If you are wondering how to find the best lawyer, someone may have wronged you or someone you care about. They are in the difficult position of needing legal representation. It will be essential to ensure they get the justice they deserve. Some clients will choose a kind and compassionate lawyer who listens and shows they care. Others will look for a tough and competitive type who they trust to fight hard for their case. If you have never had to use a lawyer before, determining if a lawyer is good or not can be difficult. But the search will be worth it.
Adversarial Legal System
Compensation claims for negligence (breach of a duty of care) or breach of contract are adversarial in nature. They are not the same as claiming on your own insurance policy. For example, when your home is damaged by a storm or you reversed into the fence. When you sue someone covered under their own insurance policy, their insurer will not care about what you think of them. At least not in the same way they would if you were making a claim on your own insurance policy. You are not their customer.
Insurance companies hire lawyers to defend compensation claims. Companies generally exist to make profits for their share holders. More money for you means less money for their shareholders and in a profit driven company, their duty is to try and pay you less to increase their profits. Step one to finding the best lawyer is to think about what type of person an insurance company is going to hire to defend an adversarial compensation dispute and then consider how well the lawyer you are thinking of engaging will do against that person. You will find the tough competitive lawyer that still listens and cares is going to work best for you. Try to work out what motivates them to do their job and if they sound like they are too busy.
Court Experience
Practicing law, like playing Chess, requires experience to become skilled. A lawyer who rarely or never goes to Court will not be well equipped to handle your case if it is the type that can ultimately end up in Court. Ask your lawyer for a list of published Court decisions they have obtained for past clients that are relevant to the area of law your case falls within.
Being reckless or ‘gung-ho’ is dangerous, but does the lawyer sound like they love going to Court when it is the better option? How often have they done this for other clients? Can they explain what your case depends on and what is needed to prepare it well? Do they refer to past experience with cases similar to yours? Of course, this needs to be done very carefully so as to maintain confidentiality for those past clients.
Even the best lawyer needs the freedom to operate in the way that will be best for their client. Are they too busy to respond to your queries and progress your case rapidly? What is staff turnover like at the law firm? There is a wealth of knowledge about your case in your lawyer’s head and even with good record keeping, having someone new take over is never the same as having one good lawyer from start to finish. Lawyers are also expensive, making it especially important to know how to find the best lawyer.