If you have taken the time and patience to recognize the right avocado in the fruit and vegetable section of your supermarket, he has a different sort of lawyer who is hard to choose.
Yes, that day has arrived. You need to use the services of a lawyer. Only here, a lawyer, you do not know. You may want to ask people around you to recommend someone, but your family may not know a competent lawyer in the bar or you just want to be discreet lawyers in rockford.
Here you are alone in addressing this thorny issue: how to find and choose a lawyer who suits you?
How to find a lawyer?
The field and the intervention bar
At first, you need to gather some information before you go in search of your lawyer. You must know the area of intervention that concerns you. For example, you want to initiate divorce proceedings, so it will be family law. If you have committed an offense, you will need to seek a criminal lawyer. In theory, a lawyer can cover a large number of areas of intervention. In practice, he will usually have more taste for just a few areas and will be eager to explore his areas of expertise and offer you expert advice. A lawyer may also ask to have some of his specific skills certified after four years of specialized practice. If your business requires special expertise, find some of the different areas.
The bar, it’s short, is the territory where your case will be judged. There are some rules like Monopoly but generally you will be in focus in a while. If you live in Nantes with your spouse and you want to divorce, you assign your spouse, so it is a procedure that will be tried in Nantes and you must choose a lawyer, registered at the Bar of Nantes. If you live in Nantes but you rent an apartment to individuals in Paris and for some reason you must file a lawsuit against your tenants, the case will be judged in Paris. The bar will be that of Paris, you will choose a lawyer registered at the Paris Bar. In this specific case, you have the possibility to choose a lawyer in Nantes who will ask a lawyer from Paris to represent you. In any case the applicant must file the conclusions under his signature even if it is your lawyer from Nantes who moves to plead. A supplementary service, additional pricing, this is the subject of our next point.
Legal aid
You must then make a quick update on your finances. The services of a lawyer have a significant cost and it is appropriate from the outset, even in the emotional emergency, to know how to clarify the financial relationship to your lawyer. The lawyers practice different rates according to their competence, their experience, the time spent on your business … it depends, it exceeds!
Generally your lawyer will offer you a fee agreement and grant you in the best case of payments in several deadlines. This will allow you to provision or contract a micro credit from your bank, or to borrow from your loved ones. Also know that a lawyer, like a craftsman, will ask for a provision to start his work. Funny way to start a relationship of trust, while at the moment you just need help and action, do you think?
Know that in this case, the money will reassure you. It must allow you to step back emotionally. When you pay a lawyer for his services, you may have requirements. When payments are late or downright late, you lose the fluid relationship typical of a service delivery. You lose the ability to have requirements. All this to say that the money you give your lawyer is a pledge of trust, consideration and if you are not clear with this financial relationship, the relationship could quickly fester unnecessarily.
In case your finances do not allow you to offer the services of a lawyer, know that you have access to legal aid (partial or total). This help will allow you to be defended and advised at the expense of the State. Know that lawyers who accept legal aid are often paid several months after your business, and do not return almost in their professional fees. Some professionals do not accept it, when other lawyers willingly accept it by personal conviction or professional strategy.
Being aware of this variable allows you to refer you to a lawyer who fits your situation. Estimate your rights to legal aid.
The time of choice
Now you can attack the most delicate part: the list, the directory, the immense possibilities of choice which is offered to you. Hmmm … you said easy?
The CNB (National Council of Bars) offers an online directory of all lawyers classified by bar and areas of intervention. It’s a good start.
The “houses of the lawyer” present everywhere; will give you an exhaustive list of the lawyers registered at the bar of the court on which you depend. No ranking this time but be aware that these houses offer free consultations regularly and provide permanence to guide the litigants (you).
Importantly, the lawyer you meet at the office must not directly offer his services and should not influence you in his favor. If you have felt confident, contact him for yourself but allow yourself time to think.
There are now online directories that are becoming more specific about the services offered by the lawyer. Sometimes, you will have to pay to get an initial consultation with an online lawyer, sometimes it is the lawyer who pays to be referenced on platforms and develop his clientele.
We do not recommend that you make your choice by first paying for an online consultation if you need to initiate a procedure. If these paid directories are useful in case of a specific question, it can be quickly complicated to keep its freedom of choice, and here is why. If this consultation did not open on collaboration, you will have to consult another lawyer and possibly pay a first face-to-face consultation … do you see where we are going? Financially, if you have to pay the first consultation (one hour = about 150 € HT) each time you meet a lawyer without opening a file, it is your bank account that will make your choice and stop at the first one. you meet.
