Hiring an attorney can be a daunting and difficult decision. You are aware it could require a significant financial commitment as well as a commitment of time since most legal matters are not quickly disposed of. How do you know you have the right person for the job?
The first questions you need ask yourself are basic and relevant to all legal issues:
- Does the attorney I’m considering specialize in the area of law that I need?
All attorneys are barred through the same process and can practice any area of law, with the exception of patent law. Patent attorneys need to be admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That being the case, most attorneys specialize in a specific type of law, for example, criminal law, contract and transactional law, personal injury law, and intellectual property to name a few. It is important to select an attorney that specializes in the area of law that is relevant to your matter. - Is the attorney local to me and able to practice law in the state I need?
Attorneys are barred in specific states. If you have a matter that needs to be handled in New York while you live in California, you would need to find an attorney that is barred in New York to handle your matter. It is helpful if an attorney is local to you so that you can meet one-on-one if need be but it is not always a critical factor.
Make sure you check with the bar association to confirm that the attorney is in good standing. - Can I talk to this person?
You need to be able to communicate well with your attorney and feel confident that they are listening to your concerns and needs. If you feel uncomfortable with them, they may not be the right person for you. - What experience does the attorney have? How many cases have they handled and what is their approximate success rate?
Is they attorney you’re considering newly barred? If so, who is overseeing their work? You should know how skilled the attorney that you are using is. - Is the firm that you will be using big or small?
In big firms, more senior attorneys tend to oversee the work of less experienced attorneys and do less of the actual work. Many times this is not an issue but you should know who is doing the actual work for you. In smaller firms, often whom you consult with is the person performing the work. - How will you be billed and what will the approximate costs be?
There are three basic ways that you will be billed: flat fee, contingency, or hourly. There are reasons for all three. Flat fee billing is the easiest to estimate at the outset of the case. - Does the firm utilize experienced and supervised paralegals to keep costs down?
Paralegals have legal training and can do much of the legal work associated with cases in order to save the client money since they are not billed at as high of a rate as an attorney.
Questions you need to ask specific to Intellectual Property attorneys?
- What is your technical background?
Patents are written in a technical and scientific manner so the person writing the patent needs to be skilled in the area specific to your patent in most cases. For example, if you are seeking a patent on a computer component, you would not want a biochemist drafting your patent over an electrical engineer - Approximately how many patents/trademarks have you filed annually and what is your approximate success rate?
Patents and trademarks go through long processes to be approved by the United State Patent and Trademark Office so you want to know how successful an attorney has been in going through the process before you get started. - What is your experience in litigation?
Often people will challenge the validity or the use of a patent or trademark so you want to make sure that the Intellectual Property attorney that you select can also defend your work.
Finding the right attorney for you can seem overwhelming but it is possible to get the right person for the job. Using this basic checklist will get you off on the right foot.
