What Makes a Good Los Angeles Law Firm?
It’s Hollywood – the glitz, the glamour, the celebrity stardom, the American Dream – and no one ever thought legal issues would ever be a problem when everything’s so much fun over there! The truth is that even the star-studded in Tinseltown can run into all kinds of situations involving the law:
1. Divorce
2. Estate Planning
3. Probate
4. Auto Accident
5. Criminal Charges
6. Marriage
7. Adoption
8. Business
9. Mutual Funds
10. Copyright
11. Malpractice
You name it, it happens. The law falls into everything when it comes to life. No way around it. So it would stand to reason that a very in-depth understanding of what makes a good Los Angeles law firm is paramount to making sure no legal situations get blown out of proportion.
They definitely can. Especially in lovely Tinseltown. Hollywood. Los Angeles, California. It may be a pretty place to be, but if someone doesn’t know enough about how to find a good lawyer – in the right Los Angeles law firm – any legal situation can eat that person alive in seconds.
The Important Thing to Know Is That There Are Two Types of Los Angeles Law Firms Out There
You’ve got….
1. “Large” Law Firms
2. “Small” Law Offices
And that’s it. It looks like a simple deal, but there’s a lot going on with each type of Los Angeles law firm. Typically, the larger offices reach the skies with those ‘scrapers while the smaller boys like to huddle in corners of business complexes or cul-de-sacs on main streets.
All in all, though, both kinds of Los Angeles law firms hold a great deal of unique strength. And learning about both of them and their strengths will help in making the right choice for a lawyer in any case.
Starting Off With Larger Los Angeles Law Firms….
Yes, they are larger, and that can be an indication of success. But this isn’t necessarily about ‘success.’ It’s about what works for the particular Los Angeles law firm. And these are likely strengths belonging to any Los Angeles law firm:
1. The Team Advantage
2. Better Resources
3. Better Technology
4. Better Track Record
You can’t get any simpler than that.
Common sense really grounds these strengths well, as it’s hard to refute the fact that two heads are better than one. Larger Los Angeles law firms will often assign more than one lawyer to a case. You know what that means? Better preparation, better arsenal for winning a case, less stress on any given lawyer.
Many large Los Angeles law firms will have a team of lawyers, numbering to ten, maybe twenty, maybe even more depending on the success of the firm. Whatever the case, if you’re a client looking for representation, be prepared for a team of lawyers to head up the preparation for the case. In many ways, that can be much more reassuring.
This also includes an abundance of resources for the lawyers working in these larger Los Angeles law firms as they have a plethora of support –
1. Paralegals
2. Legal Assistants
3. Secretaries
4. Mail Room Clerks
5. Interns
6. Writers
7. Runners
No lawyer working in these sizeable Los Angeles law firms would ever break a sweat. And they would obviously spend most of their energy in the place that matters the most to any case: the courtroom.
The obvious result to all this support is a better track record. That’s an instant deal-breaker in many cases for clients. If the track record’s good, better expect that firm to be at the top of the list.
And of course, if a firm’s on the upswing of growth, money’s rolling in, company’s expanding, you can expect technology to improve – which improves the quality of work for any lawyer.
But Then What About the Smaller Boys in the Legal Field?
Are they just chopped liver? Would the bigger fish in the legal pond swallow them all up? Is the competition just too hefty?
Not so. Believe it or not, the smaller offices do have their unique strengths as well, separating them from the rest of the competition. They are, in fact, so unique in their strengths that there’s almost no need for competition, especially when the legal industry is never in demand for…demand. Someone in Los Angeles is always in need of a lawyer.
Knowing the good Los Angeles firms on that small level – the “law offices” – does play a role in the decision to hire a lawyer, though. Here’s what you need to look out for:
1. Better Rates and Fees
2. Hardworking
3. Personable
4. Better Understanding of Local and State Laws
5. Better Specialization
Some of these strengths do make perfect sense: like the rates and fees.
For starters, do the math and figure that if the office is smaller, generally the bottom line will be also. That means the office won’t require much financial upkeep for the bills, hence fees and rates for services won’t be as much.
This is especially true for the smaller law offices in Los Angeles. They don’t have the paralegals, the legal assistants, the mail room clerks – they don’t have the enormous skyscraper, the mounds of single-serving coffee packets and fridges in every floor. In a nutshell, business expenses aren’t nearly as much as in a larger firm.
So lawyers working in a smaller office don’t have to charge as much. And that can be good news for any client.
Moreover, because the smaller offices operate on a smaller level, retaining clientele becomes more of a priority. So naturally any lawyer working in that small of an office may work a lot harder on a case, especially when that lawyer is going to be responsible for every facet of the case – everything from filing the paperwork to interviewing witnesses to delivering opening and closing statements (and writing them as well).
From a certain perspective, that can be a strength to a smaller office.
In addition, small-office lawyers tend to be more personable. Because they have less clientele, they get to focus on each client specifically. It’s not just about the ‘case’ – it’s also about the person behind the case. Name one client that wouldn’t consider that a big bonus when working with a smaller law office.
Then of course there’s the fact that any smaller office generally operates under the local and state laws. You’ll never see a Los Angeles small-time attorney taking a trip to New York for a case, even in his or her field of practice. They stick to localization, and that benefits them in terms of experience with their specialty and the local and state laws pertaining to any case.
And in many cases, such localization can benefit a client a lot better than getting a hold of a “department” in a large firm.
Those Are the Strengths
What it all boils down to, though, is the fact that the decision ultimately resides with the client, and it could go either way – large firm, or small office. Every case is unique, so every case has different needs.
And any firm, large or small, in Los Angeles can provide unique needs.
This is why it’s important to know the strengths. From knowing the strengths, the best possible decision to hire a lawyer can be made.
