Before ever hiring a business lawyer as a guide for your company, it’s important to ask them three specific questions ahead of time before committing to their services.
Why?
You don’t want to unintentionally end up spending a great deal of money for services that you don’t want, need, or even expect.
Hiring a business law attorney doesn’t have to be a difficult or fearful experience.
In fact, it can be a very empowering decision that helps to set you and your business on the right path from the beginning.
With that in mind, let’s look at the three questions to ask potential business law attorneys before hiring them.
- How Do You Charge for Your Services?
Some people get really scared to talk about money when hiring a lawyer.
But you have to know how this individual is going to bill for their services. Otherwise you’re going to be left in the dark and you could end up paying for things that you don’t really want or need.
If you contact an attorney and a representative at the firm will not share this valuable information with you, you should be wary and consider moving on to another choice.
You do not want to hire an attorney that charges on an hourly basis unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Instead, find a lawyer that charges a flat fee for their services or charges on a project by project basis.
By hiring a lawyer with this payment structure, you’ll always know exactly what you have to pay whenever you hire them for a specific task.
With hourly fees, your lawyer could potentially pad the bill and charge you for many billable hours that you didn’t expect to have to pay for.
- How Does the Lawyer or Firm Intend to Communicate with You?
The key to a successful lawyer/client relationship is effective communication.
One of the biggest problems that lawyers face is properly communicating with their clients on an ongoing basis. They have a difficult time in this area.
When looking for a business law attorney, you want one that is going to effectively communicate with you on a regular basis.
A good example is an attorney that will initiate some form of communication with you at least once per quarter, whether it be an informative email, a regular newsletter, or communications through the regular mail.
You should really think twice about hiring a lawyer if you do not think they will proactively communicate with you.
And if they don’t have a plan in place, they may have an outdated mindset that will keep you wondering and guessing about their next form of contact.
- How Will the Lawyer Respond to Your Ongoing Needs?
When working with a lawyer, one of the usual client complaints is that the attorney or firm is notorious for not responding to their wants and needs.
As a matter of fact, many people complain that their lawyer has gone many weeks without even calling them back.
It’s not that the lawyer doesn’t want to answer your call. In most cases, the lawyer doesn’t have the necessary administrative support available to get back to you quickly.
So, before you even consider hiring an attorney, you have to find out more about how quickly they’ll call you back and respond to your other ongoing needs.
According to Chris Parvin, an eminent business law attorney from Dallas, “In today’s complex and technologically driven business environment, companies need experienced legal representation at all stages of the business lifecycle.”
Just make sure you find a lawyer that has a great support staff and can quickly and effectively respond to you and meet your needs.
Conclusion
Please ask these pressing questions before hiring a business lawyer for your company.
