In today’s highly litigious “everyone’s out for Number One” dog-eat-dog society, there’s a far greater chance that at any given time you’ll need to find a lawyer before you’ll need to find a doctor. Ideally, you have a relationship with a legal professional before you need him or her, but most of us who actually have to work for a living cannot afford to keep an attorney “on retainer” in this fashion. There are a number of “legal clubs” in the U.S. to which you pay a membership fee that operate like health insurance; the drawback here is that you may be limited to services from only one or two participating law firms. Advance planning can make it easier to find a lawyer when you need one.


Areas of the Law

Just as you wouldn’t want a cardiologist treating you for an eye problem, neither do you want an contract representing you in traffic court. As in the case of medicine, you’ll find that attorney listings are generally categorized according to a number of specialties. When you conduct you attorney search, you find that some of the areas of specialization are:

• Criminal law
• Divorce and Family Law
• Traffic and DUI
• Torts (Personal Injury Law)
• Immigration
• Real Estate
• Business and Contract
• Wills and Estate Planning

It will be easier to find a lawyer if you can anticipate your needs well in advance. The most obvious is the area of Wills and Estate Planning. Death comes to us all, eventually; if you have substantial wealth or assets, it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer directory long before you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness (including old age); otherwise, the State will decide what becomes of it after you are gone, and chances are that Bechtel or Halliburton will get the lion’s share.


Consult a lawyer directory

You find an attorney search in most telephone books; there’ll be a lawyer directory by alphabetical listing followed by a listing by specialty, which can make your attorney search easier. (Incidentally, although we’ve used the terms “attorney” and “lawyer” interchangeably, there is a slight difference; anyone can represent you as an “attorney” – even yourself – but only a licensed professional with a law degree can call him/herself a “lawyer.”)

If you already have an attorney with whom you have a relationship, a lawyer referral may be an alternative to searching an attorney directory. Just as an osteopathic doctor will refer a patient to an oncologist is cancer is suspected, so too may a contract attorney refer a client to an immigration lawyer if just issues come up.


A Challenge

It’s much more difficult to find a lawyer when you’re in the middle of a legal situation, since the stress and the numerous issues that must be dealt with can make it difficult to think clearly at a time when such thinking is needed the most. The lawyer referral process is the easiest and most effective, but only if you have already established such a relationship ahead of time. Planning ahead is the most effective strategy in simplifying the process required to find a lawyer.