5 Tips for Choosing a Phoenix Disability Discrimination Lawyer

1 in 4 Americans have some form of disability. Due to the Americans with Disabilities Act, several groups must not discriminate against the disabled. These include employers, public transportation, and more. 

If these individuals are discriminated against, they can seek legal action. However, they must find a good disability discrimination lawyer. If they don’t, they may not get the compensation they deserve. 

Do you know how to find a high-quality disability lawyer in Phoenix? If not, read on. This article will give you five tips for finding the best disability discrimination lawyer in Phoenix. 

1. Get a Disability Discrimination Lawyer 

It’s never a good idea to hire any lawyer for a disability discrimination case. Yes, good lawyers can handle any case well. However, lawyers who are experienced with disability discrimination cases will handle these types of cases the best. 

Lawyers Have Specialties 

You wouldn’t hire a foot doctor to fix an ear problem, would you? You should treat lawyers similarly. 

Like doctors, lawyers tend to have specialties. For example, one lawyer may focus on criminal law cases and another may focus on family law. By doing this, these lawyers are more likely to win.

As they go through certain cases, they’ll memorize the relevant laws and case situations. When they can easily remember relevant information, they’ll win more easily. 

Think About Your Case 

At the very least, you need to choose a lawyer that has experience with disability laws and cases. However, if you can, you should hire a lawyer that has experience with cases extremely similar to your own. Such a lawyer should have the greatest level of competence. 

To give an example, say you’re having trouble getting social security disability insurance. You should choose a social security disability lawyer to help you.

Workplace disability discrimination lawyers and SSDI lawyers are both disability lawyers. However, the latter lawyer will give you a better chance of winning an SSDI-related case. 

2. Choose an Arizona Lawyer 

You also need to choose a lawyer that’s based in your state. This isn’t important to do just because that lawyer will know the state laws well. It’s also important because a lawyer who works in several states may be doing so illegally. 

How Arizona Lawyer Licensing Works

After an Arizona lawyer finishes law school (or is in their third year), they will pursue a license. To do this, they first need to apply for the Arizona State Bar Exam. If they pass this exam, they will become a member of the bar.  

However, becoming a member of the Arizona Bar only permits them to practice law in Arizona. In the same way, lawyers who are members of other state bars cannot practice in Arizona. 

Stay Within the State Boarders 

So it’s best not to pursue a lawyer from over the border. They’ll likely be unable to take your case. If you want to try this, check out Arizona State’s reciprocity laws regarding lawyers first. Also, if you think a lawyer is practicing in multiple states illegally, contact your local bar. 

3. Ask About Attorney Fee Options 

Yes, lawyers can be expensive. However, it may be easier for you to pay for a lawyer than you think. Most law firms offer their clients multiple options to pay their attorneys. 

As you go from disability law firm to disability law firm, ask each one about their payment options. They should give you one or more of the options below. You can then go with the law firm that offers you the best payment plan for your needs. 

Hourly Rate 

A lawyer who asks for an hourly rate will get paid a set price per hour. The amount you end up paying will differ depending on how long a lawyer needs to solve a case. For example, if a lawyer charges $200 per hour and takes 20 hours to solve a case, you will pay $4,000. 

Keep in mind that you may not have to pay this amount all at once. Some lawyers will allow you to make monthly payments. 

Flat Fees 

A flat fee is a set amount of money you can pay a lawyer for a service. Lawyers often charge these fees for simple tasks. Examples include writing wills and filing for bankruptcy. 

You may or may not run into flat fees during your disability discrimination case. However, some lawyers charge flat fees for certain services on top of a contingency fee or hourly rate. Make sure you get the full details from the law firm you’re thinking of hiring. 

Contingency Fees 

Does your legal case involve you earning monetary compensation? If so, your lawyer may ask you to pay them via a contingency fee. This is a percentage of the monetary compensation you’ll receive. 

The exact percentage that a lawyer will get can be fairly high. Make sure you know the exact percentage you’ll pay before agreeing to work with a lawyer. You don’t want to give away a portion of your contingency fee that you can’t afford. 

Retention Fees 

If your lawyer is in high demand, they may ask you to pay them a retention fee. This is money that you pay in advance to retain a lawyer’s services. The lawyer should subtract this money from the final fees that you owe. 

4. Consider Accessibility 

People with severe disabilities may struggle to get to a lawyer’s physical office. It may be more feasible for them to meet with lawyers in other ways. A disability law firm should be aware that many of its clients need flexibility and will likely have some options. 

If you find that a law firm can’t accommodate you, it may be best to find a law firm that can. Make sure to inform your lawyer of your needs during the consultation. That way, neither of you will be surprised if allowances need to be put in place. 

Virtual Calls 

With the technology available today, it should be easy for lawyers to have video meetings with you. As long as you have stable Wi-Fi, you can use your mobile device, tablet, or computer to interact with your lawyer. 

There are, however, limits to this form of meeting. If your lawyer has any physical documents you need to interact with, they can’t pass them to you during the meeting. You may have to wait for the documents to come in the mail if the lawyer can’t send the documents to you virtually. 

Home Visits 

Some lawyers may even pay home visits. However, lawyers are usually only willing to do this if your home isn’t far from their office. Still, you can at least bring the matter up and see what the law firm thinks. 

5. Find Out Who Will Represent You 

When you have a consultation with a law firm, you’ll usually talk to one specific lawyer. As law firms should want to give good first impressions, they’ll likely send their most accomplished and charismatic lawyer to talk to you. You may be led to believe that this is the lawyer who will take your case. 

However, the law firm may hand your case to another lawyer. This lawyer may still be perfectly capable of handling your case. Yet, it can be understandably disturbing for you to experience this sudden change. 

Luckily, you don’t have to be surprised. You can know what’s going to happen before the switch by asking who your lawyer will be. 

Asking About Your Lawyer 

A lawyer who works at an honest law firm should be more than happy to tell you about the lawyer who will take your case. Your consulting lawyer can tell you about your case lawyer’s experience level, licensing, etc. Remember that if a high-quality law firm hired a lawyer on, they should have faith in them. 

If you want, you can even ask about the reasons why the consulting lawyer can’t take your case. They’ll likely have a good reason why this is so. Your consulting lawyer may be too busy with other cases, thinks the other lawyer will do better, etc. 

Beware of Fraudulent Firms 

However, in some cases, you may run into firms that don’t have your interests at heart. Some dishonest law firms may put their best lawyers forward but then give you a lawyer who is not qualified to handle your case. 

You can spot these law firms by asking about who will work on your case. Law firms that are hiding poor-quality lawyers will probably be unwilling to discuss the lawyer that will handle your case. If you suspect that something is up, you should probably go to another law firm. 

Get a Disability Lawyer in Phoenix

Getting the right disability discrimination lawyer will require some extra steps. However, as you can see, these steps only require you to gather certain pieces of information. This shouldn’t be too difficult. 

However, if you want to get a disability lawyer in Phoenix faster, consider hiring one from our firm. Our lawyers will be there for you 24/7 during your case. For a free case evaluation, fill out the form at the bottom of this page.