Where To Find a Lawyer: 5+ Proven Options
It might be difficult to find a good lawyer, but finding your perfect match can be like finding a good barber – you’ll go to the same guy over and over again.
Why it matters? Working with a competent and innovative lawyer is essential to your success when dealing with a legal issue. A good lawyer can represent your case, explain the legal implications of the available options, and guide you through the legal process.
If you wonder, “how do you find a lawyer,” read along and discover five proven tips and tricks to help you find a suitable attorney.
What To Look for While Searching for a Lawyer
While searching for a lawyer, your main interest is ascertaining that they are sufficiently competent to handle your matter. Here is what you assess:
- Education and certifications;
- Languages spoken;
- Their legal area of specialty;
- Reviews and comments left by past clients;
- Any awards and accolades in recognition of outstanding legal work.
Extra tip: Don’t work with general practitioners! They may have a general understanding of the law but aren’t trained and experienced in specialized fields.
Where Should I Start to Look for a Lawyer?
Ask your friends and family for recommendations if you are looking for a lawyer for a lawsuit. You could also consider checking out ads and commercials that advertise lawyers. This is a good starting point.
As you search for attorneys and review your options, it might be challenging to get comprehensive information. With databases such as Lawrina’s legal directory, you can connect with lawyers based on your location or your type of case. Find a trusted attorney near you.
How To Find Attorneys: Possible Options
Finding a competent attorney is not difficult if you know where to look and you can carry out a precise due diligence process to independently determine whether the attorney is dependable and qualified. Here is how to find a good lawyer near you:
Personal referrals
Seek out people in your network who have had the same legal challenge as you. For instance, if you are looking for a divorce attorney, seek referrals from divorce care groups near you or friends who have been through a divorce.
However, do not hire an attorney based on a personal referral alone. Consider setting up an initial consultation with them to determine whether their style and approach suit your needs.
Business referrals
Ask business associates in your network to offer candidates you may engage as your attorney. Professionals that provide services to you or your business, such as accounting and insurance providers, may have trustworthy attorneys they work with or as part of their network. Yet, as with recommendations from friends, do not hire an attorney based on a referral alone. Perform a character and fitness check to determine their suitability to serve your interests.
State Bar Association
You may also find an attorney by searching for one on your state bar association website. To find your state bar association website, go to Google or your preferred search engine, type in the name of your state, followed by the words “bar association.” Once you find the website, you can search for a lawyer either by name or by nature of the legal issue you are facing. Use the name search option if you have an attorney’s full name and any other descriptive information that can help you distinguish them from others with similar names.
To search by legal topic, you need to indicate why you need an attorney. Most bar association websites provide a list of practice areas that you select from with the most relevant to your issue. You may have to provide additional details, such as the potential attorneys’ location, education, and language proficiency. After giving the necessary information, you will receive a list with your search words. You can click on any name that suits your needs best. Most searches list the best ones that match first.
The state bar website is also an excellent resource for establishing your potential lawyer’s reputation. From the attorney profiles, you can tell whether an attorney is in good standing, their license is active, or they have any unresolved disciplinary issues.
The Lawrina legal directory
Lawrina offers a comprehensive database of trusted attorneys’ profiles categorized according to an area of practice or location. The profiles provide the following information:
- Full resume, which includes education, the lawyer’s experience, and awards;
- State licensed to practice;
- Legal focus area of specialization;
- Contact information;
- Certifications;
- Publications;
- Employment history;
- Client reviews;
- Languages spoken.
The information provided on the website helps you determine the suitability of an attorney to handle your issue.
- Advertisements
Where do people search for an attorney? In advertisements featured on billboards, radio, and television. However, remember ads, even those on reputable platforms, are not endorsements. Further, although the state regulations require that lawyers refrain from using deceptive, false, or misleading messaging in their advertisements, always conduct a background assessment before you hire a lawyer.
Searching for an Attorney: Tips and Tricks
Using the tips and tricks shared in this section, you will discover that finding a lawyer is relatively straightforward when you know where and what to look for.
Discover the power of online markets
People often ask us, “where can I find an attorney?” Well, here’s the thing, lawyers market their services online. You can always conduct an online search using terms related to the area of law you require legal services.
