Guide to Winston-Salem Law Firms
If you want to find a lawyer to represent you for any kind of legal matter in the Winston-Salem area, you may be overwhelmed. Trying to find one Winston-Salem law firm that's right for you can be difficult, especially if you don't have much experience looking for lawyers. This guide will help you understand the different types of Winston-Salem law firms so that you can find a firm that will meet your expectations and needs.
Understanding Your Legal Issue
When you begin your search for Winston-Salem law firms, it can be useful to focus beforehand by briefly describing your legal problem and how you hope for it to be resolved. A good way to do this is to get out a piece of paper and a pen, then write down in a sentence or two what you see as your legal issue at this time. Try to keep emotional details out, and focus solely on the legal issues at hand: “I want to get a divorce from my wife,” not “my wife has been having an affair and I can't live with her any more.”
After you have summarized your legal problem, think about how you would ideally like for it to be resolved. Try to, once again, confine your answers to legal solutions that a Winston-Salem law firm can help with: “I want to keep joint custody of the kids and I don't want to lose the house.”
Your Winston-Salem Law Firm Needs
After thinking about what your case is and what you want as a resolution, it's time to think about what you want from Winston-Salem law firms. You can use the same sheet of paper to write down your needs. Do you want a Winston-Salem law firm that offers a wide variety of payment options? Are you looking for Winston-Salem law firms that can be particularly aggressive in representing you?
Whatever your needs, there are enough law firms in the Winston-Salem area to satisfy them. There are no right or wrong answers in this exercise—it's just a way to match you with the Winston-Salem law firm that will be right for you.
Types of Firms: Big Law Firms
While some clients are intimidated by the size of a larger Winston-Salem law firm (which may have up to around a hundred lawyers), big Winston-Salem law firms may be the ideal choice for other prospective clients. With numerous support staff as well as attorneys, these firms tend to run like well-oiled machines. Here are some signs that you may prefer to work with a larger Winston-Salem law firm instead of looking at small firms:
ñ You want an extremely professional atmosphere at all times and expect the Winston-Salem law firms you visit to be very professional, even formal in their demeanor.
ñ You need a Winston-Salem law firm that can represent you not only with your current legal issue but also with any future legal concerns. Because they have so many lawyers, larger Winston-Salem law firms are more likely to always have a lawyer on staff who can answer your questions, regardless of what legal field they pertain to.
ñ Rather than looking for a Winston-Salem law firm for yourself, you're searching for a corporation. Large Winston-Salem law firms often have much more experience working with corporate clients, and this experience can make a big difference to both your case and how you are handled as a client.
Types of Law Firms: Small Firms
Big Winston-Salem law firms are definitely not for everybody. With hourly billing rates reaching several hundred dollars per hour, big firms are simply not an option for most clients with a smaller budget. A smaller Winston-Salem law firm will almost always charge significantly less than big Winston-Salem law firms on an hourly basis.
If hourly billing is not an option for you, you can also find smaller firms that offer other billing arrangements. For many types of common legal cases, like divorce and bankruptcy, small Winston-Salem firms often offer flat fees that cover all your legal representation from the beginning to the end of your case. Others may allow you to pay your legal bills in small monthly payments rather than all at once, which can make budgeting easier.
Smaller firms offer a much wider variety of personalities and atmospheres than bigger firms. Because the smallest Winston-Salem law firms have only one or two lawyers, these firms may be significantly less formal and businesslike than their large Winston-Salem law firm counterparts.
Types of Law Firms: Legal Fields and Specialties
After deciding the size of the Winston-Salem law firm you want representing you, you should look again at your description of your problem and its ideal resolution. You should also consider whether you want to find Winston-Salem law firms to represent you just for one legal case, or one who can offer legal advice and representation for a long time to come.
Clients who want a personal lawyer for many different types of issues may want to confine their search to general practice Winston-Salem law firms. These firms offer a broad range of legal services and can generally accommodate most clients' legal needs. However, particularly at small general practice firms, the lawyers may not have as much in-depth experience in a single field.
For clients seeking one-time legal representation rather than an ongoing lawyer/client relationship, a specialty Winston-Salem law firm might be the better option. These firms specialize in a single area or a few areas of law, rather than taking all types of cases. You may want a specialty firm that is in a more general area of law, like criminal defense, or—if your case is a particularly common type—a firm that handles only cases just like yours (for instance, some firms handle bankruptcy or DUI defense exclusively).
After you know what kind of Winston-Salem law firm you want representing you, you will have enough knowledge to search for Winston-Salem law firms effectively online or in the phone book. Keep your summary of your legal problem and ideal resolution nearby to keep your search focused on your needs.
