In any field, there are sometimes incompetent and unscrupulous specialists. Legal services are no exception. Movies, TV series and television shows have given rise to a string of bizarre ideas about the proceedings of a court hearing, the daily lifestyle of lawyers and their work. The most surprising thing is that some lawyers believe in some of what is presented and treated as artistic expression, created to ward off boredom, as a standard. Less surprising is that potential clients take the creative fiction at face value. But what does it mean to be a “good” lawyer? How do you distinguish a scammer from a professional? In answering these questions, let’s dive into some common and misleading myths about lawyers and legal practice.
Myth 1- A lawyer knows everything
The phrase “you’re a lawyer” has long been a meme that describes lawyers as all-knowing. However, it is impossible to know everything because there are many fields of law with each having its own characteristics and nuances. In fact, no lawyer, no matter how smart, can know everything.
Some lawyers specialize only in criminal cases, some in civil or commercial disputes. Having knowledge of only the general provisions in different areas of law and taking on all cases in a row doesn’t make for an expert in all these areas. Each branch of law has its own specifics. Even within the private law and public law blocs, the laws are largely different. A major in civil law will provide victory in a complex contractual claim between legal entities, but will be less helpful in a family dispute over child custody in a divorce.
Myth 2- Lawyers are mostly needed only in court
Lawyers deal not only with disputes in courts. Their job ranges from drafting contract documents according to the client’s business, to developing user agreements for websites, formalizing dismissals, taking part in on-site audits of tax services, drawing up job descriptions, etc. Getting a lawyer involved in your business activity can protect you from losses and fines.
Also it is worth noting that a small business does not necessarily have to employ a lawyer or enter into an agreement for regular legal services. When the situation calls for it, one-off consultations are sufficient.
Myth 3- How much does a “good” lawyer cost?
There is a belief that a competent lawyer is expensive. This is wrong! There are simply people who know how to present themselves and sell their services, but this in no way depends on the quality of the work.
What do clients pay for? They pay for legal assistance to solve their problems. The amount of the legal fee depends on the complexity and volume of the work. Based on their area of interest and requested fee, clients choose legal specialists. Make no mistake — A client pays for specific actions and services, and not for a “guarantee” of a positive outcome of the case.
In my practice, there was a criminal case in which, after a short time, the client abandoned me and hired another defense lawyer at a high cost, despite the fact that by that time, I had had acquittals in similar category of cases. After 2 months, disappointed with his new defense lawyer, the client returned and asked me to take up his case again, I asked what caused the withdrawal from me. And I was surprised to hear his response: “You charged me too little for the case. The other lawyer took more. And you did not give me guarantees. Therefore, I thought that you were working for the police.”
Myth 4- All lawyers are scammers / lawyers save people
Both opinions are erroneous. In reality, there is no white and black magic, it all depends on who uses it. Legal knowledge is a force that can be used in different ways. A lawyer, like any other person is just a profession, its content depends on the individual. In the remarkable book by Genrikh Padva, “From the Scrip and from Prison… Notes of a Lawyer,” you can find various images of lawyers, as well as an example of the amazing love of life and faith in goodness that is required when working with the dark side of human society.
Myth 5 – Finding a good lawyer
There are different ways to find a lawyer:
A. On the recommendation of friends and acquaintances.
At first glance, this is a good method, although it is not always effective. The fact is that a person recommends a lawyer based on his relationship with him or subjective opinion formed on other people’s reviews. The downside here is that opinions are not always disinterested or objective and may be tainted by personal gains such as a percentage of the fee the client brought.
B. Contact a lawyer located near your home.
This can simply be done with the help of a sign on a building. The only problem with this method of searching is that you don’t know who you’ll be communicating with. Understanding how suitable a lawyer is for you and whether he is capable enough to take on the solution to your problem, goes beyond a face to face conversation. A proper research on the lawyer’s competence is very important.
C. On the Internet.
To speed up your search, you can use the internet. In this case, the search can be configured by geographic location, operating hours, category of cases, as well as by specific situations and issues. However, it is important to understand that the internet does not determine which lawyers are good and which ones are bad.
The internet is just a platform where sites are hosted, and the display of the site depends on the search query and the presence of these words in the text of the site. For example, if you search for “good lawyer,” the search will show sites on whose pages such phrase appear. If you enter “criminal lawyer” into the search, the search engine will return sites which contain a similar combination of words and their derivatives.
The advantage of searching on the internet is that in a short time you can see a large number of lawyers who offer their services to solve the issues of your interest. On the other hand, not all lawyers have websites and few share their practice on the internet. In addition, there are a lot of fake lawyer sites on the internet, promising to win any case as soon as the client pays money. To avoid meeting with such crooks, you may narrow your search to verifiable services such as LawListers. This is a user-friendly free platform that offers fast, quality and confidential legal support. With proper research and due diligence, LawListers has been able to gather some of the best and affordable lawyers from all over the world. To help you make an informed decision about choosing a good lawyer, try lawlisters.com
