Guide to Finding Columbia Lawyer

Columbia is both South Carolina’s largest city and the state capitol. With nearly a million people in its metropolitan area, it is a concentration of the area’s political and economic power. Since so many lawyers live there, it can be difficult for businessmen and citizens to figure out which is the best Columbia lawyer for them. Thankfully, it’s easier to pick one once you understand better how to find them and what it is exactly that you want your Columbia lawyer to do.

Types of Columbia Lawyers

Modern life requires particular knowledge and expertise. General practice doctors are fewer and fewer relative to the endocrinologists, oncologists and anesthesiologists of the world. It should come as no surprise that things are similar in the legal world since most Columbia lawyers today have special knowledge in a particular legal field.

Here are a few common fields for Columbia lawyers to practice in:

• Personal Injury: These Columbia lawyers try cases in a civil court, complaining on the behalf of their client(s) against either another private individual(s) or another entity(ies) such as a business. Common personal injuries are medical malpractice, slip and falls, motor vehicle accidents, and product liability.

• Real Estate: Columbia lawyers are trained to help you in a variety of legal situations pertaining to the sale and maintenance of real estate. For instance, they can help you with deed transfers and title issues, or with boundary disputes and zoning regulations.

• Family Law: Family law is those areas of government regulating pertaining to the American family. Its most common issue is divorce, and thousands hire Columbia lawyers every year to help them survive a legal separation and come out more resilient individuals for it. Related but possibly separate issues include child custody, child support and spousal support, all of which a Columbia lawyer will fight to renegotiate on your behalf after a change of circumstance.

• Employment Law: Columbia lawyers familiar with employment law help employees fight for their earned paychecks and for the right to work, which is sometimes taken away in claims of prejudice or unfair competition. Certain Columbia lawyers are most experienced with helping individuals injured on the job fight for compensation.

• Criminal Law: If you’ve been accused of a crime by the District Attorney’s office, you should contact a Columbia lawyer right away. These charges are serious, potentially resulting in heavy fines or prison time, and you need an experienced Columbia lawyer to help clear your name. Free Columbia lawyers are provided by the state, but many believe that hired Columbia lawyers do better jobs than the public defenders.

Specialized Columbia Lawyers

It should be noted that the Columbia lawyers practicing in the above fields don’t need to have special degrees to do so. The barriers to becoming a Columbia lawyer are so high—special graduate school, a multi-day written examination—that all Columbia lawyers are licensed to practice in every field of law. However, some Columbia lawyers chose to get special certifications in a particular field. These certifications are called “Specializations,” and very few Columbia lawyers manage to get them. They require a certain amount of years practicing in one field, additional education and examinations, and a review by other South Carolina attorneys. It’d be silly to disregard Columbia lawyers who don’t have specializations, but consider them a significant factor of recommendation.

The fields of specialization are:

• Bankruptcy and Debtor/Creditor Law

• Employment and Labor Law

• Estate Planning and Probate

• Taxation

Finding a Columbia Lawyer

Though there are many Columbia lawyers, if you aren’t familiar with their groups and their resources it can be difficult to find the right one for your needs. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with these proven methods to help you locate an excellent Columbia lawyer.

1. Use a law directory—Law directories are everywhere. At the most basic, your phone book serves as a directory of lawyers in the Columbia area, though there are more professional directories available, such as the catalogue put out every year by the South Carolina Bar or the national Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. With the advent of the internet, there are now more law directories than ever. While this is certainly convenient, be sure to only use directories in combination with other research. Make sure that the Columbia lawyer you are interested in practices in an area of law relevant to your needs and that they are well-respected in the legal community.

2. Call a referral service—These are easier to use than law directories, which is by itself an advantage. Services work for a small fee after you are interviewed by a trained referral specialist, who will then tell you about near-by Columbia lawyers who are well-suited to help you in your legal situation. The first consultation with the referred-to Columbia lawyer is then free. Since the referral service pre-screens the Columbia lawyers for you, it’s like all the hard work has already been done.

3. Ask for recommendations—Since law problems are so common, it can really pay off to ask your friends, neighbors and co-workers if they have any advice on where you should look for representation. Don’t be surprised if one of them has had a similar issue to deal with as yourself and had a wonderful experience with a particular Columbia lawyer.

4. Don’t disregard ads—It may sound silly, but no matter how silly or frivolous the ad itself looks, legal ads are stamps of success. Only very few legal practices ever make enough money to afford to advertise, so any practice that advertises must have done something right in the past.

Fee Disputes

On occasion, clients enter into arguments with their Columbia lawyers over their legal fees. Usually these arguments just need some calm discussion on both sides, but if that either seems impossible or unable to help, the South Carolina Bar may be able to be of assistance.