THE PROBLEM WITH HIRING A LAWYER Hiring an attorney is one of the most confusing things you will likely ever do. The reason is that you often don’t know what you don’t know. So you need to hire someone to handle a problem that you cannot handle yourself, mostly because you do not know what to ask or do. The obvious difficulty in this is that you have no way of confirming when you ask an attorney about what needs to happen, how it should be done or what it will cost, and if what they are saying is correct. If you knew that, you probably would not need an attorney in the first place.
The hardest part for most people is the inherent mistrust of attorneys. Most everyone will normally speak with their friends and co-workers about what they should be spending. The problem with this is that every situation is different, and even ones that look the same can have a “little” different fact which causes the entire case to change, and that changes what needs to be done, what it will cost and what the end result of the case will be.
HOW TO INTERVIEW, WHAT TO ASK, WHO TO BELIEVE When you are seeking a lawyer, don’t forget that you are the customer. They are the seller, and you are the buyer. They are looking at you as someone who is bringing them business. You need to remember this so that you are not intimidated by them. Frequently a client does not feel comfortable asking questions of a lawyers experience, past history, past successes and past failures.
Clients often feel that they are being disrespectful or untrusting by asking questions. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Please remember that a lawsuit is your life. To a lawyer, it is his livelihood — not his life.
At the end of an interview, you should feel comfortable telling your lawyer your deepest secrets. If you don’t have the confidence in this lawyer, go to another until you find the one with whom you feel confident.
Any lawyer you interview should be able to provide you with a list of their current and past clients, who are willing to speak with you about the representation they received and their satisfaction levels.
Ask your family, friends and co-workers what their experiences are, and trust those experiences. But in the end, you must believe in your own instincts.
Every case is different and people love to be supportive of you. Expect them to be a “Monday Quarterback” scrutinizing you lawyer. This is why you need to have confidence in what your lawyer is telling you.
HOW DO LAWYERS GET PAID?
Cases have traditionally been paid for in one of two ways. There is the hourly case and the contingency case. Each has its advantages. Depending on the type of law, the likelihood of recovery and the necessary expenses involved, will determine how the lawyer wants to be paid.
In an hourly based case, the lawyer will bill for every minute they are working on the case. In reality, it is almost impossible to bill for every minute, and that is why attorneys will bill in pieces of an hour. Attorneys bill in 1/10ths of an hour or 1/6ths of an hour. So for every six minutes or 10 minutes the attorney is on the phone, you are billed. The clock starts from the time the attorney picks up the phone. This type of billing is designed so that you do not pay for more time than it actually takes do a job. This is to the client’s advantage so that they can see how much they are spending.
Hourly cases would include family law, corporate law, contract disputes, landlord tenant, real estate and legal representation before governmental bodies.
A contingency case is when the attorney takes a percentage of the recovery in exchange for financing the expenses of the case. This is done when the client cannot afford legal representation. The benefit to the client is that they are represented and do not worry about a monthly bill. The benefit to the lawyer is a larger reward upon recovery than if they were working hourly. The cost to the lawyer is that they must finance the litigation, which is expensive and there are no guarantees of winning.
Contingency cases would be personal injury and worker’s compensation. The cases which fall into the category of civil rights, or employment law, are hard cases to finance, prosecute and win.
You need to have an attorney who has sizable resources behind them. Do not be afraid to ask for track records, historical wins and results of similar cases. This is one area where going with a big firm is to your advantage. However, be sure that you negotiate a strong agreement and don’t ever forget that a contingency case percentage can be re-negotiated depending on the final settlement. (David Pisarra is a partner in the Santa Monica law firm of Pisarra & Grist. He welcomes legal questions that can be answered in this column.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 10, 2003. Read the original PDF.