Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Attorney

You can start at the State Bar of California website and search by attorney name. It will tell you if the attorney has received discipline, when he/she was admitted to the State Bar, and the law school and university he/she went to.

You can run the name through an internet search engine. Also, you can call the Better Business Bureau in the attorney's locale to see if there have been any complaints.

You also can go to the courthouse and -- perhaps -- index the attorney's name on the computer and see what kind of cases he/she has handled and the result.

You can also look in Martindale-Hubbell and see if the attorney is peer-rated, and also the types of clients he/she normally represents, and perhaps some names of clients.

Finally, if you find the attorney's name on a court docket and a trial or hearing is coming up, you can visit the courtroom on that date and observe how the attorney comports him/herself and whether he/she seems knowledgeable about the subject.

Re: Attorney

The best source of information is that which comes from a former client of the attorney. If that info is not available, the second best source is from other attorneys who do not practice in the same area as the area of law you have a need in.

It is also a very good idea to get a second opinion before deciding to hire any attorney.

Also, it takes an attorney several years to master any area of law, so you should look to law firms that have several years experience in the area of law you have a concern with.