No, you don't need an attorney

Do I need an attorney?

The short answer is “No”. You can buy an online estate-planning package or download infinite contracts and legal documents via Rocket Lawyer. You even have the right to represent yourself in court. However, you get what you pay for. If you’ve done any of the above, I’m not picking on you. But when the “crap hits the fan” (which unfortunately it tends to do once in a while), you need legal advice from a person with a law license.

Lots of times people feel like they can handle legal issues themselves. They really don’t want to part with the whole pie, not realizing that by not giving up a “reasonable” percentage in the form of an attorney fee, they risk losing all of it. It doesn’t help that we lawyers don’t exactly have the greatest reputation for being honest, which makes the process of finding the right attorney even more frustrating.

So how do I find the right attorney?

Glad you asked. Your body included a keen sense of direction called “going with your gut”. If you don’t feel comfortable with the attorney after meeting with them, don’t move forward. Almost NEVER hire a lawyer over the phone (save exigent circumstances where meeting face-to-face is impossible). I have had this come up only once where a man moved to Michigan but was involved in an accident in Tennessee. He only had one week to file his lawsuit and we had to act fast. Only after a two-hour phone conversation (and all of his questions were answered) did he decide to hire our firm.

Unfortunately, there are MANY empty promises made by attorneys during an initial consultation. In this meeting, the attorney is playing 50% doctor, 50% salesman. But use this meeting to interview the attorney:

 Ask him/her how long they’ve been practicing

Ask how many cases like yours that he/she has handled

Ask what the potential difficulties in your case are (hint: there are always

difficulties and if you are told otherwise, RUN!)

A reputable attorney will not guarantee a certain outcome. A reputable attorney will not guarantee you a certain amount of money. A reputable attorney will not use legalese and verbose words to puff up their image, but will explain in layman’s terms what the process is for your case. If you can leave the meeting with a clear sense of understanding of how the attorney plans to best represent you, you’ve found a good one. 

Just please don’t cheap out and go at it all by your lonesome. I speak with far too many people who have killed their case/claim/issue through self-inflicted wounds by holding out on hiring an attorney.