Choosing an Attorney in Kentucky – How Organization Membership Helps You Choose

We’ve written previously about some common sense tips for selecting the right attorney for your case. That article, while general, received good reviews. We’re going to revisit the issue here to help people in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati areas get all the information they need about a new attorney before hiring him or her.

Go to the Bar Associations

We mentioned previously that all Kentucky attorneys are required to be registered with the Kentucky Bar Association, which handles disciplinary matters (such as bar complaints) for Kentucky attorneys. But there are many other organizations for attorneys in this area, and many of those include specials CLEs (continuing legal education) in various practice areas that attorneys can go to. For this reason, you can sometimes feel comfortable with an attorney by knowing he or she takes part in voluntary attorney organizations.

For example, in addition to the Kentucky Bar Association, there is a Northern Kentucky Bar Association and a Cincinnati Bar Association, both of which offer CLEs and host meetings that allow attorneys in the same practice areas to get together and talk about the latest developments in the profession. Both groups also offer attorney referral services that vet an attorneys basic qualifications for each practice area before they make a referral. These are great places to start looking for an attorney!

The local and regional bar associations can tell you something else very important about an attorney as well. If you see an advertisement for an attorney in Covington, but cannot find him or her in the Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky Bar Associations, check further abroad. Is the attorney a member of the Louisville Bar Association instead? If so, you’ve just discovered an out of town attorney masquerading as a local attorney to pick up business. For obvious reasons, you don’t want an attorney that you can’t visit without making a three hour round trip. Pass the out of town attorney up and get someone local, who is familiar with the lay of the land.

Other Attorney Organizations

In addition to the bar associations, there are many other voluntary organizations you may want to call to get the scoop on your new attorney before you retain him or her:

• Kentucky Justice Association – this statewide group focuses on the art of the jury trial, and its members are often regarded as the best of the personal injury attorneys in the state. Most members work with clients who have been in car wrecks, or who have products liability or medical malpractice cases.
• Ohio Association for Justice – this is the Ohio version of the Kentucky group, above.
• National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys – this organization includes many attorneys that file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy for average debtors.
• Avvo.com – this is not an attorney organization exactly, but it attempts to rate attorneys by allowing clients and other attorneys to give feedback. Attorneys have a profile, which must be claimed. If an attorney does not claim his or her profile, or has not put any work into developing this profile, it may be an indication that the attorney is too overwhelmed with work. There is also a question and answer area where potential clients can pose questions to attorneys.
• Justia.org – this website is similar to Avvo.com.

There are many, many more organizations out there. No attorney can be a member of every single one, so don’t visit just one and give up on an attorney because he or she doesn’t have a membership. Look around a bit, and you should find out what you need to know.

Referrals from Attorneys

If you have used an attorney in the past, and were happy with that attorney, go back to him or her! Even if you need a different kind of attorney, chances are that your old attorney will know a new one who can help. Never underestimate the power of a word-of-mouth referral to get the right attorney for you.

If you’ve never used Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC before, we’d be happy to work with you. If you have but need a new kind of attorney, we’d be happy to refer you to someone new. We are working hard for the working class, and we want to work for you. Call today!