What Questions Should I Ask A Potential Attorney?

The most important thing to remember when speaking with a potential lawyer is not to be afraid to ask questions. The best and most qualified lawyers will welcome your questions and they will take it as a sign that you have done your homework. Remember that when you are interviewing an attorney, the attorney is also interviewing you to see if he or she wants to take your case. A good lawyer would rather represent a truly prepared client, a client who is committed to getting the best legal representation available. 

Here are the questions you should ask and demand straight answers to in order to make an informed choice of who will represent you.

1) “How many years have you been in practice?”  

This will tell you much about the attorney’s potential experience. But, also ask what they have done all those years. Lawyers can get listed on DUI lawyer directories, lawyer referral services, or in online or phone directories as "DUI lawyers" with no experience whatsoever 

2) “How much experience do you have representing persons who are charged with DUI?” 

You should leave the attorney’s office confident that you have spoken to someone who has a real understanding of DUI law. DUI law is too complex to be trusted to someone who “dabbles in DUI defense.”  

3) “Who in the office will actually be handling the case?”  

This is the most important question that you must ask. The lawyer that you might be speaking with might not actually be the person who does the work on your case or who will be your lawyer at trial. 

When you demand to know who is going to be your lawyer, the lawyer may respond that their firm uses a “team approach.”  They may tell you that all their lawyers discuss your case.  This is just another way of giving you the runaround.  You should ask them why the attorney who is going to court feels inexperienced on specific issues dealing with your case and requires the assistance of other lawyers from the firm.

 The issue is quite simple- do you want a lawyer who will treat you as a valued client or who treats you as a commodity?

4) “Have you ever been disciplined by the State Bar?” 

You do not want a lawyer with a long disciplinary rap sheet and you deserve to know if your lawyer has been disciplined in the past. 

5) “What are all the potential legal costs, including investigators, experts and the like?” 

The lawyer should be honest with you about what your case might cost. You want to be secure that the lawyer is not luring you in with promises of unrealistically low fees and costs. 

6) “What challenges do you see in my case?" 

The lawyer should be able to explain to you what he or she sees as the challenges you face and what they could mean for the ultimate result. 

7) “What will be the final outcome of my case?”  

A good attorney will not promise you a specific result, because it is always impossible to be certain how a case will turn out. Any other answer is dishonest and unethical. A good attorney can only promise to do his or her best job in defending you. No lawyer wins all their cases but it is a certainty that you can’t win an issue your lawyer fails to recognize and raise at trial.