Finding a good lawyer is really an important matter, it can even decide your case's outcome, therefore it is best to take some effort and search for a competent lawyer whom you can trust that will serve your interests in the best possible way, and here is a step by step guide to finding a good lawyer:
- Find out what type of lawyer do you need
"In days gone by, most lawyers were general practitioners, meaning that they handled cases in a wide variety of practice areas. As the number of lawyers grew, the law became more complicated, and our society spread out, it has become necessary for lawyers to concentrate their efforts," says Michelle May O'Neil, a board-certified Dallas divorce lawyer
As the time has changed and the law got more and more complicated, it's natural to see lawyers specializing in specific aspects of the law, this doesn't mean that lawyers are not allowed to participate in any field of the law, but it means that it is crucial nowadays to have a lawyer that specializes in the same field as your case, for example, don't get a divorce lawyer when you need a federal criminal defense attorney because that's just not going to help.
- Asking for recommendation ( Personal Referrals )
Ask any one close to you for recommendation, family members, friends and better other lawyers, try and find out from them which one is best, someone whom they have dealt with previously or heard good stuff about, again, take your time in this step, call everyone you know and try to find help.
- Use the Internet
Look online to find a lawyer in your state, just use a search engine like Google or Yahoo and search for a lawyer in your are, for example, if your from Los Angeles, search for " Los Angeles criminal defense " and you'll see a bunch of results about criminal defense lawyers in Los Angeles
- Interview some lawyers
Before considering hiring any lawyer it's very important to interview them face to face, prepare a list of things you need before meeting them, like list of people related to the case, all the related documents and other information, and of course a list of questions to ask them before deciding whether the lawyer in question meets your requirements and can serve your interests or not.
The list of questions you should a lawyer before hiring him should be like what type of problem do you have, what is his experience in this type of law, what are the possible results of your case and how is his philosophy about taking your case. then try to determine whether he convinced you that he's going to do a good job or not.
- What to expect?
The lawyer you should hire must be honest and straight in his talking and pointing of stuff like weak and strong points of your case, he should be interested and committed into doing his job and serving your best interests, a lawyer should never give you guaranteed promises about the outcome of your case and should always keep you informed with the latest of what he's been doing, and you should only ask him questions concerning his field which is LAW.
I wish you the best of luck.