many of these situations, particularly when the family members involved have acquired significant assets or have children or both. When facing a family law issue, your choice of lawyer may be one of the most important decisions you ever make. Hopefully, you will never need one of them.

The most common form of action flooding the legal system is what I refer to as a "conflict" action. Typically, this is a criminal law matter where the government has charged you with a crime or you are suing somebody for damages you have suffered. The former is obviously a criminal law matter, while the latter is more commonly referred to as a civil litigation matter. Each takes place in its own kind of court and each has completely different issues to be resolved. The most important element for you however is common in both. You must choose the right kind of lawyer.

A criminal law matter is extremely serious. It can affect every aspect of your life, for the remainder of your life. Unfortunately, what you may have heard in the past about the criminal justice system is true. The more money you have, the better your chances of finding the best possible criminal lawyer to represent you. The reason for this is simple. Criminal lawyers are like any other business people. The ones who have been practicing the longest have the greatest amount of experience. They have put in countless hours perfecting their craft and the ones who have specialized are generally remarkable. If you are able to afford one of these lawyers you are not only getting their experience working for you, you are acquiring every professional relationship they have developed over time. The criminal law associations around the country are usually tight knit groups. Everyone knows everyone and this includes prosecutors and judges. These relationships are what make the system go round. That is what you are paying for.

All is not lost if you can not afford one of the higher priced lawyers. A newer, less experienced criminal law lawyer who specializes in your issue can still be fantastic. They are usually hungry to develop their business and have been devoting every moment of their working day to resolving issues like yours to the benefit of their client. To catch one of these lawyers on their way up is a great find. Generally as time goes by, they will only get better and will remember you in case you ever need them again. Finally, if you can't afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you. I'm sure you've heard that before. If you can avoid getting assigned a lawyer from the public defender's office and hire one yourself, do it. That's not to say you couldn't get a good public defender, but their case loads are usually tremendous and your issue may not receive the kind of attention it warrants. You don't want anything to be overlooked when your freedom is in question.

As for selecting a civil litigation lawyer all I can say is experience, experience, experience. There are so many nuances to civil litigation that you will need the most experienced lawyer you can find. The great news in this regard is that cost may not even be an issue. The highest priced civil litigation lawyer might work for you for nothing! Well, not nothing. The difference is you may be able to find one who will work for what is called a contingency fee. This means that in the event your suit is successful, and civil litigation cases are always about money, then the lawyer will be entitled to a percentage of your winnings. Some will be willing to work for you on straight contingency. That means you don't pay anything unless you win. Others will still charge you for expenses, even if you are unsuccessful. That can still be costly. Whether or not you will be able to find a lawyer to work on contingency instead of an hourly or block rate, will depend on your case. This means you better be able to clearly show harm to yourself one way or another. If you can't, it won't matter who is representing you.

Good luck and hopefully you won't have to make these kinds of decisions in the future.