What You Should Know Before Hiring Washington DC Immigration Lawyers

By Marie Stewart


When you have to deal with issues related to immigration, you should consider hiring an immigration lawyer. It is important to note the situations when help from such an expert is required, and the qualities you have to look for before you make a choice. For residents of Washington DC immigration lawyers can be hired from within the state, or outside. This is because immigration issues are usually federal so a lawyer from any state can help you.

Most people are usually uncertain whether to involve an attorney in their affairs or not. If you are undecided, you will not make the necessary decisions. The availability of information from the immigration department might also influence you not to hire a lawyer. However, you should realize that state departments are not liable or even responsible for all the information they provide. If you interpret it wrongly, you will be fully responsible. It is therefore important to seek legal expertise.

You may encounter people calling themselves immigration consultants. Such people are not licensed to offer these services so you cannot rely fully on their advice. Even if you are likely to save a lot of money if you engage their services instead of a lawyer, you will have limited recourse options if such a consultant turns out to be a fraudster.

With so many attorneys ready to take your case, it might not be very easy to evaluate them, and decide which one is best for you. The fees charged by an attorney for the service should guide you in the choice to make. By evaluating the prices charged by different service providers, you should have an idea what the current market rates are. Anyone charging way higher, or too low might not be genuine. You should also check whether the lawyer has faced disciplinary actions.

After serving many clients, a lawyer will cultivate a certain reputation. This means you have to confirm whether the prospective lawyer you have in mind has a positive reputation. If there is a lot of criticism about the services offered by the attorney, you should not hire him or her.

You will be better off if you choose a specialist. Immigration laws keep changing from time to time, so the lawyer you choose has to be updated on the latest changes. If the prospective attorney practices in other areas too, he or she is not likely to keep up with all the changes.

You should check the ratio of attorneys to paralegals in the firm you intend to hire. Many Washington, DC firms are known to have several paralegals to help their lawyers, an approach which keeps the operating costs manageable. However, a ratio higher than three paralegals for each lawyer should be an indicator that your case will mostly be handled by the paralegals.

Do not forget to assess the level of workload a potential lawyer has. Some lawyers take too many cases, making it hard for them to concentrate fully on each case. Even when an attorney seems fully qualified to handle your case, you should not hire him or her if you think the workload is too much. These tips will help you identify the right attorney to handle your case. This will ensure that you have sufficient information for your case. You will also be sure that the one you have chosen will dedicate enough time to your case.




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