If you are due to appear in court then it is often a stressful time. You need someone who can guide you through the process while at the same time being able to represent you. This is why it is important to know how to find a legal representative that works for you.
Ask around
It is fairly safe to say that at some point a friend or family member has used a legal representative. However, don’t just use them on the basis of them “knowing” someone. Ask about them and find out what they do – if it is a medical negligence case then it is clearly best not to use someone that specialises in divorce.
Consider a specialist
Some people may be nervous about using a “specialist” because they fear that equals “more expensive”. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the case – it is more that this particular person chose to study a specific field of law that happened to be appropriate to your case.
Experience
Experience is a major factor to consider – however, this is not solely in terms of the number of years someone has been a legal representative. Ideally you want someone who has been working on your kind of case and hopefully has had enough experience of positive outcomes to offer you advice.
Consultation
Is the representative available for a free initial consultation? This is often a sign of confidence in their services. Ideally during this process they should also be honest with you – a good representative will equally let you know the chances of not getting a positive verdict as they would telling you your chances of winning a case.
Meet in person
Ideally you want to meet someone in person and in their office. This will give you some clues as to whether or not their services are right for you. While it may seem superficial how well organised their office is and how quickly they respond to you can often be good indicators of their legal service.
Also when it comes to meeting in person find out who will be representing you – the person talking to you about your case may not be the one who will be with you in court on the day so ideally you should be able to talk to that person from day one!
Know the details
A legal representative should make clear how much their services cost and what to expect from them. If you feel they are being evasive or you are not sure about the terms of the agreement then you should consider looking elsewhere.
The right balance
It can be hard to find a balance – smaller firms can be more hands on but may lack the resources of a larger firm. At Larcomes we believe we have the right balance in that we are small enough to work closely with our clients while at the same time having enough resources to provide specialist representation.
For more information contact a member of our team today to see what we can do for you!