Hiring a Business Lawyer - What You Should Know
With all of the business lawyers in the country, it doesn’t seem like hiring one would be much trouble at all. But if you want to find the right one for your business, there are a few things you should know going in to the process.
With billboards lining the highways of the country,
commercials playing during every afternoon television show, and their pictures on the back of every phone book in America, it doesn’t seem like getting a good business lawyer would be too much trouble.
The problem is this: even though there are plenty of attorneys plying their craft, not all of them were created equally. Even those that are competent and qualified may not be the right fit for your needs. Here are some of the most important things to consider when trying finding the right one.
While it may seem easy to simply choose a business lawyer by looking in the phone book or recalling a number from a commercial, this is generally a poor way to go about it. A better way would be to find a good directory, listing all of the law firms in your area and their primary realm of expertise. Starting this way can help you to skip all of the firms not interested in the type of law practice you require.
Before you make any decisions on who to hire, you should set up at least a couple of in person consultations. Most law firms offer these free of charge and will be happy to hear you out when you express your needs and what you’re looking for. As they don’t want to waste their own time anymore than you want to waste yours, they will usually be quite up front about whether or not they can meet your needs at this time. If they can’t, they may be willing to offer you a referral.
Make sure the law firm you’re meeting with has experience with a company like yours. It won’t do much good to hire a firm that specializes in large corporations if you have three employees. If you are looking for someone to help you through the start up period of a small company, make sure that is the type of thing they’ve done before. If possible, talk to other entrepreneurs in the area and see which firm they use and who they recommend.
Finally, when you hire a new business lawyer, make sure everything is crystal clear concerning billable hours and what you will be charged. Do these not only for the sake of keeping everything fair and on the level, but to make sure you don’t find yourself with a whopper of a bill down the line that you weren’t expecting.
