Finding a Lawyer FAQ

Do I need a lawyer at all?
There are a couple of questions, which will help you decide whether you need to hire a lawyer. What is at stake? Is it my liberty, my livelihood, my home or property? If anything significant is at stake, it is usually a good idea to at least meet with a lawyer to discuss your options. The second question is, how complicated is this? Unfortunately when it comes to the law, there are not very many things that are simple and easy to understand. Little mistakes in procedure or wording can seriously compromise your rights.

Many people hire lawyers for their advice and counsel all the time. They are thinking about a problem and are not sure how to proceed, so they make an appointment to discuss their options.

Making contact with a lawyer
If you think you have a legal problem, it is usually better to contact a lawyer sooner rather than later. Opportunities for a good resolution may disappear if you wait too long, and simple solutions are usually cheaper solutions.

If you do not know a lawyer who can handle your particular situation, there are several things you can do. One is to call the Columbus Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service. We helped thousands of people find the right lawyer last year from our 325-lawyer panel. You can also check with neighbors and friends, search on the Internet, or thumb through the Yellow Pages.

Once you have found a lawyer who can handle your type of problem, call to make an appointment. Although lawyers rarely charge for an initial office visit for injury cases, they may charge for other office visits, particularly those that are likely to last longer than 30 minutes.

How to prepare for your visit to the lawyer's office

Ask questions
When you make your appointment, ask the lawyer some questions, such as:

• What papers are they going to need to see?
• Will you need to be prepared to pay a retainer, filing fees, etc.?
• Should you bring anyone with you?

Organize your papers
Make copies of the most important papers to give to the lawyer. Keep the originals yourself.

If there are a lot of papers, you may want to make a summary sheet that includes important information such as account numbers. You may need to separate the papers into multiple file folders.

Be prepared to briefly outline your problem for the lawyer.
Write down your questions before you visit the lawyer so that you will not forget to ask something important. Common questions you should ask:

• What is the time frame for your case or legal matter? Some cases have long periods of inactivity. If this is likely to happen to you, you need to know that and why.
• How often are you and your lawyer likely to talk, and who will call the meeting?
• Will it be face-to-face contact, by mail or on the phone?

If you are handicapped or have other limitations, be sure to alert the lawyer's office at the time you are making the appointment so that appropriate accommodations can be made.

This is the beginning of a professional relationship. You want to make a good first impression, be punctual and appropriately dressed. If at all possible, do not bring small children with you.

Do lawyers always accept your case?
The simple answer is no. There are many reasons why a lawyer may need to decline accepting your case. Below are a few of the common ones.

• If the case does not meet the legal standard of a meritorious claim, lawyers cannot accept the case.
• If the lawyer has a conflict of interest, if they have a relationship with the people or company on the other side of your problem, they cannot accept representation.
• If the lawyer is not sufficiently knowledgeable or qualified to handle the problem, they are required to decline representation.
• If you and the lawyer cannot agree on the scope and strategy of a case, they will decline to be involved. This includes the fundamental question of whether the legal fees to be expended are proportional to the likely outcome.

What to do when you get to the lawyer's office
Be prepared to briefly outline your problem for the lawyer, and be sure to bring copies of important papers.

The lawyer will usually talk to you about several different ways to approach your problem, which vary in price, possible outcomes and time. They will also tell you about themselves, so that you have an appreciation of their experience in handling your type of problem.

Be sure to discuss fees. If you decide to hire the lawyer, they will usually have you sign a fee agreement that outlines the hourly rate, the retainer, related expenses etc. Personal injury cases are frequently handled on a contingency basis, (the lawyer will get a percentage of the award, plus litigation expenses). Most other matters are priced based on the amount of time they will take.

If a fee agreement is not offered to you, you can ask for one. This can prevent confusion later.

In litigation such as divorce, the retainer may not be adequate to resolve the problem. Ask the lawyer to estimate what they think the possible range in costs could be. If you do not understand the fee agreement, the lawyer will be happy to explain it to you. In general, the more contact you have with your lawyer, whether by phone or in person, the higher the fee. So the goal is usually to have as few meetings as are necessary to stay within your budget.

Winning and losing
In any type of contested matter or litigation, lawyers will talk to you in terms of probabilities, but they are not able to guarantee a result. At some point in most legal matters, your lawyer will advise you that the offer before you is probably the one you should take based on their professional experience. In some instances, the lawyer may feel so strongly that you should take the offer that if you refuse, they will decline further representation.

How do lawyers work?
Lawyers are officers of the court; they take an oath to uphold the law. They are ethically bound to zealously represent their clients within the bounds of the law. A lawyer would have to decline a case if the client wanted them to do something that is outside the law such as allowing them or a witness to commit perjury.

The lawyer is responsible for the management of the case or legal matter. One of the hardest things for the lawyer to manage is credibility. Your lawyer never wants to take positions on your behalf, which he cannot realistically defend. Your lawyer may recommend that certain issues not be raised or witnesses called, because they cause more problems than they solve.

Your lawyer will explain your options to you and ask which you prefer. Once you have chosen a goal with your lawyer, your lawyer is then responsible for determining how to best pursue that goal. There will be conversations with the opposing side, and with the judge. You will not be involved in many of these conversations. After the discussions have taken place, your lawyer will advise you as to your possibilities.

Therefore, it is important that when you select your lawyer, you should have confidence in their ability and integrity to do the best they can.

Attorney-client privilege
Your conversations with your lawyer are confidential. No one can put your lawyer on the stand and make them testify as to what you have told them. This is referred to as the lawyer-client privilege.

How do lawyers charge?
Before you hire any lawyer, it is very important to understand how the lawyer charges. Do not be embarrassed or afraid to ask detailed questions. If time permits, you may want to consult two or three lawyers to see how much they would charge for your type of problem or legal matter. Be careful to be sure that you are getting an "apples to apples" quote. Some quotes include filing fees and expenses; some do not. A few simple examples:

Contingent fees:
"We don't get paid unless you win." This is what you usually hear or see in lawyer advertising, and it pertains primarily to injury cases. Unfortunately, there are many cases that lawyers will not accept on a contingency fee basis. This is primarily for a couple of reasons: because it will be difficult to prove, legally speaking, who is to blame; or because the cost of bringing the case is not proportionate to a likely jury award.

Some lawyers have different percentages, depending on whether the case is settled before trial, versus going all the way to a jury verdict (99% of cases settle before trial). This is because the lawyer will bear substantially more expense if the case goes to trial. There are times when lawyers feel they have negotiated the best settlement they can, and the client will not accept it, in which case the lawyer may withdraw from further representation. In contingent fee cases, the client is responsible for the expenses associated with the litigation, such as expert fees, transcripts, etc. This is over and beyond the lawyer's percentage fee. In many cases, a portion of the award may be owed to third parties such as health care providers.

Hourly Rates:
This is a fairly common way to charge for professional services, including legal services. The lawyer will tell you what their hourly rate is and how many hours they think it will take to complete the matter. They usually request a retainer in this amount, e.x. 3 hours at $150.00 per hour, $450.00 retainer. In some instances, the lawyer will only be able to estimate the cost as a range. For very complicated matters, the lawyer may bill you on a monthly basis for the amount of time spent during that month.

Flat Rates:
For certain routine transactions with a predictable time commitment such as residential house closing, or wills, the lawyer may charge a flat rate.