How Do I Select an Attorney When I Have a Legal Problem?
July 13, 2021
Video Transcript
Hello and welcome back to Legal Tip Tuesday. Vince Quatrini with you here today. Here’s today’s legal tip: how do I select an attorney when I have a legal problem?
Well, you don’t think of those things ahead of time of course. But, if you do need an attorney, here are my suggestions from years of experience. Ask a friend. Ask another attorney that your family is familiar with or you know in a business or social setting. Ask someone you trust who has an experience with that attorney, or knows of that attorney by reputation.
Now, check out that attorney’s credentials or the law firm’s credentials. What experience does he or she have? How long have they been doing this particular work for what you need? And that’s something that you don’t know ahead of time either. Attorneys concentrate in particular areas of law. You can’t know everything about everything. My world has been Workers’ Compensation. I’m certified as a specialist. I do it day-in and day-out. That’s the attorney you want for the particular legal problem you have.
What is the attorney’s reputation among other attorneys? That will tell you a lot about whether you’re going to get good representation. And then go Google that person and find out what the website tells you about me or the attorney or the law firm.
By the way, find out if that attorney teaches other attorneys. Whether he or his firm, or she and her firm, go out and do seminars in the community as the representative of something on Workers’ Compensation, or Social Security Disability. We have attorneys here who teach Social Security across the country as well as locally. My son Michael, who was a Veterans’ Disability specialist, was out in the state of Washington doing a presentation to a national group. Those are the kinds of things that you’re looking for.
Here’s a big one: testimonials. What do other clients who have hired Vince Quatrini think of the quality of his work? Or someone else in the firm? Or if it’s a divorce attorney, what has he or she’s clients said about him or her? Testimonials will tell you a lot because you’ll see a flavor in there and you’ll know it’s not just a canned response. And then call the office. How did they answer the phone? Were they inviting? Did you feel like this is going to be a place that cares about me? Finally, schedule a free consultation. If that’s possible, sit down in front of me, or the attorney, and that face-to-face is critical.
I hope these tips help you in a time of need when you need to find an attorney to help you. This is Vince Quatrini with another edition of Legal Tip Tuesday.