Seattle Law Firms

What Makes a Good Seattle Law Firm?

If you’re a resident in the state of Washington, specifically in the city of Seattle, you’ll probably be sleepless in Seattle over something as serious as this: a legal issue.

It could be any number of possibilities when it comes to legal issues:

1. Lawsuit

2. Criminal Charge

3. Estate Planning

4. Divorce Dispute

5. Personal Injury Claim

The list can keep going. Unfortunately.

It’s no surprise that the legal field is chock full of possible pitfalls, and knowing what kind of lawyer to hire as well as hiring a good lawyer can be a task if you don’t know where the good Seattle law firms are. Or even what is a good Seattle law firm.

Well, you’re going to know now. Right here.

There Are Two Kinds of Seattle Law Firms:

1. The “Large” Law Firms

2. And the “Small” Law Offices

Knowing what these two types of Seattle law firms are about will help you greatly in determining which lawyer to hunt down. Why? Because each type has their own strengths.

It’s not as simple as saying the “larger” Seattle law firms are more ‘experienced’ or just plain ‘better.’ It doesn’t mean the smaller ‘offices’ will always give you the personal attention you and your case deserve either.

But knowing the strengths of both types of Seattle law firm will definitely help you make the best choice possible. Starting with….

The Larger Seattle Law Firm

Everyone gets a little intimidated when visiting one of these skyscrapers, especially when completely lost in regard of direction, where to go, who to talk to. But the fact is for many cases the larger Seattle law firm is the way to go. The sure thing.

Why? Here are the advantages:

1. Team Effort

2. Better Resources

3. Better Track Record

4. Better Technology

Formidable combinations. Good enough to knock down any opponent in the ring! But to elaborate on the details here, we can start with the “team effort.”

One thing you have to know about the larger Seattle law firms is that the staffing is huge. You’re looking at 40 strong, maybe more, sometimes a little less for some legal fields. But the main point is you’ll have attorneys working for these large Seattle law firms without getting overworked because of the “team effort.”

In fact, some policies a huge Seattle law firm will have may include the need to assign two or more lawyers to one case, no matter the complexity of the case.

The result is a better chance of winning any case. Two heads are better than one. One lawyer typically handles the opening statement; the other handles the closing statement. That’s just an example, though. But for the most part, both lawyers or a team of three or four may collaborate and focus all their energy and skill for the best kind of result.

For the most part, that’s better than any one lawyer can handle.

And then there are the resources. Forget the fact that you have several attorneys that can work in this kind of Seattle law firm. You’ve also got….

1. Paralegals

2. Legal Assistants

3. Secretaries

4. Interns

5. Mail Room Clerks

6. Writers

Lawyers working in these large firms have the best in resources. Ultimately, that leads to winning cases….

That obviously leads to the better track records. Generally.

It’s not a be-all and end-all, though. Just because an attorney works in a larger firm doesn’t mean the track record’s going to be stellar. But it’s a good indication. You can bet that any lawyer you hire through the firm will get the best possible support….

As well as up-to-date business technology.

Because these firms are so large, it’s understandable to think that they have economic growth on their side. The money’s so good that they’ve expanded, possibly from being a “small” office specializing in one field to a “larger” firm handling multiple fields.

With that upswing comes the advent of new technologies, making research easier, work easier, everything easier. And that’s easier for any client.

So Where Does That Leave the “Small” Law Office?

Believe me. They do just fine. The big boys really don’t bring down the little guys in the legal industry. It’s funny that way.

The reason why is because the law is so inclusive to everything that there never seems to be a lack of demand. Every day there seems to be a new lawsuit, new criminal charge, new dispute, new claim off some kind entering in court that a lawyer’s almost always needed on a daily basis.

This is particularly why there never seems to be a real sense of competition. Lawyers are an inner circle of colleagues. Two firms can be located right next to each other and do just fine.

What are the advantages of a smaller law office then? How can they “compete” and stay in business? It’s simple….

1. Better Rates and Fees

2. More Personable Service

3. Better Understanding of Local and State Laws

4. More Specialization

5. More Hardworking

With a few exceptions, it’s generally the case that a smaller office will charge less than a larger firm. For obvious reasons. So that’s one obvious advantage. This isn’t necessarily a ‘competitive’ advantage, though.

Let’s face it: a smaller office doesn’t have that large of a bottom line or budget. So they can get away with charging less. They don’t have the personal assistants, paralegals, maintenance crews, yadda yadda, to put on payroll. Typically a small office may have one, two, or three lawyers working at the most. And that’s it.

So you may get the true experience and skill in a small office – but at a cheaper price. That’s a good deal!

Moreover, because it’s a smaller setting, chances are a client will get more of the attention not only the case needs, but what the client needs. It’s important to have that kind of business relationship with a lawyer, to know that the lawyer’s “on your side.” That the lawyer “believes in you.”

Some common assumptions about the bigger boys in the legal industry is that they may look at a client as a potential ‘case number’ on their caseload (because the number of clients they end up having can go through the roof). But a lawyer working hard in a smaller office will give every client the attention he or she will deserve. Plain and simple.

That, of course, leads to the fact that generally the lawyers working in small offices tend to work harder for the case. You know why? Several reasons:

1. Less Support Staff (Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Etc. Etc.)

2. Less Resources (No Huge Company Library)

3. Less Technology (They’ll Only Use the Good Ol’ File Cabinets)

While it’s a plus for those larger firms to have all of those things, it can also be a plus for the smaller offices to not have them. Because the end result is those lawyers work a lot harder on one case.

They tend to be a lot more knowledgeable about a specialized field and local and state laws than any big firm out there, because smaller offices are generally local anyway. You can expect a larger firm to either have multiple offices all over the United States or the globe, or simply have a presence outside the state.

So if there’s a case that involves certain state laws, a client might want to go with a local office to handle it. They’ll have more experience.

What Will the Decision Be?

Those are the strengths of both types of Seattle firms practicing law. Knowing them should help you gather up a diversified shortlist of lawyers with different strengths.

The better choice you have, the better choice you’ll make.