If you are an entrepreneur, then it’s very likely that in the course of your work, you will have dealt with some kinds of legal matters. Whether it’s compliance training or auditing, most entrepreneurs have some kind of experience with the law.
However, just because an entrepreneur’s experienced in commercial law, that’s not to say that they will have any experience in civil law. If you are an entrepreneur who is experiencing some kind of issue in your personal life, then your experience with commercial law won’t be able to help you, but this page will.
Here is everything you need to know about consulting a lawyer for civil matters:
Types of Civil Incidents
Before explaining when it’s right to contact a lawyer, it’s first important to cover the different areas of civil law. Civil law encompasses many things, from divorce to the custody of one’s children. In terms of what civil law actually is, it is a type of law that covers the rights of a person or organization that are not covered by criminal law. When people are found guilty of civil offenses, they aren’t sent to prison and often have to pay out compensation. Common civil incidents are:
* Family-related disputes, such as divorce or child custody.
* Property disputes.
* Consumer disputes.
* Breaches of copyright law.
* Work-related disputes.
* Personal injury.
When Is It the Right Time?
If you are considering contacting a lawyer, then you need to do so when it’s the right time. You should know that for most civil matters, the statute of limitations is around two years. With that said, each case is different and therefore you need to conduct research before you arrive at a decision upon when to make your claim. Most experts would agree that the best time to make a claim is immediately after an incident has taken place, or as soon as possible if it is something like a divorce, inheritance dispute, or claim for child custody.
Contacting a Lawyer
When you decide that it’s the right time to make a claim, you should contact a lawyer. A lawyer will be able to represent you in court or with the defendant’s insurance company if you are making a personal injury claim or suing somebody. Insurance adjusters (the defendant’s insurance company’s representatives) can be very hard to deal with, which is often why it’s best to have a lawyer handle it. A lawyer will be able to effectively negotiate with the insurance company or with the defendant’s lawyers. But how are you supposed to find a lawyer? This post will now go on to answer that question for you.
How to Find a Lawyer
Online Research
The first thing that you need to do if you want to find a lawyer is to conduct online research. There are tens of thousands of lawyers active online. However, you will need to find one that’s in your area. The easiest way to do this is to type in ‘lawyers in’, suffixed by your town or city’s name. Alternatively, you can ask a friend or loved one for a referral if they have ever had to deal with a legal matter that’s similar to yours before.
Reading Reviews
You always need to read a lawyer’s reviews before hiring them. Reviews will give you a good idea of what it’s like working with a lawyer because past clients will leave information about what their experiences with them were like. You should bear in mind that it’s very common for businesses to publish fake reviews nowadays—even lawyers do this. Fake reviews are easy to spot because they all tend to look the same in terms of sentence structure. Watch out for on-site testimonials also, because they are very easy to fake.
Interviewing Them
You should always interview a lawyer before you hire them. The reason for this is that an interview will give you an idea of a lawyer’s level of experience, in addition to their commitment, and how knowledgeable they are in the area of law that you need to be represented in. You can interview a lawyer over video chat if you can’t get out to meet them in person.
Success Rate
Another thing to consider is a lawyer’s case success rate. Most lawyers publish this kind of information on their site, showcasing how many cases they have won and how much money they have had awarded to their clients. Always check out a lawyer’s success rate to get an idea of their efficacy.
Sometimes, you have to consult a lawyer. It doesn’t matter who you are, civil matters can arise. As an entrepreneur, you should be an expert at interviewing lawyers and conducting research into them. Your skills as an entrepreneur will make it easier for you to find the perfect lawyer to represent you.
