Should you be uninitiated to the personality type of an attorney, then it can be difficult as a client to decipher the bad from the good or the professional from the sleazy operators.

By their very job description it is helpful for an attorney to be risk-averse, slightly pessimistic all the while personifying a singular focus on the targets and objectives of the case at hand.

As a client though, you should be in a position to notice some important red flags should they arise from the party that is intended to represent you and your interests. If these traits and characteristics do emerge, then action should be taken to ensure that the best possible candidate is standing up for you in a court of law.

Here is what you should be on the lookout for.

Hidden Bills and Fees

To begin with, an ideal attorney should always be up front with their client about the financial agreement that has been put in place. This is paramount on the part of the client because hidden bills and fees that later emerge illustrates a lawyer who is not working in the best interests of the party they are said to be representing. It is morally wrong to do so, but also raises serious questions about other conduct.

Lacking Authenticity

While bills and fees are tangible assets that can examined, the subject of authenticity is one of the great intangibles that is determined purely on a subjective basis. How an individual presents themselves and interacts with another is entirely down to their unique interpretation and the authenticity of an attorney can be difficult to judge without a series of consultations.

Ask some key questions to gauge their authenticity:

• Are they approachable and illustrate a key understanding of the facts of the case?
• Do they provide insight and strategy?
• Have they outlined their working conditions with clarity up front?

Should they fail these benchmarks, then their expertise and personality is probably not an ideal fit for you.

Tardiness

Lawyers have a reputation for enjoying a drink or two once they are off the clock and while this is perfectly acceptable in moderation, representatives that become sloppy, tardy and cut corners place their clients in grave risk. Attorneys will likely have multiple cases occurring simultaneously and although certain consultations might run overtime, lawyers who continually fail to meet schedules and timelines should be put on notice.

We hear constantly about the reasons and rationales as to why a client would reject a lawyer. The world of attorneys is simply an open market should you have the resources to hire one in a court of law. Yet what about the reverse scenario – when is it acceptable and appropriate for an attorney to reject a client?

The short answer to this equation is quite simple – whenever they so please. No lawyer is obliged to take on a client without their consent and there are instances where it is actually against the law for an attorney to represent an individual in certain circumstances. This includes a previous personal relationship between both parties or if a lawyer happened to represent an individual that was adverse to that potential client.

The right of free will happens to extend beyond citizens and towards attorneys as well. So what red flags should lawyers be on the lookout for to justify rejecting a client? Surely a case win or lose is still a paycheck to cash in?

Here are some instances where a rejection is justified.

Continuing Criminal Activities

Those that are found to have been guilty of engaging in criminal activities will often source an attorney to keep the law at arm’s length from their enterprise. Attorneys that are aware of this fact are in their rights to walk away before they are further compromised and asked to perpetuate any illegal schemes that are taking place.

Lack of Committal

Attorneys do require a degree of commitment when it comes to dedication themselves to a case. If a client has a past history and reputation for moving from one firm to the next in order to test the waters, then a lawyer can pull the plug due to a lack of trust.

Aggressive Clients

Individuals who place unwanted pressures on their attorney to make sudden and illegitimate demands on their representative are out of order. Whether it is a request or demand to drop other cases in order to focus on their priorities or threaten to walk away without justification, then the lawyer can take a proactive step to end the agreement.

The Lawyer Skeptics

Attorneys are already viewed through a cynical lens, but that task is all the more difficult if their client continually diminishes and talks down your efforts to get the job done. Should they have no trust in the process and hold disdain for you and your practice, then walk away.

Knowing what profession you are going to be working in as you study in school can be a daunting proposition. For teenagers studying their way through high school and considering their college prospects, the career option that you take should ideally be the end result of your passions, interests and skills in a particular niche.

That equation will not always point to a clear and identifiable path. For many youngsters, the career you end up opting for has not even been established yet in the mainstream commerce community – so the trick is to be educated, qualified and ready to adapt.

This consideration will gradually lead to a discussion about expected salaries and what fields are more financially stable for your short, medium and long-term future. From doctors to teachers, entertainers or tradesmen and women, there is a myriad of choice out there.

Law is a specialty field that is considered one of the safest professions for long-term viability. Attorneys are never at threat of seeing their expertize dissolved or overtaken by technology, so there is genuine currency in this practice.

However, how lucrative is a life in law? Let us examine the latest statistics to help make up your mind.

First Year Expectations

The National Association for Law Placement is a body that oversees the profession to examine the trends that are occurring across firms all over the country. Once new members are qualified to have passed their bar exam and are certified as part of the legal fraternity, the average annual salary is listed at USD $160,000.

Yet it must be noted that these figures derive from larger firms that house entire departments with specialist faculties of attorneys, a facet that is not the privilege of locally-based firms around the nation.

Factors Influencing Salaries

Experts in the field have noticed that the past 10 years has seen this $160,000 figure remain stagnant. Whilst this could be in due part to a struggling global economy, there is also the involvement of mergers, acquisitions and niche specialty firms that have contributed to a dilution in terms of how much firms bill their clientele.

Other elements will include the state, city or rural area in which a practice is established. For example, lawyers based in regions such as Carmel, Indiana operate off a mean annual salary of $89,499 as of 2018, a figure that pales in comparison to the average first year package that has been broadcast.

Working as an attorney can be incredibly lucrative as a career proposition, yet the salary will be in context to the type of law that is being practiced, the brand of the firm and the location in which it is situated.

Depending on what state and part of the country that you are based, your perception on the very concept of unions is likely to be painted differently.

On one hand they are important bodies for blue collar workers who need a voice and representation when companies threaten to cut jobs and decrease wages across the board.

On the other hand, they can be viewed cynically as an attempt to garner power and influence with those who run the organization at the very top.

There is evidence on either side of the divide that would support those claims, but each rationale requires a strong degree of context.

So how does the idea of a union apply to attorneys? This is a practice that does not usually necessitate a debate for this group of professionals to be unionized. They generally have no trouble promoting themselves or putting food on the table, so why bother?

Well there is a discussion to be had that would merit lawyers becoming more unionized. Here we will outline the case in the affirmative.

Collective Bargaining

While the perception of the average lawyer is an out of touch professional driving to work in a luxury can on a six or seven year annual salary, the reality can be quite different for a majority of operators. The whole intention of a union is to provide an ability for individual workers to bargain and negotiate with their bodies for a fair wage. The top end of town who are listed on high hourly wages or retainers won’t require the benefit of a union that collectively bargains on their behalf, but other representatives at a local level without the resources would benefit from being a certified union member.

Rules and Regulations

Externally the notion of lawyers bandied together to fight for their rights and wages might not be appealing, but there is one aspect that would work on behalf of the clients. Union members are stipulated to follow a set of rules and regulations in order to reap the rewards of their participation and although there are bodies of oversight in the legal profession, attorneys that sign up to a union would have to perform in accordance to these strict stipulations.

That would place increased pressure on operators who are ethically and morally challenged or cut corners when representing their clients. It would be another ways and means of ensuring a degree of regulation on a profession that does require some reigning in.