Legal Services, Lawyers, Attorneys, who needs them?

The answer is easy, we all do. It is unfortunate that this is where our society has taken us, but statistics tell us that each one of us will need legal council 3-5 times in our lives. These services may include accidents, wills, estate planning, insurance or home owner disputes. The question is where do we turn for help. There are several options available. Each has its' strength and weakness but may be appropriate depending on what you are looking for.

 Free Internet Legal Advice - There are lots of people on the internet that are willing to provide you with free advice and enjoy doing it. Many of them do not posess any type of license or degree so try to learn as much about them as you can before blindly following their advice. Some of them may try to sell you a service or request a sign up fee to begin helping you. These kinds of resources are good for second opinions and often time will provide suggestions as to what kind of attorney you should consider and what you should do. Occasionally you will find a retired attorney that is trying to give something back or still wants to stay active; these people are usually very good and helpful.

Legal Classifieds - There are numerous sites similar to this one that provides listings and contacts of lawyers and firms looking to establish or grow their clientele. There are some good up and coming stars in this area and the economics are on your side but you have to go in with your eyes wide open to make certain you are getting results for what they are charging.

Prepaid Legal - These are your basic entry level legal groups. Usually you have numerous "newbies" to the business that do all the running and leg work for a couple of senior members. There are a lot of these kinds of organizations out there and they have their appeal to smaller to midsize companies and their employees where the company does not have attorneys of their own to help their employees. My experience has been that you get very basic service here. If you need a will, a lease agreement looked over, or a dispute over a traffic infraction they can help. Anything more complex that is over the "newbie's" head may take a considerable length of time and work on your part to get them to follow through. I'm sure that not all of these companies have this lack of responsiveness, but most are.

Legal Blogs - A large number of legal firms have their own blog sites or live help lines. Many of these sites are sponsored by firms as well. These sites allow you access to the firm, get to know their people and see if you or your challenge may fit with their line of experience. It also will help you to know if you feel you can work with this group of people.

Family or Friend Referrals - These are usually the best recommendations and connections one can have. Strongly consider recommendations from friends or family that have had good interactions and been pleased with their results. There are a lot of families that use the same attorney for all their members and it usually results in a better more thorough representation. A good lawyer is very professional and will not discuss intimate details regarding other family members and respects each person's privacy from the rest of the family.

My hope is that you will never need an attorney, lawyer or legal service but if you do maybe we have shed some light on the search for legal representation.