Legal Question in Administrative Law in New York

Re: Finding the Right Lawyer

You should be as circumspect in hiring a lawyer as you would any other professional, including your doctor and dentist.

Even if you had only a half-ton of lawyer friends, they should be able to refer you to a generalist.

If they cannot, feel free to give me a call after reviewing my web site.

I practice in NYC & Long Island.

Re: Finding the Right Lawyer

I understand your dilemma, for the initial "x" years of my practice was with the mega-large firms in NYC. Even now, as you can see from my website, I limit my practice to certain areas and would not consider myself a "generalist" per se. (For example, I don't do trust & estates work or real estate closings.)

I do know someone who is excellent, however -- with top notch credentials and reasonable rates. I would happy to give the referral, if you desire.

-- Kenneth J. Ashman; www.AshmanLawOffices.com

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship, which, under the policies of Ashman Law Offices, LLC, can only be created by a execution of a formal retention agreement.

Re: Finding the Right Lawyer

I don't know of any list for generalists. One way would be to ask for recommendations from friends.

I note from your ZIP code that yoy live in the Village. I lived at 1 University Place before moving to Hastings 24 years ago.

I have been engaged in the part-time private practice of law since 1964. I work from my home and charge reasonable fees.

If you are interested in speaking further, send me an E-Mail.

Re: Finding the Right Lawyer

You ask an excellent question: many people don't know how to find an attorney, or to compare one attorney to another. Most ask their friends who are attorneys and, like you, find that most of their attorney-friends are in highly specialized areas of practice.

You may want to check Martindale-Hubbel which does provide some ratings for some attorneys. Note, however, that M-H charges attorneys for their listing and therefore many are not M-H listed (for example, I'm not). Also, very few of the attorneys that are M-H listed are not rated.

In addition to M-H, you may want to consult with your local bar association which can refer you to any of its members (but note that there is no qualification or rating system that I'm aware of that they use to determine who to refer to whom). In NYC there are several bar associations: the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and New York County Bar Association are two of the most prominent. They are listed in the phone book and on the Web.

What you need is a good general practitioner who can handle your personal business. Sometimes it's worth asking your attorney-friends who they use for such functions (though they often use someone in their firm and thus get a highly discounted rate which would not be available to you).

Unfortunately, there is no general way to determine who's who and who's worth what as attorneys go.

If you'd like to chat about your particular needs I am available to do that but only if you think it will be of assistance. You can reply to me via lawguru.com or directly at [email protected].

In any event, I wish you good luck in your search.