Do regular people get an attorney before they need one?

Quote from brucechase : Like you I am an average guy who was laid off. To get my severance, I had to find a lawyer that specialized in employment law (I tried other but they kept telling me to see some who specialized). If I was closing on a house, I would not go see the same guy nor would I see him if I got into a bad car wreck.

That's kind of what I thought, too, but I felt like everyone else "knew a guy" and that I was the only one who didn't

Quote from brucechase : Lawyers are so specialized, I doubt that when people say they are going to "call their lawyer" it means anything but an empty threat. Like you I am an average guy who was laid off. To get my severance, I had to find a lawyer that specialized in employment law (I tried other but they kept telling me to see some who specialized). If I was closing on a house, I would not go see the same guy nor would I see him if I got into a bad car wreck. For times when you just want some advice, I go to Lawyers.com and they usually have a few that give some decent advice. Or maybe I'm just too much of a layman and don't understand the ways of the world.

To a large degree, you are quite correct - lawyers are quite specialized - though in some large firms - there are lawyers to cover many of the areas of specialized "law" - although in many instances one might want to interview several different lawyers - for say "Elder Law" as this is very specific - and they are not all cut from the same cloth when it comes to this. Same goes for a serious automobile accident where a person is injured - some Lawyers and/or or Firms are much more aggressive than others - and known for getting much better results. Same thing with Nursing Home "abuse of elders". One needs to pick a Lawyer carefully in such an incident.

When it comes to Estate Planning same thing applies - not all lawyers are up on the latest when it comes to this - and you want a lawyer that is not fleecing you to write up a Living Trust - when all you need is a Simple Will, Durable Power of Health Care at the point you are in your life. Maybe sometime down the road, you might consider a Living Trust - but the Durable Power of Health Care is something everyone should or think about having. Even a Power of Attorney, is something people should look into - in case they god forbid - should have an accident so severe they need someone else to deal with their affairs.

So as one can see by the above, and your statements as well, they are specialized - but on the other hand, many people do develop a relationship with an Attorney - possibly thru the process of purchasing a home in some States (it's required to have an Attorney) - or thru other legal matters needing attention - and that relations continues for other minor needs such as a Simple Will.

Lawyers.com is an excellent resource, btw.

Quote from SlickEnW : And if so, whats the process? When I mean regular people I mean the ones , like myself, standard job and regular everything else. I am NOT in any sort of legal trouble ATM but there are times where I wish I could have spoke to someone more knowledgable about xyz. Also some folks talk about calling "their" lawyer whenever they need to look over something. How does one engage into this relationship? Tips? Rates?

It helps if you know or are related to one in your regular life. My brother is one and he just sort of accepted after law school that he'd be the "go-to" person in our family for all things legal. Everyone thinks that lawyers dress in suits and drive expensive cars. There are some that do, but a remarkable number of lawyers are regular middle class people who go to Home Depot, Target, and Costco on the weekends. A guy I play basketball with is one too.

A lot of law is available to the average person online, but you do have to like (or at least not be put off by) reading. I think every state puts their statutes online, although they aren't always called the same thing. Here in CA, it's the "California X Code" where X could be Vehicle, Public Health, Penal, etc. Federal laws are available online too except it will be in the form ## USC ## (e.g. 15 USC 123). Googling the common name for a law (e.g. Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) will usually translate the common name you hear on the news in to the law itself.

Books like NOLO press also give you a good idea of the law.

A lot of court cases are online too in pdf form, but you also have to like reading.

While a lot of lawyers specialize, it becomes a question of how necessary that specialization is. Sure, in some cases you'll have some super unusual set of circumstances that requires an expert of which there are only 5 in the whole US. But those cases are -- in my opinion -- the minority. Most circumstances are common (e.g. buying a house, writing a will, suing over a car accident, defending a drunk driving ticket, etc) enough that a lawyer who does general civil litigation or criminal defense would know what to do.

