Rules-of-thumb for selecting an attorney

[blooz]

When i was going thru a divorce i got the attorney who helped us buy our house. Why? I saw her in a store that sold fancy breads and candy. She told me she was there with her ex-husband who was helping her with taxes. She said "He's diabetic. I brought him in here to see if i could tempt him."
I looked over and saw a guy drooling over the chocolates.
I decided then and there I always wanted that woman on MY side, and certainly not against me.

And she's been good.

[RgrF]

Retired Court Commissioners and Judges would be my first choice.

[michaelb]

I am an attorney. I agree with most everyone else that your criteria make almost no sense, and are not what anyone should be looking at (there are some kinds of cases where it makes sense to go with a "big firm" but certainly not for estate planning).

Most importantly, you want an attorney that you trust and that listens to you and treats your concerns with respect. I think many people are intimidated by attorneys, and end up with the first attorney they contact. Talk to several. You are developing a relationship.

Asking people for a recommendation is good way. Asking an attorney you trust for a referral to another lawyer is one of the best ways.

I disagree with MacMagus about using an estate planner. This may vary by area, but generally I have serious concerns about estate planners. They have a commercial interest in making money off of you, including by the products they sell. An attorney is ethically bound to serve your interests and do what you really want. There certainly are good ethical estate planners, but picking one of those may be even more challenging then finding a good attorney.

Estate planning is definitely a specific speciality in law, and you definitely want a lawyer that does estate planning as significant part of their practice. Depending on the size of your estate, there can be serious tax implications as well, which can be a whole other speciality, so going to a small to mid size firm that can offer both speciailties can be a good idea (many estate planning attorneys can handle both areas).

A criticially important area of estate planning is medicaid estate planning. Depending on the size of your estate, this can often be the most important consideration, outweighing everything else. So having an attorney that has expertise in medicaid law can be critical.

Feel comfortable asking the lawyer about their expertise in estates, tax, and mediciad planning, or bring up and discuss those issues in the initial consultation. It is ok if they indicate that these areas can be complicated, and they will want to review or check on the details, since I think that is usually the honest answer. I would be careful about attorneys or estate planners who suggest what seems like their standard package that supposedly fits all.

[michaelb]

[quote Dennis S]All things being equal, how do these factors affect your decision?

• Big firm vs. 1 or 2-man operation

• Luxurious office vs. modest office

• Extensive advertising vs. low profile

• Big Yellow Page ad vs. small text ad

• Advertising on TV - good or bad
1) 100% this depends on the type of the case
2) not a factor at all usually, unless it matters to you
3) low profile almost always
4) I judge attorneys by their yellow pages ad, so sure. I don't like aggressive sales pitches and ads; look for quality. A ad that says "estate planning" particularly "medicaid estate planning" and "tax" would be good here.
5) advertising on TV is almost always a bad sign.