The lawyer is involved in many areas and in very different situations: family life, corporate law, labor law … He can just advise you or take legal action. Here’s how to choose it to be well defended.
Identify precisely your need
You can use an expert lawyer such as construction accident attorney to advise you in a specific area of law (drafting a company’s articles of association or a contract) or to defend you in court proceedings (divorce or litigation with a professional).
Generalist or specialist?
As for doctors, there are generalists and specialists. The former can, in principle, take care of all the files. But, in fact, they have often been oriented over time to particular areas of law, without necessarily holding a certificate of specialization (GPs often deal with cases relating to family law, work, real estate …). The specialized lawyers, on the other hand, have officially validated their specific skills by a certificate.
You can as well address a generalist as a specialist, the whole thing being to verify that it has sufficient knowledge in the field which interests you: a simple call of wire is enough for that. A conscientious lawyer is not supposed to take a case in an area he does not know, especially if it is complex. However, for thorny and very specific problems (patent law, company statutes, town planning law, tax law …), contacting a specialized lawyer will give you the assurance that the professional has all the required skills.
For simple and classic cases (divorce by mutual consent, contestation of rental leave, return of security deposit, late delivery of goods …) you can either call a specialist or a GP.
Do not choose your lawyer randomly
Choosing a lawyer near you is the most common solution. It is indeed more practical, if you use him for a consulting mission (drafting of contract, legal consultation …) or for a procedure taking place near your place of residence, because that will facilitate your meetings and your trades. On the other hand, if your case is judged far from home, it may be better to take a lawyer on the spot. In fact, the lawyers depend on a bar and each bar is attached to a tribunal de grande instance (TGI). A lawyer can defend you everywhere in France, but in another TGI, he has, with exception, need to resort to a “postulant” (that is to say a colleague of the bar attached to this court), to perform the procedural documents. This entails an additional cost. So it’s best, in this case,
Example: you live in Marseille and your trial takes place in Paris. Either you take a lawyer in Marseilles who will plead the case for you, but will have recourse to a Parisian lawyer for the pleadings; or you take directly a Parisian lawyer. This last option can be more interesting, if your business is simple and you can follow it remotely after a first appointment.
How to find it?
Word of mouth is an effective way to select a lawyer. Indeed, if it is recommended to you, it is because it gave satisfaction to one of your acquaintances or that this one knows it personally. On the other hand, avoid being defended by a member of your family or a friend, because your reports will be more complicated and the risks of quarrel exist …
If nobody in your entourage (friends, family, notary) could give you the details of a lawyer, you can consult a list of professionals with the Bar closest to your home (which, moreover, often has a website offering a directory with a search engine specialization), but also to the district court of your city, or possibly in your town hall. You can also use the phone book and the internet.
Know that free consultations can be organized in courthouses, town halls, houses of justice and law or in trade shows. It is a good way to have a first contact or to be directed to the specialist you need.
