Many people think that hiring the “best” lawyer means hiring the best-educated lawyer, with the most awards, from the most prestigious firm.  But these are not the crucial elements to consider when hiring a lawyer.  The two crucial elements are: whether the lawyer cares about you, and how much experience he has.

 

Does the Lawyer Care?

 

This is the most important consideration.  If your lawyer doesn’t care about you, everything else is irrelevant.  It doesn’t matter how many awards he’s won, how intelligent he is or what firm he’s from – none of this will be put towards helping you and your case.

 

When you hire a lawyer, you are hiring him to fight for you.  You are relying on him to fight with the same tenacity and passion you would have if fighting for yourself.  Your lawyer will only fight for you this way if he cares about you and your case.  

 

In court, at any given time, only one lawyer can stand up and fight on your behalf.  If that lawyer doesn’t care about you, it won’t matter how big or how well-known his law firm is.

​

The Lawyer’s Experience    

 

Experience is the second most important consideration – not intelligence, education or awards.  You’re hiring a lawyer to fight for you in court – not to parade as the smartest or best-educated person in the room.  Sure, the other attributes are nice, and they look good, but fighting experience is what counts most.  In this regard, litigating is like boxing: only a limited amount can be learned by studying – ability is mostly determined by experience fighting in the ring or courtroom.

 

What you want to know is how many times your lawyer has gone to trial.  Not how many times he’s been to court.  Not how many times he sat as “second chair” next to the lead lawyer in “first chair.”  The question is: how many trials has your lawyer conducted as lead counsel?