Daniel Chammas: Questions to Ask a Lawyer

Hiring a lawyer can be a difficult process, particularly if you have no previous experience with law and thus need to start from scratch in building your case. During the course of your search, it is prudent to speak to every legal professional you are considering, to get an idea of what they can offer to you and whether or not your personalities will gel to make you an effective team. Daniel Chammas understands that cooperation between lawyer and client is crucial to building the strongest case possible, so he has come up with a few questions that you should ask your prospective lawyer during that first interview to find out if they are the right choice for you.

How Long Have Your Practiced Law?

This should be the very first question you ask when you sit down with a lawyer, as you will need to establish if you are working with a veteran or somebody who is fresh out of school. If they don’t have the pre-existing credentials and experience, you are going to have to grill them about their education and why they think they should be allowed to work on your case ahead of more experienced options.

What Are Your Costs?

Establish the fees you will be expected to pay early in the conversation. This will allow you to see if the lawyer is outside of your price range. You should ask about how you will be billed and how often, in addition to trying to get a ballpark estimate for the cost of the case as a whole.

What Are Your Opinions On My Case?

This will allow you to determine how honest the lawyer will be with you if you do work together. If they refuse to look at any of the negative aspects of the case and won’t tell you things that you may not want to hear, you can’t rely on them to properly consider every aspect of the case. A good lawyer should approach the case with a critical eye, pointing out both strengths and weaknesses. It is here where you should ask about the likely outcome for the case, based on what the lawyer has told you.

How Often Will We Communicate?

Daniel Chammas believes that communication is essential during the course of any case, as failure on the lawyer’s part to keep a client up-to-date can lead to a number of issues. As such, you should establish how communication will happen early on. Try to create a set schedule that also allows for flexibility if a major issue arises.

The Author writes articles for law and business field. He has also contributed to Wikipedia, Squidoo and Hubpages. His articles have been published in print as well as online magazines.