Hiring an attorney to help you in a Foreclosure Action in Florida

How Do I Find a Qualified Foreclosure Defense Attorney?

Choosing an attorney to represent you is obliviously an important task. The decision certainly should not be made on the basis of advertising alone. The Yellow Pages are filled with ads all of which say basically the same thing. You should not hire based solely on advertising. Anyone can buy a slick commercial, even if they have never successfully handled a foreclosure defense case to completion.

You also cannot rely on the recommendation of friends and family if they have not used an experienced foreclosure defense attorney before. The fact that Attorney Jones did a good job on Uncle Joe’s disability case or Cousin Sue’s divorce does not make him a qualified, experienced foreclosure defense attorney.

How Do You Choose?

How do you find out which attorney is the best for your case? I believe that there are certain questions to ask that will lead you to the best attorney for your foreclosure defense case. It will involve some time on your part, but that’s a fair price to pay though.

The work of foreclosure defense law is much too specialized for someone who does not regularly handle these cases. Too many times I have looked at cases that other – inexperienced – attorneys have handled and have seen bad things happen t good people that were unnecessary.

How Do You find out who is Good in Your Area?

• Results Matter. While past results in foreclosure defense cases do not mean that a similar result will be achieved in your case, the lack of any significant results ought to be a huge red flag warning.
• Get a referral from an attorney whom you do know. He or she will probably know someone who specializes in our area of need.
• Beware of internet “directories” promising to get you a qualified lawyer. We get solicited almost daily from companies who will offer to place us in their directories for a hefty fee. Most of the “directories” of specialists are a joke and are simply marketing companies that provide leads to any attorney that will pay a hefty monthly fee to be a member.
• The Yellow Pages. Not everyone advertises in the Yellow Pages. Many of our cases come from referrals from other attorneys or from satisfied clients. Be careful about the ads that touch many different specialties; no one can be a master of all. Be careful about the full page ads. This advertising typically attracts a lot of case inquiries, including the cases that we do not accept. Make sure that the attorney you hire is selective enough with his or her case load that your important case does not become just one more file in the pile.
• Your local bar association probably has a lawyer referral service. Understand that lawyers have signed up and paid a fee to be listed in certain specialties. Their names come up on a rotating basis. Remember though that the bar association is not making any judgment about who is a good attorney or not. We could sign up our firm as “divorce attorneys” if we wanted to and no one would check to see if we had ever handled a divorce case!
• Interview several attorneys. Ask each attorney who else he would recommend for your case. If they won’t give you any names, leave. Ask this question of each attorney. The names you see showing up on different people’s lists are probably good bets.
• Ask each attorney if they have a book or a web site so that you can find out more about their qualifications and experience before you walk in the door. Check out our website at www.restartyourlifejax.com.
• Forget fancy slogans and hype. Slogans like “we are aggressive,” “we care for you,” “we fight for you,” are absolutely meaningless. After all, aren’t these the things that you would expect from your attorney?

Here are factors and good points to look for and questions to ask your attorney about. Note that not every attorney will meet all of these criteria, but the significant absence of the following should be a big questions mark.

• Experience. Obviously, the longer you have been practicing a particular area of the law, the more you will know. Experience can be a big factor in many cases and is vital in an area as specialized as foreclosure defense. Forget about the ads that brag about “combined experience,” such as “29 years’ combined experience in practicing law.” This means they have added up the number of years of experience of each lawyer in the firm. It’s meaningless.
• Publications. Has your attorney written anything that has been accepted for publication? This is another sign of respect that the legal community has for his or her skills and experience.
• Legal malpractice insurance. Does the attorney hold a legal malpractice insurance policy? This is a sign of accountability. Anyone can make a mistake and you should not make the mistake of hiring an attorney who does not have malpractice insurance. Remember, an attorney is not required to carry malpractice insurance. Don’t get burned by an attorney who does not think enough about his client to carry malpractice insurance.

If you are in need of a qulified Foreclosure Defense Attorney in Northeast Florida, the Law Firm of Robert Peters would be happy to provide you with a FREE Initial Consultation to review your case and answer any question you may have about how we can help you.