How many times have you wondered if you made the right choice of the law firm you are working with? What dilemmas did you have when deciding on such cooperation and what did you consider? Or are you unsure what to look for when choosing a legal partner for your company?
If any of these questions have flashed through your mind even once, this article is for you. Read it and breathe a sigh of relief that you have chosen well or think about changing your partner.
First – choose a specialist
By definition, every lawyer looks professional, speaks eloquently and knows the law. However, you need to know that there are so many legal specialties that it is impossible to know everything.
So, what advice do we have for you?
Choose a lawyer with the specialization you need. A strong law firm specialization consistent one with your business and what you need from a lawyer is the basis for a successful cooperation. Admit it, would you want a contract with an influencer or software house to be prepared for you by a lawyer who deals with family law or criminal law, for example? Obvious, and yet it is not always the case.
So, trust a lawyer – a specialist, because only he will know how to handle your case successfully.
It is also crucial that the lawyer understands your business – not to put the brakes on it, but to be a partner.
And how do you find a specialist?
Certainly, their website will tell you a lot about what the law firm does. That’s where you should start. It doesn’t matter that you have referrals from acquaintances, family, friends. Whisper marketing is still invaluable, but verification of a referral is essential.
Second – first contact
Working with a lawyer for the subject matter is not the easiest thing to do. Thus, all the more the first contact, as well as cooperation with a lawyer at a later stages should be easy and pleasant.
No one likes to stress about the meeting, as a rule, the very matter with which the client comes to the lawyer is already absorbing enough for him. Also, no one likes to feel that he doesn’t understand what is being said to him – the language of communication really does matter. It doesn’t matter whether you are talking about the law or the weather – you need to understand what is being said to you. If you don’t understand, it is the lawyer’s fault – not yours.
It is therefore advisable to choose one with whom you can find a common language. In addition to the lawyer’s own approach to communicating with you, the specialization of the lawyer and the law firm and the fact that the lawyer knows an industry language that you don’t need to be introduced to also definitely helps in finding your common language.
The first contact is also the moment where you should ask about the law firm’s experience in handling cases similar to yours or ask for references (you can also check their experience on the website under recommendations or references).
Third – WORKFLOW
We have already written a bit about communication when we wrote about the first contact, but workflow is more than that. It’s how the law firm communicates with you and works from the moment it receives your inquiry about cooperation.
It’s a matter of responsiveness, transparency – the offer, the pricing, the scope of activities. It’s a matter of clear and understandable language, as we’ve already mentioned.
You send an email and wait a week for a response without knowing what’s going on in your case? That probably doesn’t put you in a comfortable position, and certainly a response along the lines of: „we have received the email and are working on an offer for you” is better than the grave silence on the other side.
Responsiveness of the law firm you plan to work with for a longer period of time is insanely important. Think to yourself that you have the proverbial fire in your company and urgently need a consultation, you ask for a contract, and there is silence on the law firm’s side. Such a situation certainly does not inspire confidence.
Therefore, it is worth paying attention to whether the law firm offers you a dedicated private counselor at the beginning of the cooperation. Such a counselor will be your first contact lawyer and will not only be up-to-date on all your topics, but will also be the person you call when everything is „on fire and falling apart” and who will always answer the phone or reply to an email.
Similar with the deadlines
„Deadline is sacred,” so it’s important that the law firm working with you sticks to the established deadlines, because only then are you able to run your business smoothly – at least from a legal perspective. Because you know, for example, that you will have a draft contract for a specific date, based on which you can plan further activities in the company.
You got an offer and don’t really know what the scope of services is and what will be the cost? Not very beneficial for you either.
Transparency – of price and scope of services is key.
Everyone likes to know what they’re paying for, and it’s worth looking at the offers received from law firms in this regard. It may sometimes be hard to believe, but the price per 1 hour of work should not be the key criteria for choosing a legal partner. Instead, it is worth looking at what you get for a given price. This does not mean, of course, that it always has to be expensive, but the price should undoubtedly be derived from several things: experience, expertise of the law firm, knowledge and broadly defined customer care.
A proper customer care is a basis.
It’s the activities that the law firm implements so that the Client, in addition to legal knowledge, feels that his business is taken care of. It’s the dedicated personal counselor of the Client, which we’ve already written about. It’s making sure that the cooperation is transparent and that the Client knows what’s going on in its affairs. It’s training for employees, for example, to better introduce them to the company’s legal procedures, and it’s also a proactive attitude, which manifests itself in the fact that a good law firm sees areas that the Client doesn’t notice and that need legal care. And brings these to the Client’s attention.
Summary
Choosing a law firm is not the easiest thing to do. It is even more worth remembering that very often it is a decision for years, for which you should prepare well, based, for example, on the tips we have provided. After all, your business really depends on how such cooperation will go.