You believe you’ve been discriminated against at work and have a legal claim. Now what? You need to talk to a lawyer but how do you find the right one? Of course, we’d like for you to consider Eisenberg & Baum, but we also know that finding the best lawyer for your case is like any other relationship in your life: you need to be compatible. With an employment discrimination claim, you will be sharing intimate details about your life with your lawyer and entrusting them with that information and with your legal claim. Finding the right lawyer in whom to put that trust can be intimidating, but focusing on the few key considerations outlined below can make the job a little easier.

Where to Begin Your Search

There are a number of ways you can find a lawyer, from a simple internet search to a referral from a friend or co-worker. There are also some local and state bar services that will refer a lawyer to you based on your needs — the American Bar Association provides a helpful directory of these services on its website. However you do it, identifying a lawyer or lawyers that can help you with your discrimination claim will be just the beginning of your selection process.

Key Factors to Consider in Choosing a Lawyer

The most important step comes next when you research and meet with the lawyer. This will give you an opportunity to see how well the lawyer will fit your specific needs and represent you in your discrimination claim. Here are are a few of the key factors to keep in mind when you’re making the decision:

Expertise and Experience

One of your primary goals as a client in search of a lawyer is to find someone you feel is knowledgeable about employment discrimination law. Like other professionals, including doctors and engineers, lawyers tend to focus on a specific practice area, and as a client it is important for you to understand what a lawyer’s specialties are. If you had a chronic skin rash, you wouldn’t go to a neurosurgeon for help. Similarly, if you need legal help with a discrimination claim, your first choice probably shouldn’t be to contact an attorney who specializes in criminal law. Your preference should be to find a lawyer who has experience representing employees in discrimination claims, and the more experience they have with your particular type of claim, be it discrimination based on gender, race, religion or some other basis or sexual harassment claims, generally the better.

The quantity of work performed by the lawyer on discrimination cases shouldn’t be your only concern, though. To continue the doctor analogy, what if you found a dermatologist with 20 years of experience but found out the doctor had a less than 25% success rate in treating routine skin diseases like yours? Hopefully, you’d start to look somewhere else for a dermatologist with a better track record. The quality of a lawyer’s experience can be just as important as the quantity of their experience, so as a client you’ll want to ask your lawyer about how successful they’ve been in the discrimination cases they’ve handled, especially those cases similar to yours. No reputable lawyer will be able to guaranty you will prevail in your own case, but they should be able to tell you about their experience with similar cases and give you their opinion of your case based on that experience.

Working Relationship

When choosing a lawyer, you’ll also want to consider how you would feel working with them on your case and possibly for a long time. Before you hire a lawyer, you’ll want to meet with them to not only understand their background but also get a feel for how they approach the attorney-client relationship. Most clients want a smart, capable attorney who will fight for them when needed. Some may need an attorney with a thoughtful and personable approach, especially when it comes to discussing the details of their discrimination claim. Victims of workplace discrimination like sexual harassment or racial discrimination may be very hesitant to talk with an attorney about the details of their claim, but open communication and understanding are critical to good legal representation. As a client, you want to make sure you feel comfortable with the lawyer you choose so they can provide the best service for you.

Fee Arrangement

Another critical aspect of choosing a lawyer is cost. At Eisenberg and Baum, we typically handle employment discrimination matters on a contingency basis. A lawyer that works on a contingency fee is paid based on a percentage of the amount you recover in your case. In our contingency fees cases, we do not charge the client fees unless and until the client actually recovers damages from the defendant. That means, if you hire our firm but ultimately we failed to win or settle your case, we would not receive any payment. On the other hand, if we do recover damages for you, we will be entitled to receive the percentage of the recovered amount.

Make the Right Choice for You

If you need legal help with a discrimination claim, before you decide on which lawyer you’d like to hire, make sure you’ve researched the lawyer and met with them in person to discuss the aspects of their representation that are important to you. Don’t be afraid to ask a lawyer questions that will help you decide whether the lawyer will be an effective advocate on your behalf. Eisenberg & Baum has decades of experience handling employment discrimination claims in New York and around the United States. When handling cases where we are not admitted, we seek pro hac vice (case by case) admission and work with local counsel. We handle our clients’ matters with sensitivity and honesty, and are tough advocates on your behalf. We also work on a contingency fee basis for employment discrimination cases, and are always happy to discuss how that arrangement works. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about us and discover how we can help you with your case.