With many lawyers licensed to practice law in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, how do you choose the right lawyer? Choosing the right lawyer in Johor Bahru is a time-consuming, but important. To get started, create a list of potential lawyers. You can consult law firm websites, online resources, bar associations or other referral networks. The next step contact and interview each of the preferred lawyer in person.
1. Identify Your Legal Problem
The first step in the process of finding a lawyer is to understand the problem or issue facing you. The law has many different specialties and sub-specialties, and before you can accurately determine the best lawyer to represent you, you need to determine what kind of lawyer is best suited to address and resolve your problem.
2. Make Sure the Lawyer has the Right Experience
The appropriate level of experience is one of the most critical criteria in selecting a lawyer. You want a lawyer with a track record of success with your type of problem. Such a record of experience will increase the likelihood that the lawyer can help to resolve your problem successfully.
Viewing the law firm’s website will also give you insight into the scope of the firm’s practice. Explore the website of each firm on your “short list” and Google the firm and individual lawyers. These steps will help you assess the depth and breadth of the firm’s practice.
3. Expect the Lawyer to be a Good Communicator
Lawyers are paid to communicate with their adversaries and those sitting in judgment of their cases.
The lawyer should have the ability to communicate in an organized and understandable manner. The lawyer should have a good “bedside manner” and have good judgment as to when in-person communications or e-mail is most appropriate. The lawyer should also realize that over-communicating may be unnecessary and not cost-effective.
When you are asked to make a decision or to act, the lawyer needs to explain succinctly the options available to you, the practical and legal advantages and disadvantages of the different courses of actions and other matters relevant to your decision.
4. Consider the Lawyer’s Professionalism
“Professionalism” is more than personality. It involves certain objective actions and behaviors that distinguish the best lawyers from those who are merely competent.
5. Use a Lawyer in Johor Bahru
Someone familiar with your region will have better knowledge of the local laws and procedures and the personalities of the local judicial or administrative authorities. Moreover, face-to-face communications are generally better than telephone conferences and e-mail, so it may be better to have the specialist located close enough to visit the site of the problem in short order.
6. Assess the Depth of the Lawyer’s Support Network and Resources
Whether you choose a small or large legal firm depends on the nature of your legal problem. A larger firm may have more capacity to handle complex cases or spikes in caseload and numerous offices to handle matters in different regions of the country. A larger firm may also have more depth or breadth of experience than a smaller firm.
A larger firm may have more resources to assist you. For example, a larger firm may be more likely to have an information retrieval system that can save you money on research or writing projects. In the area of preventing legal claims, larger firms are more likely to have informative websites, newsletters and educational publications for clients, periodic client training seminars or breakfast briefings and other valuable “add-ons.”
This list is not intended to cover every situation or to be exhaustive. Other factors will be relevant to individual situations. Nevertheless, this brief list of considerations should assist you in the selection of a lawyer in Johor Bahru that best fits your needs whenever you need to hire a lawyer.