Passion and Compassion: A Key to Selecting a Lawyer

A major key to finding the right lawyer to represent you in your legal battle is to uncover their passion for the case, law and you.  Even more important might be their compassion for you and your legal proceeding.

How do you discover passion in a lawyer?

Have you ever met someone that doesn’t like their job?  It’s glaringly obvious, isn’t it?  Passion is something that easily stands out.  There are certain times when you can fake passion, so it’s important to ask the following question: “How do you stay current in legal affairs?” and “What are you doing for community engagement for your company and in the industry?”

These questions aren’t really about your case.  That’s a good thing!

If you ask your (potential) lawyer this, and they respond by saying they don’t really do anything in the community, it’s a red flag.  If your lawyer is truly passionate about their field and your case, they will have some background in keeping up within their community to further themselves as a lawyer.

Compassion – Here’s how to tell if your lawyer cares

It’s important to know that your lawyer realizes you are a human, with emotions, feelings, and that not every case is the same.  You are paying good money to have representation, and part of a lawyer’s job is to make sure that they are advising you on the right decision path.

Ask the following question: “How much time will this divorce take, and what are the potential money options involved with the case?”  A good lawyer will give you a few outcomes.  The one you would love to hear, one that is a reasonable expectation, and a worst-case scenario type outcome.  Part of their answer will be discussing some things that you might not want to hear or discuss; discussing your case with a lawyer is not comfortable by any means, but you need to get the information across to your lawyer to help your cause resulting in a positive outcome for your case.

Make sure you find a lawyer that is passionate, and also shows compassion to your case.  Each case is different.  No one is perfect.  A good lawyer realizes this and will help counsel you on the best direction to proceed, as well as being honest and upfront on the results that you can expect.