Even though legal aid lawyer nowadays tend to be a dime a dozen but many of them are very difficult to work with. There are some attorneys who are not experienced enough to handle cases like yours but they end of providing shoddy advice which can make matters worse. Let’s take for instance that your partnership just went bad and so the lawyer who was representing the both of you has decided to just represent your partner, isn’t that a conflict of interest? The bad legal advice back then didn’t forewarn you about what will happen if the partnership went sour which is why it is now a larger problem. The only way you can avoid this type of problem is to find good representation to begin with. Below we look at a few tips.
Don’t hire a general Practitioner when a Specialist is needed
The first rule of hiring a great lawyer is not to hire a general practitioner when you need a professional who specializes in cases like yours. So using the same business lawyer you always use may be a mistake. When your case lands in court you need to have an attorney who has litigation experience. You may cringe when you hear the word ‘specialist’ because it’s often associated with a high cost mainly depending on your requirement. But specialists can be cheap because what takes a general practitioner days to do will take a specialist just one day. For instance, a tax or real estate specialist can solve most problems in hours.
Some Legwork is needed
When it comes to finding legal aid lawyer you shouldn’t just do research online. It is important to take a more active approach. Ask your present lawyer if he or she knows someone who is a specialist, a referral is always a good thing. Also, ask people who have connections in the legal aid community. The rule of thumb here is that the more time you put into searching the higher will be your chances of finding a competent lawyer who is best suited to your businesses.
Some due Diligence on Fee and Costs
Prior to contacting a lawyer try to figure out how much time and money you want to spend. You also need to account for the time you spend away from work and business. Do some research online and make a number of phone calls in order to get a general idea of what lawyers charge and if the problem is worth spending on. If you have decided that the issue is large enough then meet with your lawyer in order to discuss the issue and the fees associated with resolving it. That said you need to proceed with caution, because in the wrong lawyer’s hands a $3000 problem can become a $50,000 one and something that takes a few months to resolve. Then if you are on the losing side there is the legal fee and the original problem to contend with.
Establish a good Communication system
This is something that you need to insist on as a client. You should insist in advance as to how often you want to communicate. If you end up having to wait week or even days to get word back from your lawyer, then either you haven’t related your expectation to him or the lawyer is just too busy to take the case, so you may want to give some thought about finding a new one ASAP. So, it goes without saying that there is no point to having the best lawyer in the country if he or she is too busy in other high profile cases. So, your problem may take more time and also more money to resolve.
Be aware of these “slam dunk” claims
Any attorney who tells you that you’re lucky to have a slam dunk case in most cases is not a good lawyer according to Benjamin & Leonardo. Any good lawyer will tell you that they have seen few slam dunk cases in their experience. The truth is that the law in never black and white. So who will win or lose is hard to predict. It mainly depend on the attorney and his experience with cases like these.
Citations:
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Mark is one of the most experienced legal aid lawyers in Australia. He has been in business for over 25 years and has extensively written about legal aid and law related issues. Even though he specializes in criminal cases like drink driving he does assist with a number of different legal matter and consults with experts.
