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How to find an attorney
by Mathew Wellings
If your lucky, you may go through life without ever needing the services of an attorney. Most of us find that for some reason or another, we will need the professional services of the right attorney. There will be times in our lives when we either get involved with a business deal, or someone else has caused us harm in one way or another and that's when we need someone who knows how fight the hard battles in our favor.
When you find yourself in need of an attorney for whatever reason, you may find yourself staring at the yellow pages wondering what your looking for. Unless you've had some kind of legal experience the best thing to do before going to the yellow pages is calling your local bar association. They will gladly guide you to the specific attorney that can help you with whatever your problem may be.
The Marindal Hubbell Law Directory is another good source to look into when searching for an attorney. They provide a list of attorney's by city and state, so whenever you are they can guide you to the right attorney. The Internet is also a good source, and there are also attorney services that will help you find the right attorney for you for a small fee. If the first attorney you contact does not handle your specific case then he or she probably know the attorney who can help you.
It is common practice for an attorney to offer a free 30-minute consultation at which time the two of you would sit down to discuss an overview of the issue and pricing. However, when you begin to see notices or advertisements for attorneys who promise to take your case at no charge, you better beware. Not to say that all of these attorneys are being sneaky but come on, most professionals who have gone to years of college to gain a coveted degree do not hand out free services.
Even if you like the very first attorney you meet with, we highly recommend you meet with at least three before you decide who will take your case. Most importantly, you want to fee 100% comfortable with and confident in the attorney and his or her abilities. That means asking some pointblank questions and expecting honest answers. Find out how long the attorney has been practicing law, the number of cases tried and won versus lost, whether his or her trials ever settle out of court or if the majority go to trial and things like that.
After all, choosing an attorney to handle your situation is an important decision and depending on the circumstances, it could be a critical decision. Therefore, you have the right to know you are choosing the best attorney for you. Then, you want to make sure you and the attorney go over every detail of the terms before anything is signed. In fact, we suggest you take documentation home to review it in privacy where you can read and reread. Once you feel the decision is right, you would likely pay a retainer fee. From there, the attorney would get started, bringing your issue to resolve.
Mathew Wellings runs the website and writes for Due Attorney which a site dedicated to researching Attorney related topics and contains all the very latest Attorney news and views. Please visit http://www.Dueattorney.com if you have any questions or comments concerning this article.