November 14, 2013. Let’s assume your business (perhaps a manufacturing, construction or pharmaceutical company) is headquartered in California or New York. Imagine your business has just been sued or needs to file a lawsuit in Iowa, Nebraska or South Dakota. How do you find the right trial attorney? Assuming you don’t have any personal contacts in any of these states, you might start by getting on the internet. That’s not a bad place to start, of course. However, the internet will help you find all types and qualities of lawyers; it won’t automatically lead you to the “right” one.
In addition to conducting internet research, you might consider asking your local attorney for a reference. Many lawyers have colleagues and friends practicing law in various parts of the United States. If you need an attorney in San Diego, Chicago or Denver, for example, I could provide you with several names.
When looking for a trial attorney, here are some general tips and comments for consideration:
- Review attorney profiles carefully. Most law firm websites contain overviews of their attorneys. Review the trial attorneys’ qualifications and experience closely. Also, there are various entities which “rate” attorneys based upon feedback or reviews from peers and clients. This information is generally available to the public for free, and can be found on the internet. For example, Martindale Hubbell (www.martindale.com) rates attorneys based upon peer reviews; the highest Martindale Hubbell ranking is an “AV” rating. In addition, AVVO (www.avvo.com) rates attorneys on a 10-point scale based upon client and peer reviews as well as publications, trial experience and other factors.
- Bigger is not always better. You don’t need to hire the largest law firm you can find. While the largest law firms frequently contain excellent attorneys, so do small and mid-sized law firms. In fact, many small and mid-sized law firms were started by attorneys who used to work in large law firms.
- Make some calls. When you have compiled a short list of attorneys to contact, give them a call. You can learn a lot about an attorney in a 15 minute telephone conversation. In addition, you can ask the attorney for references or ask him or her to discuss relevant litigation experience to see if the attorney is qualified or appropriate to handle your matter.
- Generally speaking, don't hire “the cheap lawyer.” Trial attorneys provide a lot of services, and are required to be competent in many different areas (writing, research, depositions, oral argument, etc.). Hiring the cheapest attorney is rarely a good idea. If your business has been sued, or you need to file a lawsuit to collect any meaningful amount of money, avoid this temptation.
To learn more about Goosmann Law's litigation practice, contact us at info@goosmannlaw.com or by calling 712.226.4000.