How to find and hire a "suitable" lawyer?
Find the right lawyer is a big challenge.
We hope that this guide will help you to understand the process better and to make an informed choice. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The Starting Point - Know your issue
Often, people need to find for a lawyer when they are faced with a problem and under tremendous time pressure to find a lawyer. Other times, the lawyers may be needed to advise on a commercial transaction such as buying a property. Be clear about the reason you are looking to hire a lawyer as it has an impact on an important issue, legal cost (cf. the section on legal cost below).
Consider issues such as
- — is your matter commercial or contentious (i.e. likely lead to litigation)
- — do you need advice on a specific issue only and if so, what is the issue?
- — how much is at stake?
- — what are the likely scenarios/outcomes and what do you hope to achieve.
Understanding of these issues from the outset will help you to focus and communicate clearly to your lawyer.
Self Help?
Before you make a decision to "involve the lawyers", pause and consider alternatives such as, can the matter be resolved by negotiation and informal mediation. Is there any organisation (e.g. governmental, chambers of commerce or non-profit making) that is able to provide you with preliminary information or advice?
Research
When you have decided that professional legal advice is necessary, research as much as you can about the lawyers in your area. You can obtain such information from your local bar council or similar organisations. Some law firms have a website that provides information about their lawyers. Make a shortlist of lawyers that you wish to instruct and contact them by phone or email to confirm that your matter is something that they have the experience. Check with friends, relatives and to if they know any lawyer they have used and ask them about the services and costs.
Connecting the Clients
We make available at ibk-lawyers.com a free global legal directory for your search for a lawyer in your locality. If you wish to add any lawyer or law firm to the directory, please contact us.
Preparation
Prepare your matter as thoroughly as possible. Gather all the relevant documents and correspondence and organise them (e.g. in chronological order). Try organising your thought by writing out your matter ("case summary") in as much details as you would tell your lawyer. Make reference to the relevant documents.
If your matter is potentially litigious (i.e. likely to go to litigation), you should be aware that in some legal system, subject to client-lawyer privilege, there is a "discovery" process where you need to disclose the relevant documents to the other side and you may want to refrain from creating new documents that may potentially affect your case.
Contact the lawyer
You may ask to speak with the lawyer on the phone to get a feeling whether he or she is someone you will be comfortable dealing with (i.e. whether he or she appears to be attentive and knowledgable). Ask how they charge i.e. fixed cost, on hour rate basis, based on the value of the matter or some other formula (e.g. "contingency" or "no win no fee" basis) and whether they charge you for initial consultation.
Call a few lawyers on your shortlist and pick one or more you are most comfortable dealing with and make an appointment.
The First Meeting
Again, prepare yourself before meeting with your lawyers. Go over the case summary and the relevant documents again so that you have a good grasp of the details.
Some of the questions you may want to ask your lawyers during the first meeting include:
- — how you will be charged (including the initial meeting) and if possible get an estimate of the likely cost (including expenses)
- — what is his or her preliminary advice based on what you told him or her
- — a rough estimate of how long it may take to complete the matter
- — who will be the lawyer(s) handling your case and their experience
- — what are the documents or agreements that need to be prepared and the purpose and how long does it take to prepare them
- — what further information is required from you
- — the "do" and "don't"
Ongoing Case Management
Make a note of the timeline and different stages of the proceedings or developements follow up with your lawyers. Where applicable, check from time to time the legal costs incurred.
Legal Costs
Many factors impact the legal cost you will incur. The rule of thumb is that you can save unnecessary legal cost by organising yourself better. Do check with your lawyers whether you are entitled to legal aid or similar government support.
The following matters will have a cost impact on your legal fees:
The Experience of the Lawyer
You will benefit from the experience of senior lawyer. They are also likely to be more expansive.
Complexity
The more complex the matter is the higher the cost given the expertise necessary to conduct the case. In some case it is also necessary to involve more than one lawyer.
Find a Lawyer
Find the right lawyer is important (but not always straightforward). We can guide you to make an informed choice.
You may use this form to contact us and we will try to match your request to the database of lawyers held by ibk-lawyers.com.
— The service is totally free.
— There is no obligation to use any lawyer we find for you.
— The information you provide to us is confidential and we will not disclose the same to anyone (including to the lawyers we find) unless you instruct us expressly to do so.
Please note the use of this service is subject to the terms of conditions which you must read carefully.