FINDING A LAWYER

How Can You Locate Lawyers?
The best way of finding a lawyer is with a referral from someone you trust - a friend, a service agency, a community group, or another lawyer.

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There are lists of lawyers available from:

• the Find-A-Lawyer service of the Peel Law Association (for lawyers in the Peel Region)

• the Lawyer Referral Service (of the Law Society of Upper Canada)

• the Law Society of Ontario Lawyer Directory

• Find-A-Lawyer at Legal Aid Ontario (if you obtain a certificate for representation)

 

How Should You Choose A Lawyer?
Consider the following:

• Experience helps, but is not always an indicator of knowledge, skill or commitment.

• Hourly rate sometimes indicates greater ability, but may just relate to how much money the lawyer's clients have.

• Having the same cultural or linguistic background helps, but often a sensitivity to your background is enough.

• Fancy offices merely indicates that the lawyer has chosen to spend money on the appearance of the office.

 

A lawyer should:

• be professional

• communicate clearly and effectively

• listen to you but be disciplined in keeping the focus and move things forward (make sure they get the info they need and use time wisely)

• give you the advice you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear

• be firm about following the rules (someone who will break the rules for you may brake them against you)

• acknowledge any gaps in their knowledge and the unpredictability of cases (they can fill gaps - but you must be able to trust them)

• be forthcoming about what they can do and the costs (so far as they can be predicted)

• demonstrate a understanding of family law, how it applies to a case like yours, and about the dynamics of family law disputes

 

Beware of evaluating a lawyer by what you observe in court.  It is hard, for someone who has no experience, to understand what is really happening in court.

• A few words from one lawyer may be more effective than a lot of noise from another lawyer.

• A good lawyer knows when to stop talking.

• A good lawyer says what their client needs them to say, not necessarily what the client wants them to say.

• If a judge tells a lawyer that they do not need to hear from a lawyer, it means that lawyer has been rather successful. 

• A lawyer must be polite to everyone.

• A lawyer should be calm and focused on the true issues, not be emotional..

• A lawyer who is focused on "winning" often does not serve the client's best interests.

• Usually, most of the important work is done before the lawyer steps into the courtroom.