How to Find an Attorney

It's overwhelming to pick up the phone book and scan through page after page of attorneys. You see some that specialize in certain fields, some who don't, and some who you can't really tell exactly what it is they practice. You can't possibly pick up the phone and call them all, but you don't know how to begin the process of choosing an attorney.

Well, the first thing you need to know is what type of attorney you need - no, not their specialty or anything like that, much simpler - criminal or civil? Some attorneys do indeed practice both, but most attorneys tend to stay in one arena or the other. Basically, if you aren't being accused of committing a crime, then you need a civil attorney for just about everything else.

After you know this, it's a bit easier to narrow down the type of attorney you need, but do you still want to have to wade through the phone book or search on the internet to find one? This can take a lot of time, and you have no guarantee you'll find the right attorney for you.

The best resource I have found for finding a lawyer in your area is to actually contact a lawyer referral service. Usually, the attorney pays a fee to be listed with the service, he or she tells the service their specialty, and then the referral service is able to look up for you an attorney who can help you with your problem. You don't need to know exactly what specialty you need in a lawyer; you just need to give the referral service a bit of information about your needs, and they will match you with the best returns. Because the lawyer pays for this service, you usually don't have to pay for the referral.

Typically, you can find a good attorney referral service by contacting your state bar association and asking them who handles referral for attorneys. All lawyers must be registered with their state and have passed the bar examination for that state in order to practice law, so the bar association for your state is the best place to start.