Finding the right legal team can be challenging. If you haven’t required the services of a solicitor or legal professional in the past, you might not know what you need.

There are a huge number of law firms in the country, so your options are plentiful. Not knowing where to turn is understandable.

But there are certain things you can look for that will help you work out which firm is right for you.

Funding arrangements

This should be one of the first aspects you look at. Make sure you can pay for the action you’re taking. Do they offer conditional fee agreements? This means they will only take a legal fee in certain circumstances – typically only if you win your case.

You may also be able to finance your case in other ways. A trade union membership can fund certain cases with certain lawyers. You could also pay a fixed fee for some services.

However you want to pay for your case, you’ll need to ensure your chosen solicitor works that way.

Reputation

How well is a law firm and a specific solicitor in the firm thought of? There are two ways you can look into their reputation. You can look into how the legal industry views this person and their wider firm and you can look at how former clients have felt about their service.

The Legal 500 is a highly regarded publication that analyses the capabilities of firms. You can find out how a firm and its key people are seen within the industry and which firms are ranked highest.

Meanwhile, a consumer review site like Trustpilot lets you see the impression firms have left on former clients. The rating system is simple to understand – a scale of five stars – and people are free to share their experiences.

Your first impression

Having a conversation with your potential firm may be one of the simplest ways of learning whether they’re the right one to work with. You will come away with an initial impression of the organisation, which can feed into your decision-making.

Trusting your instinct can be a useful way of evaluating whether a firm will do its best work for you. You can quiz them about:

• How long they’ve been practising
• Their processes
• Their success rates
• Whether they’ve dealt with cases like yours
• Your chances of success

Use what you learn, combined with the more factual research you carry out, to decide whether you want to entrust your case to this firm.

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