How Consumers Choose Solicitors
A good solicitor should be able to demonstrate numerous attributes and skills. To analyze how consumers choose solicitors, the solicitors need to assess the qualities their clients or someone with a legal problem is looking for. The terms skills and attributes have a slight difference when it comes to considering the background of a solicitor.
Skills a solicitor should possess
The skills a solicitor should possess range from people skills (teamwork and degree of forming a relationship with your client) to communication skills (logical reasoning, and the ability to put together arguments verbally as well as on paper). Law aspirants or any professional solicitor must possess the following skills:
- Ability to disintegrate, study, and express complex issues both in writing as well as orally
- Working productively in a team
- Thinking analytically
- Stand by your opinion
- Thinking and working under high-stress situations
These skills are how consumers choose solicitors and need to be present in a solicitor so that while dealing with any case, the client has confidence in the solicitor and believes in his decisions.
Attributes a solicitor should possess
Attributes are the qualities a solicitor holds. Along with skills, it is also essential for a solicitor to possess the following attributes that will greatly complement the personality:
- Resilient
- Methodical
- Trusting in your skills
- Sociable
- Adaptable
- Committed
These are not the kind of attributes and skills that can be cultivated overnight. You will gradually master these qualities with time and experience and continue to improve these skills through much of your legal career, even if you are a law student or possess 20 years of legal experience.
Decision and filter criteria
How consumers choose solicitors is based on decision and filter criteria. Decision criteria as a whole help the consumer in ultimately hiring the ideal attorney. Filter criteria help in knowing the analysis done before shortlisting a list of prospective solicitors. Here are some pointers that come under decision and filter, which helps you understand how consumers choose solicitors:
- Price and pricing choices
This is the most important component of the decision criteria. Nearly 68% of consumers claimed it to be a crucial factor. Price here refers to the hourly rate, retaining fee, and more. Quite a few participants were unaware of the factors packaged services and fixed fees, and some had no idea as to what was included and how they worked. Thus, the solicitors and law firms as a whole must be transparent regarding their fees and how the agreements work.
- Soft-skills
Soft-skills here refer to the capability of the solicitors to help the consumers understand the customer service and the legal procedures. It becomes very necessary for legal advisors to be able to inspire trust and reach out to the client. The solicitors will be able to meet the expectations of the consumers by responding to them in a timely, compassionate and courteous manner.
Apart from this, consumers also consider free consultations and practice areas to be among the list of potential filters. To be a prospective solicitor, with a great clientele, keeping up with the filter and decision criteria is important, along with working on the skills and attributes that decide how consumers choose lawyers
