What's the Best Way to Search for an Attorney in St. Pete?
A good way to start your search for an attorney is to ask your friends, family and business acquaintances. Obviously, the opinion of your friends and family can be trusted more than that of a complete stranger. When you are unable to get recommendations from people you know, there are others ways to find a good attorney. This article discusses some other methods.
Finding an Attorney Online
The internet can be helpful resource when you are looking to find a good attorney. The most useful aspect of this type of search is that you can learn about an attorney via their website. You can learn about the attorney, his or her practice, and appropriate contact information.
Using Legal Assistance Services
A legal aid will offer you no-cost or low-cost legal services, but you must be aware of the fact that legal aids deal specifically with individual issues such as family disputes or landlord/tenant disagreements. You can find this kind of legal aid by calling your state bar association or the local county court.
Every state has its own bar association and these associations can helpful when you are trying to find the right attorney. All you have to do is call them and tell them what kind of legal issues you need resolved. From there, they can connect you with the most appropriate attorney for you. There typically is a charge for this service, but the money will be well-spent.
Local Directories
A printed directory can appear outdated, but many businesses and individuals still prefer searching for their attorneys from the advertisements printed in the phone book. Just be prepared that the phone book may not provide you with all of the details you want.
The bottom line is that when you are searching for an attorney, you have many resources at your fingertips. By doing your research, you will be sure to find a good attorney.
Should You Use A Referral Service?
There are occasions when a St. Petersburg lawyer referral service is a good idea, such as when you need a lawyer that focuses on a very limited practice area such as Admiralty, or Patent Law. In these cases, the Florida Bar and many local bar associations offer lawyer referral services for free. In addition Martindale Hubbell and Lawyers.com are excellent referral services to find a lawyer in another state. For most legal matters however, the best referrals come from friends, family members, and physicians. Your local chiropractor or medical doctor can provide you with the name of a lawyer that he trusts and in which he has confidence as a result of working with that lawyer over the years. Former clients of a lawyer also provide a good referral source, because they have first hand knowledge of how a particular lawyer handled their case.
Should I Hire A Lawyer Because He's On Television?
Lawyers that advertise on television may be relying on new business from their advertising rather than repeat business from satisfied former clients. Some law firms spend in excess of $20 million per year on advertising. Further, firms that advertise on television may be high volume law firms, and your case may be handled by a paralegal, case manager, or legal secretary, rather than a lawyer. Lawyers that advertise on television often utilize contract runners due to the volume of incoming cases, but remember contract runners are not lawyers, and they cannot answer your questions or give you any advice. Lawyers that do not advertise typically have been in practice long enough to have developed a large number of satisfied former clients, and do not rely on advertising for new personal injury clients.
