What sort of questions do you ask? What is a ‘bad sign’ in a lawyer?
For reference, I’m asking questions about Canadian injury lawyers, specifically British Columbian, but I’ll be happily thankful for any advice. I don’t want legal advice. I want advice on getting legal advice. Lawyers kind of scare me a bit, since I’ve never had to deal with one.
Some of it will depend on how complex your case is. But some questions I’d ask:
[ul][li]Have you ever handled a case like mine? []What was the outcome? []How long did it take, start to finish? []Who will work on my case – do you do all the work yourself, or will other lawyers help you? []What do you expect will be difficult about my case? How will you handle that? []What do you expect me to do while you work on my case? []How will you communicate with me about my case, and how frequently can I expect to hear from you?[/ul][/li]Some states have specialized lawyers for personal injury, tax, etc. Depending on your case, and how complicated it is, you may want someone who is specialized.
A bad sign in a lawyer is one you don’t trust, who doesn’t listen, doesn’t return phone calls, won’t explain things to you (instead saying, “trust me, it just is that way”). Basically, trust your gut.
One way is simple – ask other lawyers. (Lawyers who don’t handle injury cases.) Like all professional communities, lawyers usually have a pretty good idea who’s good and who’s bad; who’s the unknown hard-worker; who’s the rising star, etc.
If you don’t know any lawyers, play dumb. Call some lawyers who you’re sure don’t handle injury cases, and after they tell you they won’t handle your case, ask for a referral.
I learned another way from a lawyer. Many personal injury lawyers only take the easiest cases, and farm out the hard cases to other firms. Lawyer #1 gets a finder’s fee for his trouble, and, since they work in volume, that’s better than a high-risk case. You have to do some digging to find the firms who get cases referred to them, but the chances are good you’ll get a better lawyer that way.