Hiring a Lawyer: A Guide to Practice Areas and Law Firms | Law.net

 

Not every dispute or legal issue requires a lawyer, but having a lawyer on your side when you need them can save you far more than you would ever pay in legal fees. Hiring a lawyer can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Despite there being thousands of attorneys in a given city, narrowing down the list of attorneys that could be right for you is as easy figuring out the appropriate area of law and knowing what type of law firm you are looking for.

 

Area of Law

 

Most lawyers are specialists. They practice in one or two areas of law in which they have experience and feel comfortable: a DUI lawyer generally will not accept a complex securities fraud case. Similarly, not all lawyers go to court, so it is important to find a lawyer that has the skill set necessary to adequately represent you. Litigation attorneys handle court proceedings, but transactional attorneys draft documents and may never see the inside of a courtroom when representing a client.

 

Lawyers and law firms are quick to advertise their specialties online, which are often referred to as practice areas. All you need to do is search for the area of law your question falls under and you will find a litany of lawyers and law firms that may have the experience necessary to handle your legal issue. If you have an issue at work, you’ll probably want to find an employment lawyer. If you need a will or a trust drafted, a lawyer specializing in estate planning can assist you. Other practice areas that lawyers specialize in include family law, corporate law, criminal law, real estate, and personal injury, just to name a few. Once you know the practice area, you’ll need to decide where to look for your lawyer.

 

Law Firms

 

Unless a lawyer works in the legal department of a company, odds are they are associated with a law firm. Law firms come in all sizes. A lawyer can work by himself as a solo-practitioner or as part of a multi-national law firm with over a thousand lawyers and dozens of offices. There are also smaller firms that only have one office, but several lawyers. The combinations are endless and each has its own advantages and drawbacks.

 

Solo-practitioners offer a high level of attention, but often don’t have experience in a wide range of practice areas. Large multi-national firms typically have multiple lawyers in each practice group that handle specific practice areas, which increases their expertise, but can also make it more difficult to receive personal attention from your lawyer. Smaller law firms can combine the attention given by a solo-practitioner with the broad range of practice areas found in larger firms. Corporations often hire large firms due to the complexity of the legal issues they face, whereas a smaller firm could represent an individual needing help with a divorce or traffic incident.

 

Knowing the practice areas and types of law firms will help you narrow your search for a lawyer, but the most important thing is to meet with a lawyer, even several different lawyers, in person. Meeting with different lawyers will ensure you get a feel for their personality and will be confident in the lawyer you ultimately hire.