After a dispute or a filed claim, you’ve decided to settle with your employer, and now all you must do is sign the settlement agreement. Do you really think you are ready? And are you sure you’re doing the best thing for you and getting the perfect deal?
Is it possible that you could, instead, be in need of some legal advice on settlement agreement before signing anything?
Most likely, that’s the case. As employees are often not well versed on the law, they do not know how to protect their own interests and how to get the most out of an agreement like this. That is why hiring solicitors and getting legal advice on the matter is necessary.
Having decided that you want to hire these legal professionals to advise you on the matter, you will now want to find a great one right away. That, however, can take some time. Rushing into things is not a clever idea and neither is making random choices.
You need to know how to go through the choosing process step by step, to finally hire the best expert to guide you towards getting the best deal.
Recommendations Help, But They Are Not the Main Source of Info
One of the main things to remember is that recommendations from the people you know can be quite helpful, but that they are not exactly the main source of information.
Or, at least, they shouldn’t be. Sure, you can find a few people you trust and hear their suggestions on the solicitors they have worked with, but you could miss some amazing experts if you don’t do some research on your own as well.
Search Online as Well
Doing research on your own begins by searching for these solicitors online. Most of them will have their own websites to show for, and those can be quite useful information sources.
So, use your browser to find the professionals you’re after and take some time to check their websites. Thanks to this step, and the one above, you will get to create a list of potential legal professionals to hire.
Here’s what a solicitor does, if you don’t understand their role in the process: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solicitor
Do Not Choose Based on the Size of the Firm
Most people tend to choose on the size of the firms they come across, although different individuals have different criteria when it comes to that.
Some prefer larger firms, thinking they are automatically better than smaller ones. Others, however, prefer smaller ones, thinking they will get a higher quality service because they will not be just one client in a million.
Both points of view have some merit. Yet, choosing based on the size of the firm is not the best idea.
If you really want to be sure you’ll get high quality services and be treated like an important client, which you definitely are, you’ll have to make your choice based on other factors, and not the size of the actual law firm.
Do Background Checks
Since you will have to choose based on other factors, you’ll also have to take time to get the other pieces of information you require.
So, do background checks and inspect not only the expertise and the education levels, but also the experience and the reputation of the solicitors you are considering.
Remember to check specific experience with settlement agreements, because you don’t want to choose a professional that has not previously worked with those.
And naturally, reading reviews to check reputation is a huge must, so don’t skip that step.
Have Interviews
Whether you’re hiring an employment lawyer, a solicitor or another legal adviser and professional that knows the ins and outs of employment law and rights, some of which you can read about here, you’ll need to interview them.
Ask any questions you have and talk about your case during the interviews. Remember the answers and check how respective solicitors would handle your specific case.
Remember That Communication Matters
Another thing to remember is that communication matters quite a lot. So, you should keep that on your mind during the interviews.
If communicating with certain solicitors feels easy and if you can say anything you want, while also getting answers to any questions you have, that is a good sign.
Hiring someone you communicate well with will certainly lead to getting the most out of the settlement agreement.
