You’d rather not do it, but sometimes you can’t help but rely on a lawyer. Where can you find a ‘good one’ and how is the fee calculated so that you have some guidance?
Who should you take?
A well-known?
Some lawyers have a name like a clock, but this does not mean that you are more likely to win with them. Often those ‘well-known’ lawyers do not even handle your case. They often find a rental dispute or a discussion about an invoice a routine job and then leave that to their employees. From the traffic lawyers in Brisbane you can find the best deals now.
What is his specialty?
That is of course also very important. A certain lawyer may be reputable in the area of divorce, but may be less strong in rental cases, for example, in which you are just getting involved. It is also important for you that your lawyer is in touch with the SME world. After all, solutions that work well for a multinational may not be feasible at all for a ‘small self-employed person’.
- Tip. You can of course rely on word of mouth from colleagues. However, if you want to look for a lawyer based on a specialty yourself, you can do so in the website you can search for a lawyer in your region who specializes in a specific subject (eg. rent) that you need at that time. Every lawyer states his preferred matters on that site.
- Make an appointment. Make an appointment with the lawyer of your choice for ‘first advice’. It is best to agree on the cost price in advance so that you are not faced with any surprises afterwards. During such a first interview you already know if it ‘clicks’ with that lawyer and you can learn something about his way of working. If he already turns around, makes an uninterested impression or fails to explain something in an intelligible way, this will usually not improve. It is best to look for someone else.
What will it cost?
Costs and fees
Your lawyer’s statement consists of two parts. On the one hand there is the fee and on the other there are various costs.
The fee
The possibility exists to agree on a fixed amount for a certain case, but often this is not done because it is not always possible to estimate in advance how the case will evolve. Usually we work with a fee based on a percentage of the value of the case or with an hourly rate. The lawyer determines this hourly rate freely, but it can still be corrected with a coefficient, depending on the financial situation of the client, the urgency of the case, etc.
Insist on working with a so-called fee agreement drawn up by the Bar Association. Have all costs included here, as well as the way in which the fee is calculated.
Good to know
Since 1 January 2008, you as the winning party will receive a lump-sum reimbursement from the losing party for the costs and fees of your lawyer.
