Your Legal Match: Lawyer Questionnaire

  1. What experience or familiarity do you have in dealing with cases like yours?

    How many years in practice? Try to hire a lawyer who has done a lot of work or specializes in your type of case.  Check on reviews and you can ask other lawyers and friends, family, and co-workers who they recommend and make sure you include what type of lawyer you want.

  1. Does the lawyer have experience in the county and/or with the judge that will be presiding over your case? This past experience of can be helpful in winning your case.

  1. Has he lawyer ever been sanctioned or sued for misconduct?  You can double check by checking with the state’s lawyer disciplinary agency.

  1. Does the lawyer have any legal conflicts of interest with regard to the other parties in your case.  This just be determined as much as possible at the beginning of the case.

  1. What are your chances or do you have a strong case? What are some of the likely outcomes in your case? Legal cases take a lot of time, money, energy, and emotional stress.

  1. What will be the fees, when will they have to be paid, and what other costs might you have in the case?  What is the required retainer.  It is important to know if you can afford to carry through the legal action to completion before beginning.

  1. Is it possible your case could be settled out of court?  Sometimes compromise might be a good alternative.  You must trust your attorney to lead you in that direction if it makes economic sense and based on your expectations.

  1. How long will your legal matter take? You should have a general timeframe to know when your case can be completed? A realistic idea about the time the case will take helps in managing your expectations.

  1. What are some of the things you should not do?  Each case is different but knowing things up front helps the lawyer with using different strategies.

  1. What are some of the things it will be necessary for you to provide?  Providing information in a timely manner can make the difference in winning or losing a case because of the legal procedures  that have to be followed.

  1. Who in the firm will be handling my case?  Does the lawyer delegate some duties and tasks to lower billable associates or paralegals to help reduce your costs?

  1. Is there anything you should do to protect your legal interests right away?