How To Find An Attorney In Los Angeles

Whether you’re interested in filing a lawsuit or defending yourself against a lawsuit, you need to know how to find an attorney for help. This can be a challenge if you’re not sure where to start so we thought we could help.

In this article, you will discover how to find an attorney in Los Angeles.

How To Find An Attorney In Los Angeles

When a legal issue comes up, you want to find the best lawyer fast.

Choosing a lawyer is a serious decision and it can be overwhelming to find the right one for you. There are a few things to consider before you start your search, including what type of lawyer is best for your needs.

Let’s take a closer look …

What kind of lawyer do you need?

The first step on your hunt for a lawyer is deciding what you want the lawyer to do. Maybe you need a contract written up. Maybe you want to file a lawsuit over a car crash. Maybe you want a lawyer to handle a criminal case. These are all different areas of law and require different types of attorneys. You’ll need to know what area of law you’re looking for.

If you’re not sure whether an attorney can provide the services you need, our page on different areas of law can point you in the right direction.

Word Of Mouth

Chances are good that someone you know has needed legal services before. If you’re comfortable, ask around to see if anyone in your circle knows of a good attorney. You may also have a friend or family member that practices law. A friend or family member may offer you a better price than an unrelated lawyer, but may not be able to represent you due to conflicts of interest. That’s not a personal judgment – the law prohibits attorneys from taking on clients that may present a conflict of interest.

National Directory Services Can Be Tricky

There are several large websites that provide directories for lawyers all over the country. These sites typically offer the ability to rate and review attorneys, which can help you get a sense of how other clients have felt about the service they received.

Take these national directory services with a grain of salt. They allow lawyers to pay for advertising and ranking and the paid advertisements are often indistinguishable from the regular directory listings. That means you may be seeing the lawyers who paid the most to the directory, not the lawyer with the best reviews or the lawyer that offers the services you need.

Bar Association Referral Services

While national directory services may be useful for their Q&A sections, it’s safer to use a local bar association referral service to actually find a lawyer. They don’t accept paid advertising, so the attorneys you see are the best match for you. In California, attorney referral services must be certified by the California State Bar Association. This certification means that the service meets certain standards to make sure that your needs are met and your interests are protected. The California Bar provides a complete list of certified attorney referral services.

San Fernando Valley Bar Association Referral Service

The SFVBA has a comprehensive referral service that can connect you to an attorney in the San Fernando Valley, Burbank, Glendale, San Fernando, Calabasas, and the surrounding area. This service started in 1948, making it one of the oldest and most well-established referral services in the area. The SFVBA maintains programs to help provide low-cost legal services to low-income individuals and senior citizens.

In addition, lawyers listed on the SFVBA referral service have an average of 25 years of experience and have professional liability insurance.

Los Angeles County Bar Association Referral Service

Like the SFVBA, the LACBA offers a state bar-certified referral service to help connect you to a lawyer in your area.

Finding The Right Lawyer

When you need legal services, it’s not just about finding any lawyer who works in the right area of law. You need to find an attorney that you feel comfortable with, that has experience in your particular area of need, and that is within your price range.

Most reputable attorneys offer free consultations and case evaluations, so take advantage of that offer to see if a lawyer is right for you. You can visit several different lawyers before deciding on the right one. At those consultations, you should bring all the information you can about your case. That may include records of communication between you and another person or business, financial records, and more, depending on the legal services you’re looking for. That way the attorney has all the information she needs to give you informed answers to your questions.

When meeting with an attorney for the first time, you may want to ask:

• Does the attorney have experience with cases similar to yours?
• How much of the lawyer’s practice is devoted to cases like yours? You want to hire an attorney dedicated to the relevant area of law, not one who occasionally handles your type of case.
• Does the lawyer usually deal with corporate clients or individual clients? As an individual, a corporate lawyer may not be best for your needs; the opposite is also true.
• How long will it take to get the legal services you need?
• What are your chances of getting the outcome you want? Is the issue worth pursuing?
• What are the fees for the services you need? When will the be billed? Is there a way to reduce the fee?
• What are the options for solving your legal problem or meeting your legal need? There may be a number of ways to get the outcome you want.

The SFVBA Can Help

The SFVBA Attorney Referral Service is certified by the State Bar of California and meets the American Bar Association standards for lawyer referral. With a comprehensive membership of over 150 well-established attorneys in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, we can help you find the right attorney in Los Angeles for your needs.