My brother does civil lit and his office is near the local state and federal courthouses. If you haven't done it, walk around the blocks around your local courthouse and you'll see a bunch of lawyers offices. Most will be small and have -- I'm guessing -- less than 10 lawyers. They won't be cheap, but if you'll only need them periodically, spending $60 to $90 to talk to them for an hour can be worth it.

I'm also a big fan of lawyers.com. You can most definitely price-shop lawyers, just like you would price-shop a car, TV, laptop, etc.

Quote from meribona : It helps if you know or are related to one in your regular life.

I'll have to dig deep in my network to see if I know one. But knowing my crazy family, they are 99.9% more likely to end up requiring the needs of a lawyer rather than practicing law themselves.

OP, typically the average person does not have an attorney on constant retainer. But, that does not mean that they should not have the contact information for a lawyer should the need arise.

Also, with the exception of Patent Attorneys, there is no distinction between an employment attorney and a criminal defense lawyer - from a license standpoint. Lawyers practice in different areas because it's what they know and are comfortable talking about, but that doesn't mean that they can't do things outside that practice area. In fact, it should be quite the opposite as the bar exam covers a broad range of legal areas, and doesn't get into specific fields.

Ok, now to answer your question with real options for you:

1. Do it yourself with online research - cheapest solution, but also will take the longest and you will have no idea how to interpret cases if you get involved with anything real deep. You can get yourself into big trouble if you start down the wrong path, but a good google search can often get you the answer you need - it's where most lawyers start their research.

2. Pre-Paid Legal Services - the best way to describe this is lawyer insurance. You pay an annual fee and, in return get phone access to lawyers in case you need one (tickets, PITA neighbor, condo association disputes, etc.). You also can ask them to review and advise on one or two legal documents per year. If you want to sue someone, you are referred out to an attorney who bills you at a reduced rate. Also, once every 4 years, you can have them review and/or draft a will. It's can be a very good thing for the average person who doesn't have a relationship with an attorney and just wants the peace of mind of having the ready access.

3. Bar Association - every bar association has its own referral network. Attorneys ask to be put on the list for topics that they practice in (Landlord-Tenant, Employment, Criminal Defense, DUI, etc.). If you call the bar association in your area and say that you are having trouble with a car repair place that sold you a bad part, they'll give you the contact information for a lawyer who deals with consumer problems. You then have to call them, negotiate a rate, retain them, etc. This is the avenue to go for that random issue that you didn't see coming. Just remember, lawyers are expensive - a friend who didn't want to bother me with an issue tried this route and came running back to me when the attorney wanted a big retainer before even hearing the problem.

Good luck.

Its a great question. Someone once told me "you should have a lawyer". 50% of the population dies w/o a will. That can cause quite a burden on your family. As responsible adults, if you think your immmortal or don't care what happens to your money then you don't need one. but if you do care then you should probably have one. Best way is by referral. Most will give ya some free consult, or at least you can buy some time. going rates in my parts for an "average" lawyer is 250.00 per hr and the meter starts ticking as soon as they answer the phone.

Quote from SlickEnW : And if so, whats the process? When I mean regular people I mean the ones , like myself, standard job and regular everything else. I am NOT in any sort of legal trouble ATM but there are times where I wish I could have spoke to someone more knowledgable about xyz. Also some folks talk about calling "their" lawyer whenever they need to look over something. How does one engage into this relationship? Tips? Rates?

Do you own a business?

i used to have problems, or get screwed by stores or shops etc;
i was young and scared and didnt know anything really

i now have prepaid legal, i am more confident and not scared about the law
i now know my rights, and if i dont know my rights in a certain situation i call my lawyer up 24/7

its actually a firm, so almost every matter they can help you with

There are general practice lawyers, like general practitioner doctors. Either should be able to give you help with many things, but refer you to a specialist if you need one. That is who you should be looking for.

Bear in mind that just talking something over with a lawyer will set you back a couple hundred dollars. They aren't in it to help people. I have 5 lawyers (estate, real estate, tax, employment law, and general litigation), but I try to chat up a neighbor if I need some casual advice.