Choosing the right lawyer

Choosing the right lawyer for your needs can be daunting. You want to find someone who’s not only qualified, but experienced, trustworthy, personable, and a good fit with you. If you’re searching cold, and start with a Google search, there’s a good chance that you’ll get overwhelmed with options and won’t know where to go next. 

So how do you start narrowing down your options to choose the right legal representation? 

Ideally, you should invest time in the exercise of sourcing a good lawyer. After all, you want a lawyer who suits you, who is well-supported by a solid team, and who will always be there when you need them. You certainly don’t want the frustration and hassle of repeating the process after a disappointment. 

Our clients often started their journey by discerning that: 

• We have been practicing law for a very long time.
• We offer many specialist legal services. 
• They felt confident we’d listen to their concerns. 
• We are a good fit, and they’d enjoy working with us. 

Once their list was more defined, they considered their more specific needs. This stage was about getting more granular, focusing on the skill set and personality that they needed.  Perhaps they needed an expert in real estate to handle a construction dispute or a public safety issue, or a commercial lawyer, estate planning specialist, immigration lawyer or a family law specialist? Some wanted a direct, take-no-prisoners barrister, others an experienced solicitor who is adept at handling very delicate situations. At this stage, they were looking at individual lawyers on the team. 

Many found the best way to make shorten their list and ultimately choose the right lawyer for them, was through social proof. This is essentially discovering what other people say about their experience working with us. Client testimonials are an important source of comfort when you are looking for legal help, but unless they are genuine, they can be misleading.  Carlile Dowling displays only genuine client feedback about the firm and its individual lawyers, legal executives, and support staff. The client comments are freely given, and anonymous, so prospective clients know they can rely on them. What’s more, you can check them if you want – we will show them if you request to see them, so that you are confident that they are real. 

Finally, when the prospective client had completed most of their research, they would call or email us. They’d discuss their legal needs and really sound us out. Between this contact and engaging our services, their budget came into play. 

Having a limited budget should not mean you can’t get decent legal representation.  To help manage legal costs, we allocate client work to the appropriate level within the firm.  This may mean that partners work on aspects of a project, while supervised lawyers, legal executives and legal assistants complete other elements at a lower charge-rate.  That’s because we’re about the long game – we’re here for all our clients’ needs – and we have a great legal team who are absolutely client-focused, whatever their budget. 

Importantly, people who became clients of Carlile Dowling remained in charge throughout the discernment process, just as they now do throughout each engagement with us as clients.  We are transparent about pricing and the timeframe for completing work. Our clients know that if they have any concerns, they can raise them with a partner, who will investigate and take appropriate action.

At Carlile Dowling, our long history in Napier goes back to 1874. Over more than 145 years, we’ve never stopped innovating or caring for our clients. Today we offer a diverse range of legal expertise including:

• Commercial Law
• Conveyancing
• Employment Law
• Estate Administration
• Estate Planning & Wills
• Family Law
• Immigration
• Litigation
• Mediation & Arbitration
• Property Law
• Relationship Property
• Rural Property.

This past quarter, we’ve helped a lot of clients in the following areas of law.  

Get in touch today by calling 06 927 8150 or contact us online.

If your current legal needs sit outside the above, Michael Morgan is your first port of call. Feel free to call him on 06 835-9254 or email michael@cardow.co.nz.  Whatever legal help you need, we know we can help you source the right lawyer.  We look forward to hearing from you. 

Below are some nice words from our clients:

“Everything done efficiently and every effort made to accommodate all requests, even with attempted interference of COVID-19!”

“Usually I would not give a 10, but with such a short time frame this service deserves it.”

“Every aspect of the business was performed with minimal stress to us.”

“Always a pleasure to come & see MCM. I have been a client with MCM for 22yrs. Fantastic service & I travel from Hastings.”

“David was absolutely fantastic to work with. Thorough, personable, prompt and accessible. Everything you want in a solicitor.”