Useful Tips for Clients Before Hiring an Attorney

Unless you’re one of the fortunate few, at some point, you’ll need to hire an attorney to help you with a legal issue. There are many types of attorneys, and depending on your legal needs, you’ll need to know what type of attorney you need. Use these 3 useful tips to help you find one.

If you’re looking for an attorney to help you draft a will, you’ll need an attorney with probate law experience. If you’re looking for an attorney to help you out of a traffic ticket, you’ll need an attorney with an understanding of traffic laws. If you’re involved in a criminal matter, find a criminal law attorney. If you’re in a situation where you’re involved in a personal injury matter, find an attorney who practices personal injury or PI law. If you’re involved in a divorce, separation or custody dispute, you’ll need to find an attorney with family law/domestic relations experience. If you need an attorney to help you with a real estate or property law issue, find one who knows a good deal about property or real estate law. Experienced real estate lawyers can make a huge difference in your case.

Tip 2: Research the attorney. Use public information filed with the Virginia State Bar before going in for aninitial consultation. In Virginia, the Virginia State Bar provides public consumers with information regarding malpractice insurance and with information regarding past disciplinary action. At the time I wrote this blog, the Virginia State Bar did not require attorneys to carry malpractice insurance, but those who don’t carry it need to disclose such with the Bar. Malpractice insurance for attorneys is important, in my view, since if you have a malpractice complaint against an attorney, you may not get any financial award for the attorney’s failure to comply with a rule governing attorney conduct in Virginia. As far as Bar complaints go, you should use your discretion.