How to find a straight speaking lawyer?
The problem with waffly lawyers is that they look a lot like straight speaking lawyers.
Sometimes they sound like them too, at least for a while.
Big legal words tend to be used by old fashioned lawyers who don't want to change.
Or they are used by nervous lawyers who would rather their clients didn't ask too many questions.
This is a guide for the perplexed during your google search: how to find a straight speaking lawyer.
1. Clues on their website that they might not be a straight speaking lawyer
Can you judge the words of a book by the cover?
No, but it gives you an idea what to expect.
Because both are about communication.
A bad photo, typos or clunky fonts all speak to an old fashioned way of doing business.
And a confusing website probably means a confused lawyer.
2. How easy is it to arrange a call?
A straight speaking lawyer will be used to having calls with prospects and giving a bit of free advice in many cases.
If they make it difficult, they presumably don't have many such conversations.
This might be because they have lots of referral clients and so don't need 'walk-ins' or website traffic.
But if you have found this blog, you want someone who is used to website traffic and can talk to people like you.
3. Do they talk human?
Once you have them on the phone it becomes much easier to tell the cut of their jib.
A plain speaking lawyer will engage in pleasantries, (because they are human), and then get down to business (because they are busy).
They don't want any miscommunication, so they will ask questions and clarify any perceived confusion.
This should feel like confidence rather than rudeness.
The call will end with a definite action point on your part or their part.
A joke for lawyers this. Latin for 'the thing speaks for itself'. Any lawyer who makes a lawyer's joke, let alone in Latin, is probably a little rarefied.
Latin should not be used in legal documents either.
They are not a straight speaking lawyer.
(This is not always a bad thing - the world needs those curious experts who live and breath the dust on their law books - but for someone who understands real life, you should look elsewhere.)
5. Set a mini deadline
On the call, agree a deadline for the lawyer to do something. For example you could ask them to send out a quote by the end of the day.
A straight speaking lawyer will tell you if it isn't possible.
Whatever deadline they set they will keep.
Or, where something unexpected happens that prevents them from doing so, they will let you know before the deadline passes.
So these are my 5 tips for finding a straight speaking lawyer.
Clients feel most of this instinctively but can't quite identify why one lawyer is different from another.
Hopefully this little guide helps you sort the straight speaking lawyers from the waffly kind.
But whatever you do, remember that old rule:
Caveat emptor.
(Couldn't resist, sorry.)
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