5 important characteristics when considering if an attorney is the right fit.
Starting and running a business can be a daunting task. A Hispanic business owner, has many responsibilities from overseeing staff to ensuring customers receive the goods and/or services they were promised.
Many business owners, either through experience or education, have learned how to deal with various issues as they come up to avoid catastrophic outcomes. However, even the most knowledgeable business owner neither knows all the answers nor should any business owner profess to do so.
In these situations, a business owner is best served by having a team of advisors the business owner can consult for various situations whether it is planning ahead for financial trouble to handling expansion issues. And one of the most important members of any team for a business owner is a having a good attorney for various situations.
Of course, how does one determine an attorney is the best fit for the business owner and organization?
Here are five important characteristics a Hispanic business owner should look to when determining if an attorney is the right fit.
1. Confidence.
The attorney must show he/she is confident in his/her abilities to handle the task necessary. Keep in mind, there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness and an attorney should not be so abrasive to put you off. However, you should have an attorney that expresses a certain level self-confidence and not act in a timid manner when discussing your business’ needs.
2. Knowledge.
Now, while confidence is important, do not confuse confidence for knowledge. Knowledge is completely different but important trait to possess. The attorney must show knowledge of the law regarding business in general.
Knowing your industry is an additional plus as they will know specific issues your business will deal with on a frequent basis. The best way to test an attorney’s knowledge is to ask as many questions as possible and then determine if the responses suffice to the answer the questions you have posed.
3. Creativity.
Another less considered characteristic is the ability of attorney to show he/she can think outside of the box. Many attorneys follow a certain direction for strategy and another direction regarding legal analysis. This is fine and may be the proper course of action most of time. However, when a situation calls for an out of the box solution, you need to know an attorney has the capability to do so.
So, ask the attorney what is the most creative solution he/she came up with regarding an issue his/her client had that needed resolution.
4. Supportive.
In addition to being a problem solver, an attorney also should be a counselor. The attorney you select should not only be able to draft legal documents and represent the business in lawsuits, but your attorney also should be able to listen to you when you want to bounce off ideas or just to simply listen to problems within the business regardless if the communication will lead to work for the attorney or not.
5. Experience.
Normally, when people hear experience around an attorney they conclude that is the many years of practice for the attorney in the legal field. While there is something to be said of this level of experience, it is not the type of experience that should be first on your list.
The experience you should look for is experience as a business owner or working with various business owners. As mentioned previously, you should be able to look to your attorney as a counselor to discuss issues with the business.
The best way to ensure such support will be meritorious is by ensuring your attorney can relate through his/her experience in running a business or businesses (the ideal experience) or having dealt with many other business owners and their issues.
These characteristics are not the only ones to consider and you may have some unique traits you may wish your attorney possesses. Though, these are characteristics that should be on your list.
Remember, business owners do not have all the answers and those who think in such a way will find themselves in more trouble than in it’s worth. Therefore, be sure to have a strong team of advisors by your side as your start and grow your business.
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