Hiring a legal help or a lawyer can be a costly affair, especially for those people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Here are a few things that you should be aware of before getting a legal help.

Define your problem carefully before hiring a legal help. We need a lawyer when we are charged with or charging criminal offense, lawsuit or even a divorce. A skilled lawyer can help you understand complex rules and business negotiations and partnerships, estate planning, adoption tax strategies and much more. Ask yourself if you can solve the problem on your own. There would be cases in which you would be able to solve the situation without getting the help of an attorney. Determine the immediacy of your situation if you need a lawyer. It is advisable to not delay in seeking legal counsel if you have been injured and plan to pursue your rights.

There are a plenty of lawyers available for various legal procedures. You need to find the one that suits your jurisdiction. You need to be aware of the fact that lawyers are licensed to practice in a particular state. For example, a specialist in family law won’t be your best option if you need to file a lawsuit against a firm. A lawyer must be compatible with your budget. Several lawyers do not advertise complete fee for their services. Read legal advertisements carefully, if it sounds too good to be true, then there is definitely a catch in those advertisements. Reputed lawyers don’t advertise on yellow pages.

Be prepared when you call or meet the lawyer you have selected. Make a list of questions that can help you get all the information you need from the lawyer. Don’t agree to anything until you get all your queries answered. Ask references and recent cases the lawyers might have handled in the past to know their credibility.

If you want to hire a legal help against an accidental case, and a lawyer pursues you to hire him or her for your case by contacting you in person (which is called as ‘ambulance chasing’) then it is against the legal rules of professional conduct.

Make sure that you know how to fire a lawyer before you hire. Some contracts specify that even if you fire a lawyer, they still get a large percentage of any future award or settlement that you may receive against the case.