Upon review, if your law firm qualifies in at least one area, you will receive a checkmark. If your law firm meets more than one of the listed criteria, you will receive checkmarks for each area met. For a key to the ratings system, please see the Legend below:
In selecting a lawyer, great care and deliberation are essential. Most
lawyers are extremely well-qualified in the areas to which they devote their
practice. Lawyers have been well-trained by law schools, their law firms,
and the individual lawyers with whom they have had associations. Most State
Bar Associations require not only the successful completion of law school,
but they also require the passing of special bar exams to be certain that
lawyers understand both the basic precepts of the law, which apply to
various fields of law, and also the appropriate ethical considerations. The
State Bar Associations and the local Bar Associations assist in the policing
of its' members to make certain that lawyers comply with ethical
considerations, comply with certain rules and regulations, and correctly
apply the practice of law.
In many localities, lawyers are permitted to advertise in the yellow pages
for an area of specialization. Often the area of specialization is regulated
by the Bar Association. The Association requires that lawyers maintain a
skill level, which mandates the annual completion of additional study in the
area of expertise under which each lawyer is listed. For example, if a
lawyer lists his area of expertise to be Corporation Law, then that lawyer
must, in certain states, maintain continuing legal education for a set
number of hours each year in that area of law. This is often true of other
areas of specialization such as Trials/Litigation, Administrative Law,
Domestic Law, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy Law, etc. In some instances, a
special test is required for proficiency in a particular area of law such as
Intellectual Properties, including patents, copyrights and trademarks. Often
other areas are internally protected by the government agency that
administers a particular area of law. An example would be Securities Law,
wherein government agencies regulating securities will require lawyers to
meet certain standards and objectives.
Some states and some localities have referral services that will at random
refer an individual to a lawyer who has developed a certain area of
expertise in a specific field, such as Domestic, Bankruptcy,
Landlord/Tenant, etc. Additionally, there are certain services that will
rank lawyers or rate lawyers, such as the ratings system we apply to lawyers
listing on our site. However, caution should be used in viewing any ratings
assigned to a lawyer or law firm within any publication since such ratings
may be politically motivated. Some services look at the number of years a
lawyer has practiced. Sometimes special ratings are given to lawyers who are
members of large firms. Therefore, if a lawyer is not rated as highly by
some of these various services, it does not necessarily mean that the lawyer
is not extremely skilled or well qualified for that particular purpose.
These sources of lawyer rankings may be helpful, as is the case with our
ratings system that ranks a lawyer or law firm on their Internet and
computer savvy in order to establish how technologically advanced the firm
and their services may be, but these ratings should be a secondary matter in
the process of selection.
The primary considerations in selecting a lawyer should be whether the
client feels comfortable with the lawyer selected and if he is confident
that the lawyer is competent in his field of expertise. Much depends upon an
individual's judgment, and many times a lawyer is hired on the basis of
referrals from other individuals who have for one reason or another
experienced a lawyer/client relationship as a result of work performed. The
client must feel very comfortable with the lawyer and must feel confident
that the lawyer selected is the one who can capably handle the client's
needs. Some of the questions that would be helpful to most individuals in
selecting a lawyer include the following:
Has the lawyer handled matters like this one before?
Approximately how many matters like this has the lawyer handled previously?
Does the lawyer specialize in the area of law in which the client is
interested (e.g. Corporations, Contracts, Domestic, Criminal, etc.)?
Will the client be charged for the first consultation?
How much does the lawyer charge per hour?
How many hours does the lawyer believe it would take to complete the task?
Does the lawyer object to the client obtaining information about the subject
matter before visiting with the lawyer? If so, for what reason?
What is a contingent fee, and what percentages does the lawyer charge?
Are there any government licensing fees or filing fees for this type of
work?
Are there any statutory guidelines for this type of work?
Does the lawyer provide the client with a written contract or a letter
confirming employment? If so, can the client see an example?
Does the lawyer have any references?
When did the lawyer graduate from law school?
Has the lawyer ever been admonished or cited by an ethics committee? If so,
for what reason?
Has the lawyer ever had any complaints filed against him? If so, for what
reason?
Has the lawyer ever lost his license and, if so, for what reason?
Does the lawyer object to the client asking these questions? If so, for what
reason?
Does the lawyer (recognized by his peers for his expertise) receive
referrals from other lawyers relative to this particular area of law
(Corporations, Contracts, Domestic, etc.)?
Is the lawyer licensed in any other state or has he ever been?
Has the lawyer ever received any honors; if so, identify and describe the
honors.
Has the lawyer ever published? If so, identify the publications and area of
publication.
Does the lawyer advertise? If so, why and where does he advertise?
Has the lawyer worked with any other lawyers or firms to whom the client may
be referred for evaluation of a lawyer?
Does the lawyer refer work to other lawyers in other areas of the law where
the lawyer is not an expert?
Identify some of the seminars the lawyer has attended during the past
several years and what have been the areas or topics of discussion?
If, after asking these questions, you are still uncertain about your choice
of legal counsel, we suggest you contact your local Bar Association.
However, if you are ready to select a lawyer, you may choose to utilize
these search avenues.
If your law firm needs assistance regarding the ratings system in determining an accurate rating for your firm, we would be more than happy to advise you. Please call our toll-free number at (800) 529-5121.