Finding an attorney when you think you might need one can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re intimidated with the legal issue at hand and you haven’t worked with many attorneys before. You may feel like you don’t know where to begin. There is no secret to finding one – it just takes a little effort. This blog entry is designed to help get you started by offering various resources, some of which you may find more helpful than others. Please note, this entry does not contain resources for finding a low or no-cost (pro bono) attorney. There are alternative resources available for that search, although in some cases, they may overlap.
First, identify your underlying legal need.
Without knowing the answer to this question in at least a fairly broad sense, you won’t get very far. For example, I’m an elder law practitioner and I practice in four broad areas: estate planning, probate, medical assistance, and guardianships/conservatorships. It’s important for people to understand that I need to be competent in the area for which they require legal advice. So, I can’t help with someone’s child custody issue, nor can I help with bankruptcy, or a landlord/tenant dispute. If you know what area you need, focus any searches on that word or term, and if you don’t know how to identify the area(s), be able to articulate the problem for which you believe you require the legal advice (for example, “I need a will,” or “my mom just went into the hospital and they say she needs a long-term care facility,” or “my dad just passed away and I don’t know what to do with the house and his stuff” or “my disabled child is turning 18”). You don’t need to know exactly how to say it in legal terms, but be able to articulate enough that the attorney or staff member can either direct you elsewhere or ask you a few more questions to understand more.
Second, use all the resources to which you have access. Here are some resources you may or may not know:
- Ask your friends, family, colleagues, if they’ve worked with an attorney they liked on the kind of issue you have.
- Minnesota State Bar Association – Home page, “For the Public” dropdown Find a Lawyer https://www.mnbar.org/member-directory/find-a-lawyer
- MNLRIS (Minnesota Lawyer Referral and Information Services) mnlawyerreferral.org
- Online searches using key words or phrases, such as “estate planning attorney near me” or “Saint Paul probate attorney”….etc.
- Start asking legal questions in an online search and see which law offices are blogging on their websites on that subject. Sometimes reading an attorney’s or law office’s blog entries can give you not only information that might be helpful, but it also may give you the general feel of their style and/or culture. (Some sample questions might be: “Do I need to probate my father’s estate?” or “How can I continue to help my disabled child when she turns 18 years old?” or “Do I need a will?”)
- Contact organizations that may be able to assist you in finding attorneys that specialize in your area of need (Examples: Alzheimer’s Association or Cancer Legal Cares)
Third, make a phone call or email a contact request to an attorney or law office you think may be able to help. You’ll want to make a list of several to start with. Sometimes you luck out and find someone you enjoy working with right away, and sometimes it may take a few phone calls before you find someone you’d like to engage. Remember that accidentally calling the wrong kind of law office (or finding someone you really don’t care to work with) is not a big deal. Just thank them and move on. Keep in mind a few things before you call/email:
- Who are you talking to? Are you talking to an attorney or a receptionist/staff member (non-attorney)?
This is important to understand early in the conversation. I am a solo practitioner, so I don’t employ other attorneys and I only employ a receptionist to answer my phones. My receptionists are trained not to try to solve anyone’s problem but simply to ferret out if this person is calling about one of my practice areas. So, don’t get frustrated if the person answering the phone can’t answer your legal questions, and don’t be surprised if a call back from the attorney or legal assistant will take some time. In some cases, attorneys will answer their own phones, so anything goes. You should expect courteous and professional interaction from anyone with whom you speak.
- Brevity is important because legal services are provided at an hourly rate customarily. This is important to know when you call to inquire about legal services because since you’re a potential client and have not engaged anyone at this office (yet?), time on the phone or over email will likely be provided in the most efficient manner possible. This is not meant to discourage your inquiries but to address the fact that lawyers make their living by working with their actual clients, not their potential clients.
- Ask what documents you may need to bring with you because if you arrive at an appointment without a document you need to show the attorney, you may have difficulty getting to the bottom of the problem(s) you’re having.
- Free vs. paid consultations
This is one of the most difficult to talk about but very important to understand. There are many differences between a free and a paid consultation. They each have their advantages and their disadvantages. I’ll start with the one I use and then I’ll discuss the advantages of the other.
I use free 30-minute consults. I do this as much for myself as I do for my potential clients. First, since I don’t use a staff member to make any substantial inquiries, I must start by making sure I am competent to assist the person to whom I am speaking (do I practice in this area and can I manage their specific issue within this area?). If the answer is “no” to either part of that sentence, I decline to take the client and try my best to help them find others who may be able to help. If the answer is “yes” to both of the above questions then I will need to listen at first, and leave time to ask my own questions afterward. Commonly, the potential client is not aware of what I need to know before I decide if I can help. The distinct disadvantage to the “no cost consult” is that an attorney may not give legal advice to anyone but a client. You see the problem….if you’re only a potential client, I can’t give legal advice, only general information about what a person in the caller’s shoes may be able to do if they hire an attorney. I must refrain from offering personalized legal advice because I am not the caller’s attorney, even if I hope to be at the end of the call. For example, I will offer generalized information about the probate process in Minnesota, or general information about basic rules regarding financial eligibility for Medical Assistance in Minnesota. If the caller is inquiring about estate planning, I can ask about the caller’s current estate plan, and what I tend to consider in general for all clients. So, “free” is more like free information, not free legal advice. So, be prepared for that reality. What a free consult can do is allow you to get to know the style and personality of the attorney to whom you are speaking, and weigh their general competency in the area. Most people have a fairly quick and organic reaction to style and personalities – if the person to whom you’re speaking doesn’t feel like you could trust them or work with them on private, important legal matters, that’s important to know – and, it didn’t cost anything for that information!
On the other hand, the paid consultation is a short-term attorney-client relationship that does not necessarily continue. So, you can ask and get advice about your specific situation and the choices you may have. You will pay what is either an hourly rate or a flat fee for the consult (both are considered customary). This has the obvious advantage of getting straight to the point and establishing an attorney-client relationship, albeit brief, and finding out what you were looking for. The disadvantage is you’re paying for it whether you’d appreciate going on with this person or not, and whether you think their advice was actually worth the money you spent.
I think it’s six of one and half-dozen of the other – these two types of consultations are not meant to be the same, so be careful not to get them confused. Use them for what you’re after – either a “get to know you informational session” or a “I got an answer to my legal issue and now I can move on.” I see the value in each of those options, depending on the reason the caller is coming to the attorney in the first place. So, we’re now back at the beginning and the importance of identifying your legal needs.
I hope this is helpful to those who are not accustomed to “needing an attorney” and I encourage you to invest a little time into considering the things I’ve outlined as a way to get started. Best of luck on the search for an attorney and the solutions to your legal concerns.