Lawyer Search

With Jack Wax, Media Relations Director of The Missouri Bar

Question 1... Explain to me “Lawyer Search”.  How can I get involved in that?

Question 2... You can liken it to a medical issue.  You want to find the right person in the quickest amount of time.

Question 3... So, on Lawyer Search, the lawyers sign up for it…and they are those who are willing to take on new clients?

Question 4... When you need to have a legal issue resolved, time is valuable.  Jack, by using Lawyer Search, can a person expert to reduce that time needed to have a legal issue resolved?

Question 5... Why did the Missouri Bar develop Lawyer Search?

Question 6... When I log onto Lawyer Search on the Missouri Bar website, what will I find there?  Lawyers’ addresses, phone numbers, their specialties….a link to their website?

Question 7... But you don’t make your appointment at Lawyer Search, do you? You then must contact the lawyer’s office, right?

Question 8... For that initial interview with the attorney (because you really are interviewing them), what are some things you should ask that person?  Maybe you should write some things down first?

Question 9... Should you base your selection of a lawyer on the price?

Question 10... Jack, after you receive your first bill from your attorney, what should you be looking for on that?  You want to get the most bang for your buck but you also know that perhaps your legal issue isn’t resolved in one visit.  Should you talk to your attorney beforehand about how much it will cost throughout the legal process? 

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Text Transcript of Audio Interview

Shelley Tucker: Welcome to Law in Your Life, a Missouri Bar podcast for the public.  I’m Shelley Tucker.  Our guest is Jack Wax, media relations director with the Missouri Bar.  We’re discussing LawyerSearch.  Explain to me what is LawyerSearch?  How do I get involved in that?

Jack Wax:        Lawyer Search is an online tool created by The Missouri Bar, and you can find it at the Missouri Bar’s web site www.mobar.org.  It’s a way to help find a lawyer. You can then search for a lawyer by their area of practice and that’s real important and we’ll talk about it in a second, and also by their location.  I think a lot of people don’t realize that not all lawyers do all types of law.  Lawyers have special areas that they know more about, that they practice and they focus their practice on.  For instance, you don’t go to a family lawyer if you’ve got an intellectual property problem.

Shelley Tucker: Exactly, you can liken it to if you do need to get a certain kind of  medical expertise, you are going to try to find the person who will give you the answer in the quickest time possible.  Same with a legal issue, because that could take on many different layers, couldn’t it?

Jack Wax:        It’s like going to an orthopedic surgeon as opposed to going to a pediatrician.  You just have to realize that different lawyers handle different sorts of cases, like doctors.

Shelley Tucker:    So on Lawyer Search, lawyers then sign up for the areas of law they practice in?  They let the Missouri Bar know that they’re involved and that they can be contacted and they’ll be taking on new clients.

Jack Wax:        Only those lawyers who are accepting new clients are listed there.  Not every lawyer is on the LawyerSearch, because some lawyers can’t accept clients. You have government lawyers and corporate lawyers who have jobs but they don’t take clients and so they won’t be listed on there.

Shelley Tucker: When you need to have a legal issue resolved the time is valuable.  Jack, by using Lawyer earch then can a person expect to reduce that time needed to find a resolution?

Jack Wax:        Yeah, it really would.  It is important that people address their legal problems as soon as they realize they have them. LawyerSearch does get you  quicker to an attorney. It’s important to realize that when you find an attorney on LawyerSearch, someone who does the sort of law that you have a problem in, you can call that lawyer up;  you can make an appointment, but that doesn’t mean that you should just rely on Lawyer Search.  Everybody should talk to relatives, friends, colleagues, and try and find out something about the lawyer’s reputation.  You  want to find a lawyer who’s familiar with the sort of problem that you have and who has a good reputation.

Shelley Tucker: Why did the Missouri Bar develop LawyerSearch?

Jack Wax:        More and more people are going to the Internet everyday for finding everything and anything.  I think fewer and fewer people are using Yellow Pages, and of course there’s advertisements, but we wanted to make it very convenient for the public to access justice.

Shelly Tucker:               When I log on to LawyerSearch on the Mobar.org web site what will I find there?  Will I find the lawyers name obviously and his or her specialty.  Will there be like a, a physical street address and phone number or is there a link to go to their web page?

Jack Wax:        Each lawyer will put something different there.  They can choose how they want to be contacted.  Some will have their email address, some their phone number, their addresses.  And if they do have a web site they will have a link directly to their web site so that you can learn more about that lawyer.

Shelly Tucker:               But you don’t make your appointment there.  You then contact the lawyer’s office.

Jack Wax:        Yes, that’s right.  You need to contact the lawyer’s office, and it’s very important when you contact the lawyer to find out whether or not they charge for that initial appointment.  Some lawyers do and some lawyers don’t. 

Shelly Tucker:               For that initial interview with the attorney because you really are kind of interviewing them, what are some of the things that you should ask that person?  Maybe it would be a good idea to write some things down prior to actually talking to the lawyer so you’ll know and also you’ll make sure that you get your message there in a concise manner and, and use the least amount of time.

Jack Wax:        I think it’s a great idea before going into a lawyer’s office to rehearse a little bit and write down on paper what it is you’re after, what’s your problem, what are you worried about.  If you have legal documents that relate to the situation bring those documents with you.  When you’re talking to the lawyer, you not only want to find out whether they have knowledge about your particular area and an  interest in that area but also you want to find out whether  you are comfortable with that lawyer.  It doesn’t do you any good if you’ve got a lawyer that’s very knowledgeable but who you  are intimidated by that lawyer, or just don’t feel that lawyer is  comfortable with you either.  You want to find somebody that’s going to be, in a sense , your partner -- and you want somebody you can trust.

Shelly Tucker:               Should you base your selection of a lawyer on the price?

Jack Wax:        I think that each person has a different budget.  Price is important to some people, obviously.  To everybody.  But every person’s legal problems are unique.  If a person is going through a divorce, some people have simpler issues to handle and some people have more complex  situations, and that’s going to be reflected in the price.

Shelly Tucker:                 Jack, after you receive your first bill from your attorney what should you be looking for in that?  You know, you want to get the most bang for your buck but you also know that perhaps your legal issue isn’t resolved in one visit.  Should you really talk to your authority beforehand to know how much it’s going to take throughout the legal process?

Jack Wax:        That’s really important.  When you make your initial contact with the lawyer and after you’ve discussed your situation with that person you should ask for a written fee agreement with that attorney.  That way there will be no surprises.  You’ll know what it’s going to cost you.

Shelly Tucker:               Our guest has been Jack Wax, media relations director with the Missouri Bar.  The Law in Your Life provides general information about the law for the public.  For your specific legal needs remember you can only get legal advice from your attorney.  We hope you’ve enjoyed this segment.  And if you have any suggestions for future podcast topics let us know at Mobar.org.  I’m Shelly Tucker for the Missouri Bar and Law in Your Life.

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