By: Jennifer Flanagan-.Rodriguez, Intake Specialist

INTRODUCTION

Hiring a real estate lawyer is a big decision. As with all things, there is great variance in the personalities, capabilities and cost between lawyers. Their service offerings and ideas about the level or representation You need can also vary.

As the Intake Specialist at a popular real estate law firm in San Antonio, Texas, I speak to people seeking legal representation all day everyday. This experience has revealed to me some pretty obvious — but sometimes overlooked — questions You should ask when looking to hire an attorney to handle your real estate matter:

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

1. Does the attorney have the relevant experience in  the subject matter of your case. If yours is a boundary dispute, do they have experience with property boundaries and encroachments, or do they primarily handle something else?

2. Transparency in costs matter too. What are the fees, how does the law firm handle their retainer replenishment, what are the rates of the staff members who will be assisting the attorney with your matter? Does the Attorney require a consultation to start, what is the fee for this consultation does this fee go towards the retainer if you choose to move forward with representation?  Is the consultation fee separate from other fees?

3. Does the attorney have time for your case? What steps go with your type of case?  If the attorney has time for your case what is the estimated timeline, when would you need to be able to be available to meet? For those meetings would it be best to hold them via Zoom (virtual meeting) or would these meetings be more productive in person at the office of the attorney?

4. Does your case resonate for this attorney? Are they all in when they hear the story? Or are they skeptical? That does not mean that they are not asking tough questions or pointing out potential roadblocks – that’s their job. But do they seem enthusiastic about handling this, they have an interest in your subject matter or have quite a bit of experience in the subject matter which allows them to be well versed in steps to handle it.

5. Do they have the right practice arrangement to meet your desires? If you’re looking for “boutique” expertise, do they have that? Or are they part of a giant law firm machine? If you’re not willing to see things delayed for other cases and vacations, are they part of that giant machine that can keep things rolling forward.

6. Last but not least, You must ask yourself whether You like the attorney well enough to work with them? Sometimes the best attorneys are not so pleasant. This isn’t always bad, and that personality can sometimes even work to your advantage, but you have to work with them, so you need to be able to, even if in that “not so pleasant” way.