How do you find out if a lawyer is legitamate? I have contacted the State Bar and she is not listed!? -

I have contacted the State Bar Association, and the Better Business Bureau. She is not listed. I have even tried to do a search on the search engine. Her name doesn t come up. I was told by the bar association that even if she is not listed with them she still can be a lawyer. Can anyone help me?

Are you sure you contacted the State Bar? I do not believe it is legal in the United States to practice law in any state without being a member of the state bar. What state are you in? What did they tell you exactly? Now if the person is not practising in that state, they may be a member of another bar, or they may be a lawyer not currently in practice in the state whose Bar you contacted. The other way is to ask the person. Ask for their bar number, and, if they are a litigator, for the names of cases they have worked on. Ask for references. These are all legitimate questions. Provide more information, and perhaps I can help. There are no obvious other ways to check. Many good lawyers don t belong to bar associations, or list in MArtindale Hubbel, or in other places. The Better Business Bureau has little to do with lawyers. And what in the world is an AV rating?

There is something called an AV rating. Lawyers with good ones advertise the fact. There is a website where you can look them up. the AV rating has two scales one for ethics and one for competence. do a google search (I m sorry I meant a YAHOO search) for AV rating and maybe you can find the site

Almost all state jurisdictions have a listing of licensed attorneys for that particular state (most on the internet). For example, if in California the quot;attorneyquot; is not listed on the California State Bar website, that quot;attorneyquot; is most likely not an California licensed attorney. They may be licensed in another state, but they are not able to practice law in California. Practicing law without a license is illegal. If I were you, I d ask that quot;attorneyquot; for her state bar number, the jurisdiction in which she is licensed and whether she s in good standing. On the state bar website, you might also try variations of her name to see if any of them come up (i.e. Alex-Alexandria, Mike-Michael, Charles-Charley). Hope this helps.