The Complete Guide to Choosing a Consumer Protection Attorney

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As reports show, even big brands frequently dodge consumer protection laws. Add in unlawful debt collection, medical malpractice, and outright scams—and it’s not surprising that in 2018 alone, the FTC received almost 3 million complaints from consumers. If you are a victim of consumer-related violations, it can feel like you are helpless against the organization in question. However, this is not the case. Providing you find a reliable and experienced consumer protection attorney, you can seek justice and compensation.

However, to up your chances of carrying out a successful consumer protection case, you will need to invest a little time into finding the right attorney. Otherwise, you might lose your case and your money.

Ready to learn how to find the best attorney in town? If so, keep reading.

Choosing a Consumer Protection Attorney

Start Online

When looking for a good consumer protection attorney for your case, the first place to start is online. Begin by googling terms like “consumer protection attorney near me.”

If you do not have the upfront cash to pay an attorney to look at your case, you can also try “consumer law attorney free consultation.”

Take a look at the search results. From here, you can start to make a shortlist of professional-looking attorneys.

To try and weed out the best candidates, take into account their online presence. Is their website up-to-date and easy to use? Does it look professional?

What about what’s written on the site? If there are spelling mistakes or an attorney’s site looks like it was developed in the ’90s, you probably want to move on.

Check Reviews and Testimonials

While you are googling potential consumer rights law firms and attorneys, you should also take a moment to check out any available reviews and testimonials.

Review platforms such as Yelp and Google Reviews can give you valuable insight into how satisfied previous clients were.

Take note that even the best attorney may wrack up a few negative reviews. This, in and of itself, is not a bad sign, as it’s almost impossible to please every client. However, if you come across a consumer protection attorney with strings of negative or low-star reviews, steer clear as this is obviously a trend.

Besides looking at reviews, you should also check attorney and consumer rights law firm pages for client testimonials. If you see a long list of glowing testimonials from different clients, this is a good sign.

On the other hand, no testimonials could mean that the attorney or firm either does not have much of a track record—or has a majority of unhappy past clients.

Ask for Recommendations

Besides looking online, another way to scout out a reputable consumer protection attorney is to ask your friends, family, co-workers, or anybody else you know.

If you don’t know anyone who’s been involved in consumer protection cases, don’t let this stop you from asking around. You may find a good recommendation via a friend of a friend.

If you receive a consumer protection attorney recommendation, make sure you google the attorney or firm to check them out. If their site and reviews look promising, then add them to your shortlist.

Favor Attorneys Who Specialize in Consumer Protection

Before you start contacting possible attorneys, there is one last important rule to follow. Only go with attorneys who specialize in consumer protection cases.

Why is this?

Well, to put it simply, you wouldn’t go to an eye specialist for a heart transplant, would you? The same holds for attorneys.

Just like doctors, attorneys and lawyers choose different paths of specialization. They become experts in their specialized legal field by doing this.

As you can imagine, an experienced consumer protection attorney will be more likely to win your case than an attorney that might not even be able to define consumer law properly.

As with everything, experience is key, so stay away from general attorneys.

Ask the Right Questions

Once you have a list of potential attorneys, you will want to contact them and set up initial consultations. During these, the attorney will query you about your case.

This is also your opportunity to ask the attorney some important questions. It’s crucial to take advantage of these sessions and find out everything you want to know. Don’t let the attorney ask all the questions!

Here are some of the things you may want to ask a consumer protection attorney:

  • How long have you been practicing?
  • Do you specialize in consumer protection cases?
  • How long have you been doing consumer protection cases?
  • How many consumer protection cases have you handled?
  • What is your success rate?

Besides these basic questions into the attorney’s background, you should also get clear on the fee structure they offer.

Consumer protection attorneys can levy fees in various ways. Some areas of consumer law allow for what is known as fee-shifting. The result of this is the other party will have to pay your consumer rights law firm fees if you win.

In other cases, some firms may agree to waive your fees if you lose. If so, be aware that they will want to comb your case to make sure it’s viable.

Take note that for some types of consumer protection cases, contingency and fee-shifting arrangements are not possible, such as in debt defense.

The ways attorneys level their fees can also vary. Some attorneys may charge an hourly rate, and others a flat rate.

Ensure your potential attorney explains the fee structure clearly so you don’t have any hidden surprises.

Do You Need a Good Consumer Protection Attorney on Your Side?

Once you know the right steps to take, finding a good consumer protection attorney isn’t as hard as it sounds.

In fact, did you know that you’re only a few clicks away from one of the best in LA?

F. Jay Rahimi is an experienced attorney who specializes in consumer protection cases.

If you would like to set up a free consultation with an expert consumer protection attorney, contact us today to give your case the advantage.

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