San Francisco Law Firms

What Makes a Good San Francisco Law Firm?

That Golden Gate Bridge says a lot about beauty in San Francisco, not to mention all the wonderful city hills dipping and climbing all over. The beauty, though, does get saddled with issues with the law and people who aren’t prepared for it or capable of handling it.

It can come in all varieties:

1. Criminal Charges

2. Divorce

3. Court Martial

4. Auto Accident

5. Personal Injury

6. Workman’s Comp

7. Wrongful Death

8. Malpractice

9. Juvenile Delinquency

These are real issues that happen every day – even in the beauty that is San Francisco, California. And the crazy thing about trying to deal with any legal issues is this:

It’s Not as Simple as Opening Up a Phone Book

Finding a lawyer isn’t like finding a plumber. There’s research involved. And without a doubt, any client needs to set up a shortlist of attorneys to choose from, but which kinds of attorneys? What to consider?

1. Rates and Fees

2. Education

3. Experience

4. Personality

5. Workload

All of this combines to the simple fact that every lawyer in San Francisco operates differently. So knowing the right for the case is crucial. And this is how you find that lawyer:

You Find Out Which San Francisco Law Firms Are the Best in the Game

Understand this about San Francisco law firms: there are two kinds:

1. Large Law Firms

2. Small Law Offices

You’ll see them everywhere, actually. The larger San Francisco law firms? They’re typically in skyscrapers, tons of floors, a team of lawyers. Whereas a “small” law office generally operates out of one small building or on a separate space in a business complex and will have one, two, maybe three lawyers working at the most.

They’re very different. And because they’re different, each San Francisco law firm has separate strengths to keep in mind. Knowing those strengths helps in making the right choice to hire a lawyer.

For Starters, Learning About “Large” San Francisco Law Firms….

What makes these big boys tick? What makes them formidable in the legal field? Obviously, their success is marked by their size. But it’s so much more than that.

A large San Francisco law firm will have these specific strengths:

1. Teamwork

2. Technology

3. Time and Money

It sounds good. But we’ll get to the details on each.

First off, teamwork at one of these large San Francisco law firms isn’t about better cohesion between associates. It’s not necessarily a ‘brotherhood’ or anything. Rather, when a large San Francisco law firm operates with teamwork, it’s about focusing as much attention as possible on a case with not one lawyer – but two, maybe even three.

It takes the natural adage of “two heads are better than one,” turning it into a true-blue company mission statement. In fact, many large San Francisco law firms will make it policy to assign at least two attorneys to any case, no matter how small the case may be.

The reason? One, because they have the staffing necessary, and two, because every case must be won at all costs. And it may take more than one head in the game to do it.

In addition, each lawyer would have their own legal assistant to handle some of the bread-and-butter work, like:

1. Paperwork

2. Phone Calls

3. Interviews

4. Writing

5. Jury Picking

And a handful of other minor duties. Paralegals are also available in a larger San Francisco law firm to handle certain preliminaries or pre-hearings in a case. Everything’s taken care of in one of these big firms; that’s for sure.

With the mind-blowing success of a larger San Francisco law firm, there’s obviously the benefit of better technology to run the business as well as better time management and resources, leading to an ultimately better track record for clients.

And no matter how you look at it, clients can’t resist that. Having a team with everything set up for success to handle a case has the greatest chance of victory, no matter how complex the case may be.

So Then What About the Smaller Law Offices?

What chance do they have in the industry? With all the big boys running around winning cases, how can a “small-time” lawyer make it? Believe it or not, there’s a reason for the little guys to thrive in the legal industry, and here’s why:

1. Better Rates and Fees

2. More Personable Service

3. Better Understanding of Local and State Laws

4. Better Specialization

It was never intended for smaller offices to compete with the big names in law by lowering the prices, though; keep that in mind. But the reason why smaller offices can charge less is simple:

There’s less of a bottom line, less of a budget, less to upkeep for the business.

Think about it: you’ve got one, two, maybe three lawyers working in a smaller office, four or five rooms at the most, and one secretary or personal assistant to handle the calls. And that’s it.

That makes for very little in terms of bills. So naturally a lawyer can charge much less.

In addition, because these lawyers work in such small settings, they tend to focus just as much on the needs of the client as on the case. Something about being treated as an actual ‘person’ and not a ‘case number’ appeals to many clients, and quite frankly the larger firms can be in danger of turning their clients into numbers real easily.

In addition, many larger law firms operate outside the state through multiple offices. Some large firms may even reach overseas!

In contrast, smaller offices stick to local boundaries. And for many cases, this is preferable especially when it involves local and/or state laws. Without a doubt, if a client dealing with a divorce had to choose between a big-time firm with a “family law department” and a smaller office specifically dealing with divorce law, the latter would be the choice.

That also highlights specialization as a key factor in a small office. Typically because these lawyers work harder at their job, they get more experience in their field. Even more experience than any large firm overall. So keep an eye on those smaller offices specializing in some field of law that doesn’t have a terrible amount of competition.

When All Is Said and Done, a Decision Must Be Made

After gathering a diversified shortlist of lawyers and understanding the strengths of a variety of firms belonging to the lawyers, the next course of action should be clear: make a choice.

But for sure the choice would be an easy one when knowing all the facts about what makes a good law firm in the city of San Francisco.