How do you know you have a good lawyer for a business?

A major part of my day-to-day schedule involves talking to business owners and startup founders.

And there's a common point of worry that I have heard from them.

Some of them had problems with their business lawyer in the past.

And some of them are using legal services for the first time, so they don't know what to expect.

A common remark is “Lawyers are a headache to deal with”.

Well, they do not have to be. Not the good kind at least.

Lawyers are known to have a lack of human touch in their service.

On a basic level, they provide a slow turnaround time, bad communication, and a few other headaches.

But it's not a lawyer’s problem - it is YOUR lawyer’s problem.

I know many fantastic lawyers who try to go above and beyond for their clients.

As a matter of fact, there are some of them on this platform.

And we follow the same rules.

So here's how you can choose a good lawyer!

(1) Use Specialisation and Expertise

There are lawyers who would just accept any work coming to them.

And it's not their fault, they need business.

However, when stakes are high, remember that a Single Lawyer CAN NOT do everything alone.

Business law is diverse, covering areas such as contracts, intellectual property, employment law, and more.

Look for someone having experience in a specific field of law.

For example, we mostly deal with Contracts.

(2) Test the Waters with Initial Calls

Trust your instincts during initial calls.

A good lawyer will try to understand your business and problems first.

And then they will give a quotation.

Most people will have a set minimum price for their services, but that's about it.

And also, if you feel like they are only preaching about themselves and not understanding your business, then it's a bad fit.

And this does happen.

(3) Bad Communications

Lawyers are particularly infamous for being hard to reach or difficult to communicate with.

And this is not only in responding to inquiries but answering questions in a simple way.

A common problem that we have seen a lot of people complain about is how the quality dips.

Initially, you will find the response time to be good.

But as the work proceeds, they become difficult to reach out to.

Remember - good communication should last throughout the project, not just initially.

And there's no issue with you changing lawyers IF the lawyer is giving you a headache.

(4) Deliverables and Turnaround Time

Many people in the legal industry have two problems with Contracts:

a) They want to include as much jargon as they can

b) They want to make the document as lengthy as possible

And this makes it difficult for a common person to understand what's happening in the document.

And the same logic is then applied to any advisory or consultation.

The same use of jargon. And the same overly long explanations.

And as a business owner, you probably don't want that.

And also having to go back to them time and time again for an explanation.

The clarity should be there from day 1.

Your lawyer should also be able to get things done well ahead of time.

Sometimes “as soon as possible” just means “whenever I want”.

You don’t want that.

That's it!

Only those who have dealt with legal help in the past may be able to actually relate to some of these.

But remember - you can always improve or upgrade your team.

Don't settle for less.

Have good expectations out of people, and run it with people who provide value to you throughout the board.

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