That’s why we advise you to talk to the lawyer you are asking for very quickly, and if your intuition invites you to do so, make an appointment to explain your case in more detail. The advantage of consulting a lawyer who offers the first consultation (even if you do not open a file at home) whatever happens is that the money is not going to make you feel bad about your choice.
Short summary of research:
– Gather all the elements necessary for your research (domain, bar …)
– Take stock with your finances (legal aid, loan …)
– Find your search channel (online directory, lawyer’s house …)
– Make sure you can talk to your contact person by phone, then set up an appointment, all the while committing the least money possible to be free from any pressure
You have decided on two lawyers, who correspond to your basic criteria and you have an appointment in the coming days with each one of them. How will you stop your choice?
While this may be immediate and automatic for some, for most of us it will be necessary to take some time for reflection.
There are some tips for making the right choice and this is the subject of our second part: how to choose your lawyer?
How to choose a lawyer?
Take the time to analyze your emotions
The case that concerns you gives you emotions, sometimes bright. You are going to have to sort out what is constantly mixing inside your head.
Take the time to relax after meeting with a lawyer, and to let your impressions linger for a moment.
During this meeting you will have topics that will have caused you emotions and it is important not to make your choice based on them only. A new lawyer, whom you do not know, will necessarily seek to understand you, understand your case, and perhaps raise doubts, or two. Remember that he is there to hear your case and he must also assess whether he is going to follow you.
It’s a mutual choice.
No emotional excitement so, instead of what we call quiet intuition.
Trust each other
What is quiet intuition?
Nothing will ever guarantee that the relationship with your lawyer will be a long quiet river but when you trust yourself and listen to your intuition and not a rational argument to dictate your choice, you gain the opportunity to fully engage in your choice and so trust your lawyer.
This is a small bonus that allows everyone to trust each other since the decision is motivated by intuition and not by reason.
This advice is not a scientific equation, but it’s a safe bet that if you choose the lawyer closest to your home for no reason, you’re more inclined to regret your decision later.
On average, you will be in contact with your lawyer for a period of 24 months. This person will follow you in important moments and you will take decisive directions with him. A lawyer is a human collaborator. You must choose a person with whom the power goes.
This is the last criterion that must occupy your attention.
And here is the nonverbal communication that must be sifted.
Pass your lawyer to the scanner
You cannot stand being late, that makes you horny? Your lawyer is always late by 30 minutes. Are you sure you can accept this variable throughout the procedure? You accept it now because you are in demand, and sometimes in a hurry. But this aspect is essential to take into account.
A poorly arranged and unwelcoming waiting room can put someone in need of emotional insecurity. A very academic lawyer, certainly very combative but little accompanying humanly can be fatal for who needs support. There are as many practices as lawyers … you have to pay attention to these small details that put you without effort in confidence. We human beings know perfectly well, not judging, but gauging what is presented to us to evaluate the “level of danger”. This is why you must listen to your emotions and feelings after an appointment and try to focus on the person who gave you a feeling of natural trust.
Do not go back on your decision
When you have been able to tell if mutual and natural trust is going to be in place, do not go back on your decision. Fully trust your relationship with your lawyer and you will see that it will be more fluid.
It is not uncommon to have small snags course: Do not point immediately. Always try to expose your point of view calmly and always ask sincerely to find the bond of confidence of departure. You must remember: the human relationship always takes precedence over the message you want to convey. In other words: it’s impossible to tell your lawyer that you are angry because you do not have what you want … if you also tackle the issue by attacking him.
If something bothers you, you do not have to wait to tackle the issue. This will avoid raising the pressure of the pressure cooker.
Remember also that your lawyer practices time control on a daily basis and everyone knows that it takes a long time to know how to organize perfectly, especially if the latter has a lot of work.
As you will have understood, if you have chosen to trust the first day, you must always seek to find mutual trust throughout your collaboration.
The key words of this relationship, half human, half professional, are benevolence, trust, patience and sincerity.
If, however, a problem with your lawyer becomes difficult to resolve, we invite you to contact the president of the bar (it’s a little the class delegate lawyers) where your lawyer is registered to convey your difficulties. He is able to intervene and arbitrate the conflicts inherent in the collaboration between lawyers and litigants.