For example, suppose you are looking for a divorce lawyer. In that case, you may do an online search using terms such as “divorce lawyers near me,” “top family lawyers near me,” or even “female divorce lawyers near me.”
You can also use the American Bar Association lawyer referral directory to search for state and local bar associations. The search results on the website will list legal clinics and lawyer referral services (LRS) in your state or county that can further your lawyer search.
Legal directories like Lawrina.org can be helpful if you are seeking how to find an attorney by specialty or how to find a lawyer near me. The Lawrina directory contains a database of trusted attorneys across the United States, spanning more than practice areas.
Perform a character and fitness background check
An essential tip on how to find a lawyer is to perform a character and fitness background check.
Once you find four to five options of possible candidates, you can narrow your search by performing a light background check. Run your attorney’s name and any states they may have practiced in through a quick Google or other search engine search to see whether there will be any negative or positive media mentions. If you notice anything relevant and suspect, you may consider not engaging the attorney or asking the attorney for an explanation regarding an incident. On the other hand, if you come across positive acknowledgments, you may conclude the attorney enjoys a positive reputation.
Likewise, your state’s Bar Association has a directory of licensed state lawyers. On the website, you can search your preferred attorney’s name and bring up the following information:
- Date of admission to the bar and their admission number;
- License status – whether active or inactive;
- Contact information, which includes telephone number, email, or website;
- Disciplinary history.
Suppose you find there is disciplinary action taken against the attorney. In that case, it is best to consider whether the action is likely to affect your interest or the attorney’s ability to handle your case. Consider asking the attorney about disciplinary actions in their record to understand the context and make an informed decision.
Engage potential candidates in an initial consultation
The initial consultation is the last step in your how to find an attorney process. Before choosing a lawyer from your list of potential representatives, contact each viable candidate for an initial consultation. Even though most attorneys offer free initial consultations, it is essential to ask before booking a session.
During the consultation, prepare a list of questions to ask your attorney:
- What is your experience in handling similar cases?
- What is the likely outcome of my case?
- What are the approximate legal fees for the case?
The consultation will give you a good sense of the lawyer’s abilities and personality. Bring any relevant documents and be prepared to explain your problem. You can also decide whether the attorney will serve your interests based on their comments on your case and the likely outcome scenarios they give you.
Final Remarks on Where To Find a Lawyer
Once you know where to look, finding a lawyer is easy. However, the essential part of your search is not just finding potential attorney names or law firms. You need to determine if a potential attorney is trustworthy and specializes in the area of law you require guidance or representation.
Frequently Asked Questions on Searching for a Lawyer
Here are frequently asked questions on how to find attorneys. You can use legal directories like Lawrina.org to find attorneys based on your location and the type of legal case.
How do most people find a lawyer?
Where do people search for attorneys? Most people find a lawyer through an internet search. And they are right to do so since more than 87 percent of law firms or solo practitioners have an online presence.
You may also use the American Bar Association attorney search to find an attorney licensed to practice in your state. Directories like the Lawrina legal directory contain a comprehensive database of trusted attorneys categorized by state and area of legal practice and are helpful.
People searching for a lawyer also rely on referrals from friends and families. However, conducting a character and fitness check of the recommendations you get from friends is very important.
What is the best website to find a lawyer?
The best website for finding a lawyer is Lawrina.org. Lawrina has a robust database of attorneys classified by state and area of practice. The profiles of attorneys on the Lawrina website are rich with valuable details, such as each attorney’s education, certifications, and language proficiency.
How do I find the success rate of a lawyer?
While searching for a lawyer, we recommend you get a sense of a candidate’s success rate before hiring. You can ask an attorney about their success rate in handling similar cases. Most lawyers will readily tell prospective clients about their success rates. If you doubt the rate the attorney gives you, you may search the Public Access to Electronic Records (PACER), an online database managed by the U.S. government. After signing up for a case search-only account, PACER allows you to search through cases filed in U.S. district, appellate, or bankruptcy courts by attorney’s name. Through PACER, you can see the matters a particular attorney handles and their status and therefore determine their success rate.
