Choose Joe

It's interesting to me that when I look back on my past 20 years of practicing law, what I usually reflect on are the relationships that I've made with my clients and not the actual legal services that I have provided. I'm of the opinion that, for the most part, the actual legal work necessary to complete a task is pretty much the same no matter which competent attorney you chose. One important exception to this of course is in the area of trial law. But for most other areas of the law the quality of the actual legal paperwork doesn't vary much from lawyer to lawyer.

So why chose one lawyer over another?

It ultimately comes down to who you feel comfortable with. Some people just feel better going to an attorney who will sit down with them and take the necessary time to service their legal needs. Whatever attorney you decide to hire, don't go to an attorney and allow yourself to be treated as "just another client". Demand that the attorney treat you as if you are their only client. The attorney is there to work for you. You are the boss.

Personally, it would frustrate me to go to a large law firm and speak with the attorney for a few minutes and then the rest of my contact is with a para-legal or some other 'non-lawyer' employee. Why can't I just deal directly with the attorney? There is no good reason for you have to settle for this level of service. Why go to a big firm, pay big firm fees and get less service? It makes little sense does it?

Look, if you are having contact with someone other then your attorney, maybe a para-legal or a legal assistant, ask yourself, "Who does this benefit?" Many clients aren't aware that often after they leave the office the para-legal and the lawyer meet to discuss your case and you pay for BOTH of their time. That just doesn't seem right to me. At a minimum, even if you don't hire me as your attorney, discuss this with your attorney to make sure you aren't paying for this practice. Demand that all your contact be with your attorney.

Once I was at a pre-trial conference and I was sitting there all by myself and the other side had hired this large firm with 3 lawyers present. They wanted to settle the case but because of the situation I had to have a trial. At the pre-trial the case was set for trial. The process took all of 15 minutes. Afterwards I was discussing the cost of going to trial with one of the attorneys and I said, "Unfortunately my client's going to have to spend over $4k in legal fees just to have his day in court". The other attorney stated, "4k? We have a firm policy that we have to bill 10k BEFORE the pre-trial on every case". I had less then 5 hours of work in the case at this stage and I was fully informed of my client's position. How much time does it take to prepare for a pre-trial conference for crying out loud? Apparently a lot of time when you send 3 attorneys to a pre-trial conference ! Some would say, "You get what you pay for." My answer would be, "Sometimes you pay for more then what you get!"

Contact me today at (704) 737 -8215 and let's talk. I'm confident that once we spend some time together you will feel comfortable having me service your legal needs.