There are numerous lawyers in the world including 1,338,678 licensed attorneys in the US who are active. In fact, there has been a 15% increase in the number of lawyers since 2008. Some of these professionals may be excellent at winning their cases. Others may, however, be average.
The question is how would you know which lawyer is best for you? Searching for the answer can leave you confused. There are lots of places to look for the best lawyer for your case. Instead of going on a wild goose chase that revolves around knocking on the doors of several law firms, you can research online.
In this regard, here are some easy steps to follow:
Ask around in your circle
Word of mouth is pretty powerful. It can arm you with the best lawyer in your city, or it can warn you against someone who is below average in his field. Therefore, you should start looking for a lawyer by asking about a relevant lawyer from your friend and colleagues.
Chances are that someone in your circle knows a good lawyer. Be mindful that you tell your acquaintances about the kind of lawyer that you are looking for. For instance, ask for a lawyer who can ace at a divorce case if you are looking to dissolve a marriage. Similarly, ask around for a business lawyer if you have legal issues related to your work.
Next, research for the lawyer online. If you have got some names from your circle, google them too. Make sure that you are typing in the right keywords. This will ensure that your browser spits out relevant lawyers that serve in your area.
To this end, you can enter keywords such as, 'lawyers near me,' ' or 'law firm Calgary.' This research should yield some significant lawyer names.
Scrutinize the website of the selected lawyers
Once the step above gives you the names of some lawyers, start visiting their site. At the same time, visit the website of the law firms that you learned about from your friends in step 1.
At this stage, dismiss a lawyer that does not have a site. Once you reach a potential lawyer's website though, survey it properly. Look for contact information including the details of a physical location and a contact number. See if adequate information is provided on the site concerning the services of the firm.
Check their reviews and ratings online
In the next step, search for social proof. If the site of a lawyer displays testimonials, you can get the idea of what his clients have to say about him. Reading testimonials is not sufficient though because the site owner controls those.
Consequently, look for reviews. Almost 90% of the people read reviews before working with a business. In fact, these are the digital versions of word of mouth or things that people have to say about a service or product.
Therefore, it is essential to read a law firm's reviews before proceeding further. A positive review will give you a green signal as the reviewer will share what was good about the lawyer. A negative review, on the flip side, can give you a heads up against a scam or bad lawyer.
Learn the lawyers' experience
Typically, a good lawyer's website tells the areas in which it provides services. This will give you an idea of which areas a lawyer fights cases in. On top of that, a site may showcase case studies. Reading them will give you an idea of how the lawyer handles his cases.
If you are still not sure or if there are no case studies, you can call the lawyer and inquire as in the next step. Alternatively, you can call the lawyer's past clients and learn about his experiences from them.
Call the shortlisted lawyers
Lastly, call the shortlisted lawyers. The response that you get will tell you a lot about the lawyer's behavior toward his clients. Plus, tally all the information given on the website with the person on the phone. This will confirm that the lawyer is authentic.
Bottom line
Summing up, these steps will help you finalize the best lawyer for your case. Be sure to invest some time as it will ensure that you find a good attorney. By the time you reach the final step, you will get a clear idea of which lawyer is the best for your case.
