Choosing Lawyers
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Sooner or later, you’ll need a lawyer. In fact, you’ll most likely wind up needing more than one lawyer –one for the real estate closings and routine matters such as reviewing contracts and another for estate matters like wills and trusts. If your marriage sours, you may need a divorce lawyer. You might even hire a tax lawyer if you find yourself in a serious fight with the IRS or you’re about to sign a business deal with significant tax implications.
The cost of hiring a lawyer can vary enormously, depending on the expertise of the pro and the amount of time you’ll demand. Lately, growing numbers of people have turned to prepaid legal plans as a way to save on legal fees. These plans, often offered through employers and credit-card companies, are kind of like legal HMOs. You pay a set annual fee of $200 or thereabouts, which entitles you to a specified amount of service from lawyers in the prepaid plan’s network. These plans can be handy if you need a lawyer for fairly mundane matters such as a real estate closing or a simple will. They’re not terrific, however, if your legal needs are more complex. Being limited to using just the lawyers in the group is also restricting, particularly if you would prefer to hire specialists who don’t belong to the plan.
When hunting to hire a lawyer on your own, start the way you would look for an adviser: ask your friends and business associates for pros they’ve used. Find out whether they thought the lawyer’s fee was reasonable and if the attorney did everything he or she promised. You might also tap into Court TV’s Law Center on the Internet and on America Online. This electronic aid offers advice about shopping for a lawyer from its Cradle to Grave Legal Survival Guide book. Court TV’s free on-line service, called Try Out Your Lawyer, let you post on-line the kind of lawyer you need. Then interested lawyers respond and Court TV forwards their names to you. The Web site address: 205.181.114.35/legalhelp/lawyer. Another resource: the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. This book, actually the shelfful of books, lists the attorneys throughout the United States and notes their specialties. You can find Martindale-Hubbell in the public library or a law library or on the Internet at www.martindale.com. The American Bar Association’s guide, The American Lawyer: When and How to Use One, is also useful ($4.50; 312-988-5522). Don’t waste your time getting referrals from the local bar association, however. Lawyers pay to get listed with such groups, so you’re really getting nothing more than a bunch of names of lawyers who’ve paid to advertise their services.
When interviewing lawyers you might want to hire –the first consultation is usually free –check out their experience, aggressiveness, and fees. Don’t use a lawyer fresh out a law school; let someone else be the guinea pig. Instead, work with lawyers who have been practicing at least five years. Choosing a suitable lawyer is much like finding the right tax preparer: you’re looking for someone who is as much of a tiger as you prefer. For instance, some lawyers are extremely tough in real estate negotiations, demanding extraordinary concessions from buyers or sellers, even if that mean walking away from a deal. Others are more willing to bargain a bit and cut a quick contract. Before taking on lawyer, have a discussion about how tough he or she plans to be. Ask, too, for names of several clients and call them to find out how satisfied they were.
Most lawyers charge by the hour. You might pay as little as $50 an hour or as much as $400, depending on the firm. For simple matters such as a house closing or reviewing a lease, you may be cited a flat fee of $500 or so. A will could run about $1,500. Some lawyers ask clients for a retainer; this is an up-front deposit that might range from $500 to $5,000. If yours does, make sure to get in writing exactly what the retainer covers. For a personal inquiry case, expect the lawyer to charge a contingency fee. This means he or she will collect a portion of any amount you receive, generally 30% to 40%.
Divorce lawyers are a special breed. Most are tough and expensive. The Coalition for Family Justice (821 North Broadway, Irvington, N.Y. 10533), a self-help group for divorces, can help you locate a lawyer in your area. Before hiring any divorce lawyer, however, get a rough estimate of what the total bill will be. Also, make sure the lawyer agrees in writing not to file any motions or papers before you have had enough time to review them.
You may be able to avoid hiring divorce lawyers altogether or at least save on some legal fees by ending your marriage through either a mediation or arbitration specialist. When you hire a mediator (cost: about $500 to $3,000), this expert meets with you and your soon-to-be ex and works out terms of the divorce. Often, the mediator is a lawyer or a family therapist. Once your lawyer and your spouse’s lawyer agree to the mediator’s agreement, the divorce is final and binding. For the names of mediators near you, write to the Academy of Family Mediators (1500 South Hwy., Suite 355, Golden Valley, Minn. 55416). Arbitration, which runs a little more (figure $750 to $4,000), entails hiring a pro to listen to both sides of the marital dissolution and then determine the terms for the divorce. For names of arbitrators, write to the American Arbitration Association (140 West 51st St., New York, N.Y. 10020).
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