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How To Choose An Attorney
Why are legal fees so expensive?An attorney's only revenue sources are his time and his knowledge. After four years of college and three years of law school, passing the bar exam, paying his annual Bar Dues and Business License taxes, all he has to sell are his time and his knowledge. With the income generated from his time and his knowledge, he must pay his staff, his office rent and supplies, his phone bill, keep his computer hardware and software updated, keep his library updated, etc.
So, there's no avoiding it: Legal fees are going to be expensive. Your goal is to hire the best attorney you can find and make every effort to keep the fees at a price you can pay. This article will discuss some of the things you should consider in making your choice; and, a subsequent article will discuss ways of keeping the fees in line.
One of the main benefits of www.YourLegalEagle.com is that you are able to learn more about an attorney than you would from conventional advertising or referral sources that have been traditionally available (before the invention of the WorldWideWeb!) Another, benefit has been that this method of providing information is less expensive than other forms of advertising, and that cost savings to the attorney will ultimately result in price savings to the consumer--which is you!
In fact, because you can read all about each of us, instead of spending the time it would take for each of us to explain this information to each of you, we are all saving time and you are saving time and money! Everybody benefits.
An old maxim says, "I don't care how much you know about the law, until I know how much you care about me."
When you hire an attorney, you should hire someone who is knowledgeable about the area of law which concerns your case (whether it is a criminal, probate, real estate, etc., matter). This person also must know about the specific facts of your case. If the attorney really has your best interests in mind, he or she will be able to review your information and advise you as to whether he, or some other attorney, would be best suited for your case. Now, there is almost never one best person for the job. There are usually several people who are qualified to handle your matter.
At YourLegalEagle.com, we have posted specific information about the practice areas of each attorney, and most of the attorneys have posted various articles they have written. These articles can be very helpful to you in your initial determination as to whether a particular attorney has any expertise in cases like yours. This feature saves time for both you and the attorney. You don't have to ask him what his specialty is, and he doesn't have to spend 15 minutes on the phone bragging to you about it. You can read it all, on line and confidentially in the privacy of your own home--at any time convenient to you.
You may check with the State Bar Association (in California, it's at www.CalBar.org) to determine the status any particular attorney's license. Actually, most referral listing services will do this much. The problem is that there is simply not much information available at the State Bar. You can determine whether the attorney is currently licensed (on "active" status), and whether there is any record of public discipline by the Bar.
Naturally, we also verify the license status when an attorney signs-up with www.YourLegalEagle.com, and on each anniversary of that date. We also do some other background checks, but obviously things change and no service can check every licensee every day. It is therefore always advisable for you to check on the status of any attorney you hire when you hire him.
After you have located one or more attorneys whom you have determined to be qualified in the appropriate area of law, you now have to rely on your judgment. Some of these things cannot be quantified. You may have to go with your sixth sense after you've done your homework on the qualifications.
By the way, you may have received a recommendation from a friend who was satisfied with the services of his lawyer. That is a great way to find an attorney. Of course, you still need to learn about what that attorney does, check with the State Bar and use your good judgment.
Meanwhile, at www.YourLegalEagle.com we have an internal system of checks and balances. Advertising their services at this site is a benefit to the attorneys who do so. They have an obligation to provide quality legal services not just for your benefit, but also to protect the reputation we have built. Every attorney listed herein can be removed from the list if his or her actions harm the client or the reputation of the list. If any client is having a problem with a www.YourLegalEagle.com attorney, we want to know about it. We'll get to the bottom of it, and remove that attorney from our list if the facts so warrant.
Complain Directly to YourLegalEagle.com
It may be true that "One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch," but we reserve the right to protect the integrity of this list of attorneys and, in so doing, protect the interests of visitors to this site. All concerns or complaints about any www.YourLegalEagle.com attorney should be emailed to complaints@yourlegaleagle.com. You should expect a response within one business day.
We recommend you also read the article on Controlling Legal Costs.
In this article you will learn about: