How to choose the right lawyer?
The notion of “a good lawyer” can have different meanings. Some people are impressed by the external gloss and speech with an abundance of complex turns, someone relies on recommendations and opinion of other people about the specialist. The client can evaluate the quality of lawyer’s work in the process of cooperation, when the question is being resolved.
Today many practicing lawyers have respectable offices and modern websites. Clients are offered a standard list of services in certain areas. Therefore, choosing a worthy defender of rights and interests is a very difficult task.
Red flags: signs of unprofessionalism
Guarantee of winning the case by 100%
If a specialist, after a cursory acquaintance with the materials of the case, tells the client about the guaranteed result, it is a clear violation of lawyer’s ethics. A good specialist can only make a promise to do his best to achieve the goal and maintain confidentiality.
Expertise in all areas of law
If a lawyer claims to be a “generalist,” that is a serious reason to question his or her level of expertise. When choosing, it is better to give preference to a lawyer who specializes in civil cases or some other direction (depending on specific needs). The legislative base of our country is characterized by variability, so it is difficult for a specialist to navigate in all branches of law perfectly.
Offer to resolve an issue “through informal channels”
From some attorneys, a client may still receive an offer to resolve a problem through bribery. Though less and less specialists use such methods nowadays, one should not exclude this variant of events when applying to the lawyer. It is obvious: the lawyer who uses illegal methods of work can pass from defender to the category of defendant. It is better to refrain from cooperation with him.
Pushy self-promotion, violating the norms of ethics
In order to win favour with his client, a lawyer makes insulting remarks about his colleagues or reveals confidential details about his former or present cases.
Reputation and professional level: the criteria for a preliminary estimate
The choice of a lawyer can be based on the recommendations of acquaintances, reviews in public sources, other information on the Internet. Residents of the capital can even coordinate the choice with proximity to home. In the future, this will help to meet with a specialist more often. At the same time, thanks to modern means of communication with a lawyer, it is possible to discuss current issues without personal meetings (by phone or messengers).
If the assistance of a lawyer is needed to solve a particularly complex issue, then before contacting do not spare time and effort to study the reputation of the specialist. The first opinion is the website of the lawyer or the company to which he refers. A small business card site or a landing page – can not be attributed to the arguments in favor of a specialist.
Modern specialized legal website should contain expert information, articles on various subjects, recommendations regarding the solution of various legal issues, examples of practice. If the site is filled with long unformatted texts with “crumbs” of useful information, it also does not testify in favor of the lawyer.
Deciding how to choose a lawyer, it is worth to see the profiles of experts in social networks. Even if these are not business pages, but only personal accounts, they are still largely intertwined with professional activities. A lawyer often “grows” a lot of contacts and is open to communication. A closed profile and/or a small number of subscribers is a reason to think about the lawyer’s reputation in the professional environment and among clients.
The lawyer monopoly: a clear distinction between the terms “lawyer” and “advocate”
In common usage, ordinary citizens of our country put an equal sign between the concepts of “lawyer” and “lawyer”. But since January 1, 2018 came into force legislative norms that enshrine the “monopoly” of the lawyer to represent individuals and legal entities in the courts of first instance. Therefore, if there is a prospect of litigation, you should only turn to a lawyer.
According to the normative legal framework of Ukraine, the status of a lawyer acquires lawyer who meets certain requirements and passed the qualifying examinations. All lawyers in Ukraine are included in the state register. The powers of professionals of this profile are determined by the law “On advocacy”. Also, in the course of providing assistance to clients, lawyers are obliged to be guided by the principles of professional ethics. In particular, it concerns the observance of attorney-client privilege.