No matter the reason you actually need an attorney, this is a person you'll likely end up giving a lot of money to. Because of that, you want to research and find out what type of person you're getting into business with before you actually sign any retainer agreements. You can find out the reputation of an attorney in a very specific way using the tools offered by the State Bar Association, as well as a few other options.
State Bar
Visit RomingerLegal.com "State and Local Bar Association" service. Scroll through the list until you find either the state you live in or the state the lawyer is located in (if those two states are not the same). To practice law in a state, a lawyer has to become a member of the bar association for that state. Clicking on the name of the state will guide you to the bar association site for that state.
Open the "Member Directory" function on the State Bar Association website you have accessed. This will allow you to search members of the State Bar by name. Enter the name of the attorney in question into the "Search" page and click on the "Search" button.
Read More: How to Find Attorney Records
Click on the name of the attorney from the list of search results. This will display a page containing more information about that attorney. Their "Status History" contains relevant information affecting that particular attorney's reputation, as well as any information that may be preventing that attorney from practicing certain areas of law.
Miscellaneous
Use LawyersReputation.com. Lawyer's Reputation is a site that collections user-submitted reviews about lawyers all over the country. Type the name of the lawyer you're looking for into the boxes on screen and select the appropriate state from the drop-down menu. Click "Search" to view results that match the information you have entered.
Ask any friends that may have used the same attorney in the past. One of the best ways to find out what type of attorney you're dealing with is to talk to someone who has actually worked with them on a one-on-one basis. These people will be able to tell you about their general attitude, their practice habits, their fees and more.
Use Lawyers.com. Lawyers.com is similar to LawyersReputation.com in that it compiles real user reviews from people who have actually worked with a particular attorney in the past. Type the name of the attorney in question into the box on screen. Type the area where that attorney practices into the address boxes and click "Go" to pull up results relating to that lawyer's reputation.
References
Writer Bio
Stephen Lilley is a freelance writer who hopes to one day make a career writing for film and television. His articles have appeared on a variety of websites. Lilley holds a Bachelor of Arts in film and video production from the University of Toledo in Ohio.