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How to find and hire a great lawyer
Do I need a lawyer?
What to Consider When Hiring a Tax Lawyer
The laws surrounding taxes are complex and when one has to deal with issues to do with taxes, it is not a small matter. Although you can address some of these issues independently, it is always best to have professional help to make the process easy. A taxpayer may get answers and filings with help from an enrolled agent or certified public accountant, but for a difficult case or issue, nothing can replace a lawyer. They will have been trained in the detailed provisions of the tax laws and would be in a better place to come up with better strategies than a non lawyer. If you feel at a loss knowing how to deal with the IRS, then there is a special power of attorney form that is to be filled in order that an attorney can take charge of the communication between you and the IRS.
Every rational taxpayer would like to optimize their tax situation if possible, but nobody wants the IRS coming to pay them a visit. Tax code violations can be stiff, fines may be imposed and may even lead to imprisonment in case the violations were intentional. In the event that you are selected for an audit, or you believe that an audit is on the way, then it is important that you seek the services of a lawyer. You also should consider engaging an attorney if you have overdue returns or large debts that cannot be paid. It is important to realize that if the problem is not addressed now it will not go away on its own.
It can be difficult to make a decision on who is the best lawyer to hire. A simple search in Google is a good starting point, but should not end here. Google searches will produce numerous options, including many that may be paid listings and do not depict the lawyer’s competence or their potential to handle your case adequately. Likewise, you could get helpful information on the phone with friends or relatives that had hired a tax attorney, but the attorney that worked well for them may not necessarily be the one that will fit you. Each situation is unique. Here are certain tips that can assist you in knowledgeable research and comparison of the attorneys.
Background and Experience
You should ideally hire a lawyer who has prior experience dealing with clients in your type of case. For instance, if you have no ability to pay your taxes, you may need an attorney familiar with the offer in compromise, which will enable you to pay less than the actual amount you owe. If you have lost a case by a tax authority and wish to appeal, then you should get an attorney who has dealt with appeal procedures in tax court. If the IRS has indicted you, you might have to retain some lawyer who has many years of practice in tax fraud and also has been practicing in the federal court. If you are dissolving a business or creating an estate plan, you may wish to seek an attorney with experience in the areas of tax law and business/ estate tax planning. Selected attorneys may have board certifications or affiliations with professional groups in their fields of practice. In other cases, they could have earned accolades, or honoraria, for their excellent performance in the area of law.
Professional Record
In general, you should try to hire an attorney who has no prior disciplinary records of severe misconduct. Details on the performance of an attorney can be obtained through the state bar site relevant to the state where that lawyer practices. In this step, you might wish to get acquainted with the specific facts of any disciplinary measures so as to consider the events that preceded it. There are simple violations which are not serious compared to others. You may not want to eliminate an attorney right away based solely on a very basic violation of the rules if he or she is currently in compliance.
On the other hand, there should be caution if the attorney has a record of some serious violations even when they attained a certain level of success. You would not want careless mistakes made by your attorney to cost you chances at gains, favors, or redress that ought to have been granted to you.
Results
More often than not, a tax lawyer will list down some of their major achievements on either the website or the blog they maintain. No two cases are the same and as such, you should not expect the results of your case to be as favorable as that of another person. However, evidence of successful outcomes for people whose situations are comparable to yours can also be favorable. It may provide information on the matters in which an attorney is most effective if a considerable number of the best outcomes include the same type of issue.
Initial Consultation
Some tax lawyers including those operating in the law firms may give a free consultation to the customers while others will charge a small fee for consultation service. The consultation allows the client and the attorney to determine if they should work together with each other. The fact that an attorney has all the right connections, education, experience under his belt does not mean that he or she would be the best person to hire. Instead, you should ensure that you get a lawyer to whom you are comfortable to talk to and with whom you share a good rapport. You shouldn’t feel like your lawyer is simply going through the motions of your particular case, but is genuinely interested in your plight. It is wise to meet with several lawyers and discuss your case before hiring one of them.
One way to achieve this is by preparing a list of questions to ask during the consultation so that you can determine if that attorney is right for you. For instance, you may wish to learn about chances of achieving certain objectives in a case as viewed by the attorney given the strong and weak aspects of the argument. You shouldn’t expect an exact answer, but general impressions can be useful for setting expectations. A positive response may be helpful, yet you should consider twice when an attorney assures or appears far more confident than the competitors. They may be overpromising. Moreover, you should also pay attention to the way an attorney articulates the assessment as well. It would still be necessary for them to present their arguments in a manner that would logically make sense even to a person who does not have a legal background.
Fee Structure
Fees are another important matter that should be discussed at the consultation. Hourly rates for tax lawyers exist, as well as flat fees for specific services that a certain lawyer provides. Most of the taxpayers opt for a flat fee because of the certainty of the cost, not knowing how much an hour’s consultation will cost them if a case takes longer than expected. However, flat fee may be costly if the particular case settles out faster than expected compared to the hour rate. Remuneration is dependent with the task at hand which makes fees to differ from one another. For instance, an attorney is more likely to demand more fees for the representation on your side in an IRS appeal or a US Tax Court than in the Instalment agreement or penalty abatement. It is also important that any fee arrangement should be spelled out in the representation agreement so that you know your responsibilities.
Learn about the Lawyergist Lawyer Directory
The Lawyergist Lawyer Directory is meant to help users learn about, compare and get in contact with lawyers in your city, county, or state of choice. Begin searching for our directory of tax lawyers in your local area now.