how do i know if a lawyer is legitimate

by Easter Larkin IV 6 min read

How Do I Know If a Lawyer is Legitimate?

  • Be Sure to Check State Licensing Websites. If your prospective attorney is actually licensed to practice law in the state where you need legal representation, the attorney’s license information will ...
  • Ask Your Friends, Family, Professional Colleagues, Acquaintances or Anyone Else You Trust. When in doubt, you should talk to the people you trust the most. ...
  • Search for Third-Party Rating Services Where the Lawyer May Have a Profile. As there are in most industries, there are third-party rating services for attorneys and law firms. ...
  • Review the Lawyer’s Website and Compare It to the Lawyer’s Competitors’ Sites. ...
  • Use Google and Other Internet Search Engines to Get a More Holistic View of Your Prospective Attorney. ...

So if you're curious, use these five quick ways to research whether your lawyer is legit:
  1. State Bar Profile. Every lawyer who is licensed to practice law in your home state must be listed in your state bar association's directory. ...
  2. Google / Search Engines. ...
  3. Yelp. ...
  4. The Attorney's Own Website. ...
  5. Third-Party Rating Groups.
Sep 18, 2014

Full Answer

What is a lawyer license lookup?

Using a lawyer license lookup is just one way to verify that you’re choosing the right lawyer for your situation. Whether it’s criminal defense or personal injury, sometimes the lawyer with the most prominent billboards or loudest television commercials aren’t quite what they claim to be.

How to trust a lawyer?

To trust a lawyer with your case, you need to know he’s a legitimate lawyer with a license. It’s critical to do plenty of research to find a reputable lawyer. You need to know how often they win, how they work, and if others have had a good experience working with them. A lawyer can have rave reviews online, but how do you verify ...

Who is Mario Madrid?

Verify a lawyer before hiring them. In the Houston area, Mario Madrid is your Texas licensed lawyer for criminal defense or personal injury. Due to his experience as a former Associate District Attorney for the State of Texas, early in his career Mr. Madrid gained a perspective that few other criminal lawyers possess. His intimate knowledge of prosecution strategy has endowed him with an uncanny knack for finding weaknesses in the prosecution’s case and exploiting them skillfully. From 2008 to 2014 he supplemented his experience as a prosecutor with service as a Judge for the City of Houston, where he gained a bird’s eye view of how a judges looks at evidence and how a court is likely to rule on various motions. Combined with his experience as a criminal defense attorney, Mr. Madrid has the ability to “put it all together” to prepare the best possible defense for his clients.

Can a lawyer file a grievance?

People can file a grievance for lawyers who behave unethically. When a lawyer receives a grievance for misconduct filed through the Bar: The State Bar investigates the grievance. If there’s no merit to the grievance, the Bar takes no further action against the lawyer. They dismiss the grievance.

Is a lawyer a good lawyer?

A licensed lawyer isn’t necessarily a good lawyer. Now that you’ve confirmed the lawyer has a license keep researching to find out if they have any grievances. The website for the State Bar of Texas also reports any grievances filed against a lawyer. People can file a grievance for lawyers who behave unethically.

1. First Things First – Make a List of Potential Lawyers

The very first thing that you’ll want to do is to make a list of potential lawyers in your hometown. This will allow you to make the entire process easier as you go through the step below, especially since you’ll be able to cross some names from your list if you determine that they are not good enough for representing you in court.

2. Next, Check Whether They Passed The Bar

Although this seems quite obvious, it is still worth mentioning, especially since someone might be looking for an attorney for the very first time. The lawyer needs to have a license in the state where they are practicing law, which means that an amazing attorney from Florida cannot be your legal representative if you live in New York.

3. Checking The Testimonials And Reviews is Crucial

Yet another thing that can help you determine if the attorney is legit is checking the testimonials and reviews other clients posted online. Of course, the first place you should look at is the official website, however, the reviews posted there might not be as honest as they look.

4. Utilize Specialized Platforms

There is a wide range of online platforms such as Qredible that allows you to find a licensed lawyer in a manner of minutes. They all work in a similar way – you’ll need to choose the legal issue that you have, as well as your location. You’ll get a list of lawyers in a manner of minutes.

5. Googling Their Names is Wise

We already mentioned that you should read the reviews and testimonials, however, you should also choose to google their names. Once you do this, look for any info about the cases they have worked on and check if you can find any info on the current or previous clients that they had.

6. Check Their Websites For Basic Contact Information

Another clear method of determining if an attorney is legit is to check if they have posted their basic information on their official website. You should look for a telephone number, email address, name of the company, as well as the physical address of their company.

7. Ask Family Members or Friends For Help

Another thing that you can try is to ask your family members, friends, or colleagues for a recommendation. Of course, an ideal situation is that they have used their services before, but, they still might know someone who has helped someone else win their case.

Be Sure to Check State Licensing Websites

If your prospective attorney is actually licensed to practice law in the state where you need legal representation, the attorney’s license information will be publicly available on a government website associated with the state of licensure.

Ask Your Friends, Family, Professional Colleagues, Acquaintances or Anyone Else You Trust

When in doubt, you should talk to the people you trust the most. Odds are good that at least one of your friends, family members, neighbors, professional colleagues or acquaintances has had a legal issue requiring legal representation come up at some point.

Search for Third-Party Rating Services Where the Lawyer May Have a Profile

As there are in most industries, there are third-party rating services for attorneys and law firms.

Use Google and Other Internet Search Engines to Get a More Holistic View of Your Prospective Attorney

Google is where most people turn when they want to know just about anything. You should treat your search for an attorney far more seriously than you would treat your searches for which nearby restaurants are still open or where you should get your car’s oil changed, but the process you employ to conduct the search should be pretty similar.

Andrew Daniel Myers

Here in New Hampshire the names of all licensed attorneys are kept by the New Hampshire Bar Association and you can call them or go to their web site to find out if an individual is actually a licensed attorney in New Hampshire.#N#There are so many scams out there right now that you have every right at the...

Jeffrey Michael Donato

I agree with Mr. Kovacs. Loan Mitigation Groups may have one attorney and be a group of non-lawyers working together so they can attempt to get a fee alleging the work of an attorney. They may be legitimate, but usually they are scams. If you want an actual attorney, check the Bar Association in your county.

Robert W. Kovacs Jr

Personally, I have not come across a “legitimate” loan migration or modification group. Of course there may be one out there but I have never come across one.#N#The government program is designed to be navigated by consumers without the aid of attorneys. You can find more information about...

1 attorney answer

Take a look at my website for some information on this.#N#Mr. Larkin is licensed to practice law in CA and is located in San Diego. His response here does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney/ client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to...

Jeffrey Daniel Larkin

Take a look at my website for some information on this.#N#Mr. Larkin is licensed to practice law in CA and is located in San Diego. His response here does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney/ client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to...

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