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How to Pick the Right Cincinnati Lawyer

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Do I need to pick a lawyer in Cincinnati?

Does the lawyer have to be from Cincinnati? Can her office be in Dayton? Columbus? Can you “cross the river” and go into Kentucky to find your lawyer?

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How to pick the right Cincinnati lawyer

Where to start when you have no idea how to pick the right Cincinnati lawyer for you.

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Ask friends for suggestions

Ask for a recommendation. If you know someone (friend, family member, co-worker) who has had a good experience with a lawyer, find out the lawyer’s name. Even if your friend’s lawyer was a divorce lawyer and you are looking for a personal injury lawyer, the friend’s divorce lawyer can probably make a recommendation. Birds of a feather flock together. In other words, good lawyers know other good lawyers.

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Do research on Google or bing

Even if you can get a recommendation, look up the lawyer online. So, what qualifications should you look for?

First Important Consideration When Selecting a Lawyer: Experience.

Cincinnati Lawyer
Cincinnati Lawyer – Law School

Research the lawyer’s experience in this particular area of the law. Once someone graduates from law school and passes the bar, he or she is (terrifyingly) eligible to represent clients. New graduates need a lot more training. They can get it by working for another lawyer or a law firm, clerking for a judge, or by graduating from the school of hard knocks. But, any way you slice it, new graduates have a lot to learn, and you probably do not want the new lawyer to use your case as a learning experience.


Second Important Consideration When Selecting a Lawyer: Focus

The law is complicated. No one, no matter how smart he or she is can know every area of the law well. If you were involved in a car accident, you need a lawyer who “does” car accident cases. If you need to sue a pharmaceutical company, you need a lawyer who knows about suing pharmaceutical companies. Do not hire a car accident lawyer to represent you in a case against a drug company. Instead, hire a lawyer who works in the right field.


Third Important Consideration When Selecting a Lawyer: Is the Lawyer a Good Personality Match?

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How to Pick the Right Cincinnati Lawyer – Personality

A lawyer is a good match for you if you feel like you can communicate well with him or her. You do not need to be friends. Frankly, you do not even need to like your lawyer. But please, do not hire a lawyer who intimidates you so much that you feel like you cannot tell him or her the whole story. And, do not hire a lawyer seems unconcerned with what is important to you.


Fourth Important Consideration When Selecting a Lawyer: Does Your Case Match the Lawyer’s Practice?

We all know that most lawyers practice law to make a living. Most personal injury lawyers take cases on contingency, meaning the lawyer gets a percentage of what the client wins. Most other kinds of lawyers bill an hourly rate. If you need someone who works on contingency make sure the lawyer has experience with contingent fee cases.


Fifth Important Consideration When Selecting a Lawyer: Is the Lawyer Good?

How on earth is someone who does not know any lawyers supposed to know if a lawyer is good? Of course, if the lawyer’s current and past clients are happy, that is a good sign that the lawyer does a good job. Additionally, if other lawyers sing his or her praises, that is a good sign.


Sixth Important Consideration When Selecting a Lawyer: Trust Your Gut.

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Trust Your Gut

Before you hire a lawyer, talk to him or her. Does this person seem to understand? Does the lawyer sound like she knows what she is talking about? In the end, following your gut may lead you to the right lawyer.


What Is Not Important in Deciding Which Lawyer to Hire?

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I will let you in on a secret. The ability to make a good ad or come up with a catchy slogan is completely unrelated to some one’s ability to practice law. Some lawyers who run memorable ads practice law well and some do not. Do not hire a lawyer just because you can remember his number or his mascot.


The Lawyer’s Dad

A lot of lawyers have children who also become lawyers. A great lawyer can have a terrible lawyer for a kid, and a terrible lawyer may have a child who ends up being a great lawyer.

Just for fun, this is an entertaining article about the hallmarks of a terrible lawyer. It’s an entertaining read.

Kim Beck

Attorney Kimberly Beck

Cincinnati, Ohio

Attorney Kim Beck is the managing member of Beck Law Center, located in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She has 15 years of experience as an attorney, mostly on the defense.  She now represents plaintiffs in personal injury cases involving a variety of injuries caused by defecting drugs/ pharmaceuticals, medical malpractice, and other series accidents.  If you would like more information about her background and experience, please review her profile page.

Attorney Advertisement.  Beck Law Center provided this post as general information and should not be construed as creating an attorney/client relationship.  It may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction.  It is not intended as a substitute for legal advice.  Further, this correspondence is not protected by privilege.  No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this Post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.

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