Guides
If you have never hired a lawyer before.
Straight answers to the questions people ask us most, written for someone who does not work in law. No sales pitch, and nothing here is advice about your own matter.
Fees
Your lawyer wants to refer your case. Will it cost you more?
Almost always no. Here is how referral fees actually work, who pays them, and the one thing to ask before you agree.
How lawyers charge, in plain English
Contingency, hourly, flat fee and retainer, what each one really means for your bill, and which kinds of cases usually use which.
Choosing a lawyer
What to ask a lawyer in the first conversation
Nine questions that tell you more than any review site, and what a good answer to each one sounds like.
Do you need a lawyer licensed in your own state?
Usually yes, with real exceptions. What state licensing controls, when a lawyer from elsewhere can still act, and why this trips people up online.
How to check a lawyer is real and in good standing
A five minute check anyone can do, using the free public register every state maintains, and what the results actually mean.
Getting help
Types of case
You were injured and someone else may be at fault
What the first two weeks matter for, why almost nobody pays a personal injury lawyer up front, and the mistakes that are hard to undo later.
When someone dies and you think it could have been prevented
How wrongful death claims differ from injury claims, who is allowed to bring one, and why these cases are slower and more document-heavy.
Wills, trusts and what happens if you do nothing
What the basic documents actually do, the difference a trust makes, and the three things people most often get wrong.
You have been arrested or charged
The few things that genuinely matter in the first day, why the lawyer question comes before almost everything else, and how these cases are usually priced.
Divorce, custody and separating finances
What the process usually involves, how custody decisions are actually made, and why the cheapest route is agreement wherever you can reach it.
You were hurt at work
How workers compensation differs from suing someone, what usually gets claims denied, and when there may be a separate claim against a third party.
Still not sure who to call?
Describe what you need once, and it goes to the members who handle that kind of work.