According to some research, a civil rights attorney can make about $82,000 a year.
If you need to find a civil rights attorney, you might feel like based on their salary, it’s too expensive for you. However, it might be more affordable than you think!
Keep reading to learn more about what a civil rights attorney does and how you can find the best one for your case.
What Does a Civil Rights Attorney Do?
A good civil rights lawyer will help to protect you and groups of people from violations, lawsuits, and discrimination. They’ll do that by handling lawsuits and going through settlement negotiations.
Some of your civil liberties include having the right to free speech, practice whatever religion you want, petitioning the government, and have a right to due process.
If any of those rights have been infringed on, you may want to consider hiring a lawyer and asking them some of these questions.
1. Are You a Specialist?
First, you should figure out what area of the law they specialize in. For example, are they a black civil rights attorney, or are they just a generalist attorney?
The legal field goes across all subject matters and industries, so it might be hard to find a lawyer who’s well versed in all of it.
Usually, the lawyers will have to concentrate on one area of the specific legal field and specialize in that. For example, you need to find a lawyer that practices civil rights laws.
This means that they’ll focus on helping people from discrimination. This would be better than finding someone who practiced bankruptcy or corporate law.
The one exception for that is if you faced discrimination in a corporate setting; you may want to consider hiring them.
2. What is the Probability of a Good Outcome for My Case?
In general, it’s not rude to ask your attorney if they think they have a good chance of winning your case.
The key is to listen for an honest answer rather than a yes. For example, if you don’t have a good chance of winning, you’ll need to know upfront so that you can prepare yourself instead of getting your hopes up.
A lawyer who is honest with you will probably be a good hire and will work to win your case regardless of the odds.
3. Are There Any Other Options?
You can also ask them if there are any other legal options to solving your situation.
For example, they may be able to inform you about options that would keep the case out of the courts. If there’s a cheaper way to handle your case or take up less time, your attorney should be able to let you know.
4. How Long Have You Practiced Law?
Try and find a lawyer that has at least ten to fifteen years of experience. This might be unfair to newer lawyers, but if you want to win your case, you need to hire someone who has the most knowledge in their field.
And to get the best knowledge in their field, they need about ten years under their belt at the very minimum.
5. What is Your Approach to Winning a Case?
You might also want to ask them how they normally approach a case in order to try and win it.
For example, if you were getting divorced but don’t want to take everything away from your spouse, you might want to find a lawyer who has a gentler approach and will be fair.
While you want someone who will fight for you, you also don’t want someone who is going to ruin the relationship with the defendant if you’re still close to them.
6. How Do You Negotiate?
Negotiation is also another important factor when it comes to resolving disputes. A good lawyer will try and be fair to both sides while still working for you.
They should at least make sure that you’re not being taken advantage of. Plus, if they can work well with the other side, the proceedings will normally be a lot more efficient.
It will also make sure that you save some money, won’t have to deal with a lot of unnecessary drama, and you don’t have high tensions between you and the other party.
7. What is Your Fee Structure?
Lastly, you want to make sure that you know how much you’re going to be charged for their services.
Do they charge you a flat fee? If so, this is great because it’ll be easier for you to predict the cost. When they offer this, make sure that you ask them if expenses and other services are covered under that.
Some lawyers charge an hourly rate though. Sometimes, this is the most common fee. It can vary depending on the particular lawyer, but this also normally ends up costing you more money if your settlement drags on.
Once they’ve told you what their fee structure is like, you can also ask for an estimate of the cost for your case. They’ll be able to give you a ballpark number, but don’t hold them to that.
Discover More Questions to Ask Your Civil Rights Attorney
These are only a few questions to ask your civil rights attorney, but there are many more things to keep in mind.
We know that following through with a lawsuit or settlement can be stressful and overwhelming, but we’re here to help you out.
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