Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

Re: Finding a Lawyer

You should go about acquiring legal services the same way you would make any other purchasing decision. You can check a lawyer's rating by Martindale-Hubbell (lawyers.com) and learn about his/her practice, but the information will be cursory. You can ask people whose opinion you respect for a recommendation. When you talk to a lawyer, ask about his/her experience and what kinds of cases they've handled.

A lawyer sets his fees based on his experience and what the market will bear. Again, you can shop around and compare. But remember, like many other things, you usually get what you pay for.

Re: Finding a Lawyer

You can check the MSBA website to see if disciplinary action has been taken against the attorney for unethical conduct as determined by Maryland's Bar Counsel.

Attorney's fees must be reasonable. Other than that there is no other requirement. Certain work entails higher fees especially where the matter may be more problematic than the average case of the type involved. The fee may be an indication of the quality of service. However, some attorneys charge higher fees and their service is of lesser quality. Use your common sense and analyze this as you would with acquiring any other service.

Some attorneys charge initial fees because they see the payment by the client as an indication of their sincerity and commitment to pursue the matter. It is unfortunate but there are alot of people who simply waste an attorney's time searching for "do it yourself" information. Many things that people think they can handle without an attorney ultimately are not.

Another issue is the client who began their own legal work only to find out they require an attorney's assistance and then it may cost more because they have complicated matters or created problems that need not have been incurred.

Consider whether you need the assistance of an attorney. It is best to hire an attorney early rather than wait until the last minute. As with most things in life, rush jobs are always more expensive.