Finding the right attorney can make all the difference in your legal case. The attorney you select should be someone you trust and will help guide you through your legal matter to the best possible outcome.
The decision process involves asking for referrals, reviewing credentials, checking online reviews, and scheduling a consultation. Ultimately, the attorney-client relationship is intimate, and you must feel comfortable working with them.
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Ask for Referrals
Referrals can be a powerful way to grow your law firm. However, it’s essential to approach a potential client strategically and build referral marketing into your overall marketing strategy.
For example, one approach is asking your current best clients to refer their friends and family to you. This is a direct approach to growing your client base, and it’s a technique that has been proven to work.
Another strategy is to seek out referrals from other lawyers who can recommend you to their clients. This could include other elder law attorneys or attorneys who practice in a different area of the law. These lawyers often have clients who need legal help in the regions they don’t handle, and they need to refer those potential clients to someone who can meet their needs.
Check the Firm’s Credentials
During your first meeting, evaluate the attorney and their firm’s professionalism and expertise. Ask how well they communicate and whether they can break down complex legal matters into easy-to-understand terms. Find out if they have experience in your specific legal issue and how many cases they currently have.
You can also check their credentials by examining state bar profiles and online professional reviews; visit Lulich.com for more info. If the attorney needs to be more active during your initial interview, consider how they will conduct themselves in a case on your behalf.
Most attorneys maintain websites that contain information about themselves and their work history. They may even have FAQs or blogs offering valuable insights about a specific legal issue. This information can help you determine if the attorney is the right fit for your needs. You can often schedule consultation appointments through an attorney’s website or by calling them directly.
Check Online Reviews
Getting 5-star reviews is crucial to a law firm’s online marketing and SEO strategy. It’s also a great way to attract new clients. However, getting the correct number of 5-star reviews is not easy for all attorneys. All businesses are held to general advertising laws and attorney advertising rules when requesting client reviews, but law firms face more complexities.
While personal referrals remain one of the best ways to build a list of potential attorneys, prospective clients increasingly rely on online client reviews to help narrow their choices. Many websites provide consumer reviews of lawyers, allow attorneys to collect peer review ratings from their references, and publish those on their profiles.
Make it a daily habit to check your attorney reviews. Start by searching for your practice name on Google and list all the sites on page one that allow reviews to be posted.
Schedule a Consultation
A consultation with an attorney can be essential in finding the right lawyer for your case. Prepare questions you want to ask the attorney and take thorough notes. It is also helpful to consider your desired outcomes concerning your issue and bring that information to the consultation.
During the consultation, paying attention to the attorney’s demeanor and how they interact with you is essential. Some attorneys are not very friendly, and it may be best to go with another firm if that is the case. You should also take a close look at the attorney’s website. Please take note of how easy it is to navigate and the quality of the content. A clunky, outdated website is a red flag. Additionally, be cautious of relying too heavily on online reviews from past clients, as they are often biased in favor or against the attorney.
