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Difference between revisions of "Lawyers & The Law Society"
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Lawyers & The Law Society (view source)
Revision as of 02:12, 18 February 2013
, 02:12, 18 February 2013→Finding and Hiring a Lawyer
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==Finding and Hiring a Lawyer== | ==Finding and Hiring a Lawyer== | ||
Sometimes the best way to find a lawyer is the same way you find a family doctor or | Sometimes the best way to find a lawyer is the same way you find a family doctor or a school for your children: by word of mouth. Ask your friends, family and co-workers if they've ever used a family law lawyer, and, if so, how they liked that person. Did the lawyer return telephone calls promptly? Did the lawyer keep them up to speed on the progress of their file? Was the lawyer's bill reasonable? Did they feel comfortable with their lawyer? You can also ask your doctor, your accountant or your dentist if they can refer you to someone. | ||
The Canadian Bar Association British Columbia's Lawyer Referral Service is another way to find a lawyer. This service keeps a roster of subscribing lawyers in your area, a list of the areas of law they practice and a list of the languages they speak. Call 604-687-3221 in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland or, elsewhere in British Columbia, call 1-800-663-1919. | |||
Yet another way to find a lawyer is by contacting the Legal Services Society. LSS provides legal aid in British Columbia, and, if you meet their criteria, they will refer you to a lawyer and pay for the lawyer's services to boot. Be warned however, that since the provincial government's catastrophic reduction of funding to LSS in 2002, legal aid will generally only be available for people dealing with situations of family violence or where the abduction of children is a possibility. Go to LSS's website for more information about their eligibility criteria. | |||
If none of this works out, you can try finding a lawyer through the Yellow Pages or the internet, but only as a last resort. Typing "vancouver family lawyer" or "best divorce lawyer" into a search engine is a terrible way to find a lawyer: while you will get a ton of results, you won't know anything about those lawyers except for the things they say about themselves on their websites. The same thing applies to picking a lawyer through a Yellow Pages ad. | |||
If none of this works out try finding a lawyer through the Yellow Pages or the internet, but only as a last resort. Typing "vancouver family lawyer" or "best divorce lawyer" into a search engine is a terrible way to find a lawyer: while you will get a ton of results, you won't know anything about those lawyers except for the things they say about themselves on their websites. The same thing applies to picking a lawyer through a Yellow Pages ad. | |||
Remember that not all lawyers practice family law, of course, and this is something you may want to take into consideration. Some lawyers focus exclusively on family law, so that family law is the whole of their practice; others practice family law along with other areas of the law. If a lawyer advertises in the Yellow Pages or online, the lawyer's ad or website will usually say exactly what area or areas of law he or she practices. You may wish to pay special attention to lawyers who tend to spend all or most of their time on family law matters. | Remember that not all lawyers practice family law, of course, and this is something you may want to take into consideration. Some lawyers focus exclusively on family law, so that family law is the whole of their practice; others practice family law along with other areas of the law. If a lawyer advertises in the Yellow Pages or online, the lawyer's ad or website will usually say exactly what area or areas of law he or she practices. You may wish to pay special attention to lawyers who tend to spend all or most of their time on family law matters. | ||
===The First Interview=== | ===The First Interview=== | ||
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Use this first meeting as an opportunity to assess how you feel about each lawyer and how you relate to them; you needn't hire the first lawyer you meet, you are entitled to shop around before you choose the lawyer who is right for you. You can also use your first interview with each lawyer to get that lawyer's take on your problem. Tell him or her about your problem concisely, and let the lawyer ask questions which pull out the details of your problem. | Use this first meeting as an opportunity to assess how you feel about each lawyer and how you relate to them; you needn't hire the first lawyer you meet, you are entitled to shop around before you choose the lawyer who is right for you. You can also use your first interview with each lawyer to get that lawyer's take on your problem. Tell him or her about your problem concisely, and let the lawyer ask questions which pull out the details of your problem. | ||
Don't be shy about asking lawyers about their hourly rates, how they will bill you, and what sort of disbursements (a lawyer's out-of-pocket | Don't be shy about asking lawyers about their hourly rates, how they will bill you, and what sort of disbursements (a lawyer's out-of-pocket expenses for things like photocopying and filing fees) the lawyer will expect that you pay for. Ask what sort of retainer they will require, what their interest rate is on overdue accounts, and whether they will be charging you any additional fees based on their success or the complexity of your problem. Ask whether anyone else in his or her firm will be working on your file, whether you will be billed for their work, and maybe ask to meet them too. | ||
(If you're meeting with a lawyer who | (If you're meeting with a lawyer who also works as a family law mediator or family law arbitrator, and you're thinking of hiring him or her to act in that capacity, you don't want to give the lawyer too many details about your situation. Family law mediators and family law arbitrators must be neutral and impartial. Too much information from just one of you may make the lawyer unable to help resolve your dispute.) | ||
===Hiring your Lawyer=== | ===Hiring your Lawyer=== | ||
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Once you've picked a lawyer you like and have decided to hire him or her, your lawyer will require you to sign a retainer agreement and give him or her a deposit towards your first of couple bills. Hiring a lawyer is called "retaining" a lawyer. A "retainer agreement" is a contract between your lawyer and yourself which you each must sign, and which sets out the legal and financial aspects of your relationship to each other. Read the agreement carefully! If there are any terms you don't understand, be sure to ask your lawyer, and, likewise, if you object to any of the terms of the agreement, express your objection and ask how your concern might be addressed. A "retainer" is a sum of money you will likely be asked to give as a deposit against your lawyer's future services and fees. | Once you've picked a lawyer you like and have decided to hire him or her, your lawyer will require you to sign a retainer agreement and give him or her a deposit towards your first of couple bills. Hiring a lawyer is called "retaining" a lawyer. A "retainer agreement" is a contract between your lawyer and yourself which you each must sign, and which sets out the legal and financial aspects of your relationship to each other. Read the agreement carefully! If there are any terms you don't understand, be sure to ask your lawyer, and, likewise, if you object to any of the terms of the agreement, express your objection and ask how your concern might be addressed. A "retainer" is a sum of money you will likely be asked to give as a deposit against your lawyer's future services and fees. | ||
Never hesitate to tell | Never hesitate to tell your lawyer about any concerns you have about his or her bills or services. | ||
(A family law mediator will ask you to sign an Agreement to Mediate rather than the usual retainer agreement. The Agreement to Mediate will set out the details of the mediator's rate and expectations about payment, and how each mediation session will be paid for. Parenting coordinators will want you to sign a Parenting Coordination Agreement, and will usually ask for both a retainer and a fee deposit.) | (A family law mediator will ask you to sign an Agreement to Mediate rather than the usual retainer agreement. The Agreement to Mediate will set out the details of the mediator's rate and expectations about payment, and how each mediation session will be paid for. The same thing applies to family law arbitrators. Parenting coordinators will want you to sign a Parenting Coordination Agreement, and will usually ask for both a retainer and a fee deposit.) | ||
==How Your Lawyer Charges You== | ==How Your Lawyer Charges You== | ||
