How Do I Know if I Have a Good Attorney?

how do i know if i have a good attorney

There will be times in your life that you will need a good attorney by your side to help you manage a case, deal with another attorney, or help to get the compensation that you deserve from another party. When choosing an attorney, you will want to select the best person for the job. This is not the time to pick anyone from the bunch. You will need someone with a high level of expertise, integrity, experience, and know-how to manage your legal case for you with the utmost level of confidence.

What Personality Does a Good Lawyer Exhibit?

Attorneys need to be level-headed, calm under pressure, and have an even personality that exhibits strength but not aggression. It is not a showing of strength for an attorney to be argumentative, a “hot-head,” the type of person who yells at everyone on the opposing side, or who likes to show “who is the boss.” This type of individual does not win cases because they talk the loudest. Instead, attorneys need to be good communicators and shrewd strategists who can anticipate all moves by the other side well before the move is played. This is the best attorney for any job and the person who should be picked to represent you when it matters the most.

Attorneys Need to Adhere to Ethical Codes

In general, all attorneys are held to a high standard to follow all ethical codes of the legal profession. Attorneys are sworn to uphold these legal codes and follow them to the letter. Any attorney who does not follow strict legal codes will risk being disbarred. For this reason, an attorney should never suggest doing anything that feels unethical, under the table, or that would be illegal in any capacity. If you interview an attorney and don’t feel that the person is being honest on every level, do not agree to have that attorney represent you. Attorneys are held to a high standard and need to exhibit this in everything they do.

Attorneys Need to Be Experienced in Their Specialty

Attorneys can handle a wide area of law from being trained in many legal principles in law school. But most attorneys will specialize in a certain narrow area of practice. This specialization can happen because of their personal interest, personal passion, area of law practiced in the law firm where they work, or because they want to learn more about the area of law that they chose to specialize in to help humanity find fair resolutions to issues.

An attorney will specialize and learn to be an expert in those areas. People learning about a new area of law will take some time to become competent in those areas. It is not a problem that an attorney even switches specialties because that individual is interested in becoming competent in that area very soon. But that is not the time to hire a person who wants to go to a new area of law but has no experience in that area whatsoever. Your legal case is not a “sample” or a case to be taken on the off chance that the attorney can “wing it.”

Medical Malpractice Attorneys Need to Know the Issues Inside and Out

In the case of medical malpractice, for example, you will want to hire an attorney who has managed this type of case in the past – and more than just a few. The attorney who you hire for a medical malpractice claim needs to be confident in how to:

  • Manage medical malpractice claims
  • Knows medical jargon and diagnosis particulars
  • Is comfortable discussing these types of cases with medical experts
  • Knows how to expertly research all medical malpractice areas and diagnosis
  • Has a network of medical experts that can be useful as resources for research on the case

Good Judgment Is the Hallmark of a Good Lawyer

If an attorney has good judgment, you will know it as a person considering hiring that lawyer. People who exhibit good judgment will do so in all areas of their lives. A good attorney who has good judgment will act with integrity, be grounded, have an internalized high standard for their personal life, and have skills to use good judgment tools in all areas of the individual’s professional legal practice.

An Example of Poor Judgment of an Attorney

Here is the true story of an attorney who exhibited poor judgment. An attorney decided to help out a friend who wanted to get into a new business selling homes. The lawyer helped the friend by putting the business in the attorney’s name (attorney bad decision #1), even though the real estate business was not related to the lawyer’s professional legal practice.

Next, the lawyer helped the friend hide assets from the friend’s soon-to-be ex-wife (lawyer bad decision #2) because the friend did not want the wife to access assets upon their divorce. Finally, the attorney put several of his friend’s assets in the attorney’s name (lawyer bad decision #3) because the friend persuaded the lawyer that if the attorney transferred the friend’s boat and six-figure recreational bus into the lawyer’s name, that the friend could avoid paying taxes on these new purchases.

Needless to say, the friend filed for divorce, the wife found about the attorney’s three bad decisions and exposed the illegal activities at the divorce court proceedings. The friend finalized his divorce and went on his way, and the lawyer was disbarred. Then, there were charges of impropriety brought on the lawyer, who was later sentenced to spend 5-7 years in prison for several illegally based actions. Attorneys who make poor judgment decisions in their personal lives will also make bad decisions for their client cases. Steer clear of a lawyer who does not make clear decisions in and out of the professional legal practice.

When you need a lawyer with high standards, integrity, and experience in all practice matters, you will want to call us at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm. We have a team of injury and accident attorneys who are experienced in many different practice areas and ready to stand with you to get you the money you deserve today. So give us a call right now. We are here for you.

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