By April Briggs
Not very many attorneys specialize in the field of employment laws. As such, if you are looking for a lawyer to represent you in an employment dispute with your employer, you will have to conduct very thorough research before making a choice. Otherwise, you may end up with a legal quark who knows very little or nothing about employment law. Prior to contracting any employee rights attorney Seattle WA employees will need to consider the following factors for the best choices.
The best approach is to talk to people in the society who have experienced the same problem as you do. For instance, if you have a claim of sexual harassment, you can talk to a womens organization or even a humans rights organization. Ask them which lawyers they refer their clients to and what they think of him/her. If you can manage to talk to half a dozen of such people, chances are that you will end up with a good attorney.
You obviously will not want a neurosurgeon to perform heart surgery on you despite the fact that a neurosurgeon is also a medical doctor. This is because cardiology is not his/her area of specialty. The same principle should also be applied in the case of attorneys. You should not appoint a solicitor who does not specialize in employment law to represent you in employment dispute case.
Experience is another factor that is very important within the legal fraternity. Your employer will most likely be represented by a very competent and experienced lawyer. The only way to counter this is to hire an equally experienced attorney or one with more experience. An ideal lawyer for such a case would be one with at least ten years of active practice under his/her belt.
Most people are not always able to raise the solicitors fee in advance. If you can find a solicitor who works on contingency, that will be an added advantage. What this means is that the lawyer is not entitled to any payment until and unless you get compensated. This will save you from hustle of raising attorneys fee even if you have lost the case.
Personality of the lawyer is another thing you should consider before making a choice. No matter how qualified and recommended a particular lawyer may be, if you feel uncomfortable with him/her during the first couple of meetings, you may never achieve that ideal client-patient relationship that everyone yearns for. In other words, if you are not comfortable with the lawyer during your first meeting, you should trust your instinct and look for someone you will be comfortable with.
Most people do not always see the importance of signing contracts with their lawyers. However, if you want smooth working relationship with the lawyer you have chosen. You should at least have a written document that outlines terms and conditions of the contract.
With these tips in mind, you should be able to find a good lawyer for your case. It is however important that you start the search early as well. This will help you avoid the unnecessary last minute rush.
About the Author:
You can find a detailed list of the things to keep in mind when picking a employee rights attorney Seattle area at http://www.aleneandersonlaw.com right now.