Choosing a Lawyer: Avoiding the Pitfalls and Selecting the Right Lawyer for Your Needs – Part 6

Questions to Ask:

Many questions arise from the nature of your legal problem, others from the nature of the profession. If you are trying to incorporate your business, for example, you will need answers to different questions that if you are accused of drunk driving.
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But there are some questions that all clients will need to know. And you should not hire someone to act as your lawyer without asking questions—and getting answers—on a number of important, if ordinary topics:

• Fees—that is, how much the attorney will charge for his services

• Costs—that is, how many “other fees” you are likely to be billed for, such as mileage, photocopying, legal filing fees, and the like.

• The precise limits of the lawyer’s duties—and what, if any, responsibilities you will have during the course of the representation.

• Whether the attorney will be handling your case personally...or giving it to an associate after you leave the office.

• And last, but not least—whether they have every been disciplined by the state bar association.