Litigation lawyers specialize in handling lawsuits and courtroom proceedings, while transactional lawyers handle contracts and other general business matters.
You?ll want to hire a litigation lawyer if you?re involved in a lawsuit or criminal proceeding. Otherwise, a transactional lawyer can probably handle all your business needs.
- What services do you feel you need that you aren?t getting now from your present legal counsel?
- Has the nature of your legal work changed recently where your current legal team can no longer meet the needs of your business?
- Has the volume of your legal work increased (or decreased) where you need a bigger (or smaller) team?
- Has the legal work become more complicated where it requires specialized knowledge or skills?
- Have you recently automated your systems and your current counsel is still doing things the old fashioned way?
- Does your current attorney seem overwhelmed with the amount of legal work you?re generating?
- Has the relationship broken down for personal reasons or a personality conflict?
- Do you feel that you?re not getting good value for your money? What areas do you have specific complaints about?
- Do you always have to chase staff down to try and get answers to your questions?
- Is your current attorney always late in getting paperwork and reports to you on time?
- Do the costs you?re being charged seem excessive?
- Is your current counsel short-staffed?
- Do you seem to spend a lot of time managing the legal staff and dealing with their problems?
- Is your current legal counsel too busy to take your calls?
Once you determine that a new legal team is the right decision for you, here are a few pointers for hiring the right attorney for your business:
- Look for a law firm that specializes in the expertise you?re looking for
- Ask for references from other clients
- Ask about potential conflicts of interest with other clients
- Set appropriate terms for the engagement
- Estimate engagement costs before deciding on hiring a specific firm
- Specify which lawyers you want assigned to your case, and pay only for those lawyers you pre-approve
- Require a full description of conferences between lawyers and the matters discussed
- Require that a designated partner review and sign-off on all invoices
- Designate who will take and review depositions
- How will photocopying be handled?
- Explain your budget for fees and costs beforehand
- Insist on periodic, timely billing
- Establish milestones for engagement and budget review
- Communicate your expectations clearly so there are no misunderstandings
- Establish a maximum fee for the engagement and stick to it
?and finally, be a good client! The relationship with your legal team should be a collaborative partnership.
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