Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

Over the last several weeks, I have outlined many qualities to consider when choosing an attorney.  Once you have decided what kind of attorney you want, the next step is actually finding one

How to find an attorney?

Ask your other creative friends whom they use as their attorney.  With the wealth of information on the Internet, it is also possible to find information for the attorney of another artist you admire.  There are several attorney directories like lawyers.com and findlaw.com you can browse.  You can also search for attorneys and view their websites, or refer to networks like LinkedIn.

© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This site is not intended or offered as legal advice. These materials have been prepared for educational and information purposes only. They are not legal advice or legal opinions on any specific matters. If they are considered advertisements, they are general in nature and not directed towards any particular person or entity. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between this site, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq., and you or any other user. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The law may vary based on the facts of particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking professional counsel. No person should act or fail to act on any legal matter based on the contents of this site. Unless expressly stated otherwise, no document herein should be assumed to be produced by an attorney licensed in your state. For more information, please click on the “Disclaimer” section in the top menu of this site.

You know what they say:  “Location, location, location!”

Location

If you have to meet with your attorney or go to his/her office, you may want to make sure the attorney’s office is in a convenient location or that you are willing and able to travel to his/her office.

Next time, I’ll discuss how to find an attorney after thinking about all of the criteria I have explained over the last several weeks.

© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This site is not intended or offered as legal advice. These materials have been prepared for educational and information purposes only. They are not legal advice or legal opinions on any specific matters. If they are considered advertisements, they are general in nature and not directed towards any particular person or entity. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between this site, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq., and you or any other user. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The law may vary based on the facts of particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking professional counsel. No person should act or fail to act on any legal matter based on the contents of this site. Unless expressly stated otherwise, no document herein should be assumed to be produced by an attorney licensed in your state. For more information, please click on the “Disclaimer” section in the top menu of this site.

Always an important concern is price.  How much does the attorney charge?

Price

Attorneys have different billing rates based, which are mostly based on their experience and number of years in practice.  Some attorneys only bill hourly and/or take retainers, while some will also charge a flat fee or take a percentage of income.  Take serious consideration of what the attorney quotes you and whether you can afford it.  An attorney will not be happy if you think you can afford their rate and then rack up a large bill you cannot pay.

There is one point I need to address because I feel a lot of people do not understand it.  Lawyer’s rates are based on time expended on a matter, experience, years of schooling and learning a skill.  It is different than walking into a store and getting a product.  Many people seem to feel that they should not have to pay for legal services because they do not walk out of the office with a tangible product in hand.  When you pay an attorney, you are paying for that person’s time and skill.  You are paying them to provide a service to you that you should not provide for yourself.  Even attorneys hire other attorneys when they have legal problems.  Just as you spent your time and used your talent to craft a song or write a screenplay and expect to be paid for it, the attorney will do work for you and expect to be paid for it.

Next time, I’ll address attorney location concerns.

© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This site is not intended or offered as legal advice. These materials have been prepared for educational and information purposes only. They are not legal advice or legal opinions on any specific matters. If they are considered advertisements, they are general in nature and not directed towards any particular person or entity. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between this site, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq., and you or any other user. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The law may vary based on the facts of particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking professional counsel. No person should act or fail to act on any legal matter based on the contents of this site. Unless expressly stated otherwise, no document herein should be assumed to be produced by an attorney licensed in your state. For more information, please click on the “Disclaimer” section in the top menu of this site.

Consequences

Something that goes along with your attorney’s style is the consequences of your attorney’s style.  Some attorneys have bad reputations and people do not want to  deal with them.  Other attorneys have killed or almost killed deals for clients because they are difficult to work with or have a large ego.  Ask other people you know in the industry if they know anything about the attorney, or even ask the attorney for references.  If they are well respected, it will show.

Next time, I’ll talk about fees.

© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This site is not intended or offered as legal advice. These materials have been prepared for educational and information purposes only. They are not legal advice or legal opinions on any specific matters. If they are considered advertisements, they are general in nature and not directed towards any particular person or entity. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between this site, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq., and you or any other user. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The law may vary based on the facts of particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking professional counsel. No person should act or fail to act on any legal matter based on the contents of this site. Unless expressly stated otherwise, no document herein should be assumed to be produced by an attorney licensed in your state. For more information, please click on the “Disclaimer” section in the top menu of this site.

Another very important consideration in choosing an attorney is that attorney’s style.

Style

When you envision your attorney, what do you see?  There are some attorneys that scream at everyone to get the job done.  There are attorneys that would like to party with the band on the tour bus.  Some attorneys are not that extreme, but are still friends with their clients.  Other attorneys do not like to socialize with their clients and prefer to quietly sit in their offices.  Some attorneys are in the middle of all of those types.  Your attorney is part of your team and is a representation of your image in some cases.  Think of how you want to do business and there will be the type of attorney for you.

Next time, I’ll talk about the consequences of some of these attorney practice styles.

© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This site is not intended or offered as legal advice. These materials have been prepared for educational and information purposes only. They are not legal advice or legal opinions on any specific matters. If they are considered advertisements, they are general in nature and not directed towards any particular person or entity. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between this site, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq., and you or any other user. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The law may vary based on the facts of particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking professional counsel. No person should act or fail to act on any legal matter based on the contents of this site. Unless expressly stated otherwise, no document herein should be assumed to be produced by an attorney licensed in your state. For more information, please click on the “Disclaimer” section in the top menu of this site.

I have already covered attorney personality and artists’ needs in choosing an attorney.  Another thing to consider may be whether the attorney has similar clients to your musical genre.

Similar Clients

One way to help an artist find an attorney is for the artist to consider an attorney that might already have clients similar in style and genre to your music.  If you are a hip-hop artist, you might want to go with an attorney that has other successful hip-hop clients.  If you are a metal band, try to meet with an attorney who handles work for several other successful metal bands.  This is not essential, but it is a good starting point for an artist who does not currently know any attorneys and wants to do some research on who he is interested in talking to further.  Also, an attorney with clients in your particular genre may also have existing relationships with important people within that “world,” which will be beneficial to your career.

Next time, I’ll talk about different attorney practice styles.

© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This site is not intended or offered as legal advice. These materials have been prepared for educational and information purposes only. They are not legal advice or legal opinions on any specific matters. If they are considered advertisements, they are general in nature and not directed towards any particular person or entity. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between this site, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq., and you or any other user. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The law may vary based on the facts of particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking professional counsel. No person should act or fail to act on any legal matter based on the contents of this site. Unless expressly stated otherwise, no document herein should be assumed to be produced by an attorney licensed in your state. For more information, please click on the “Disclaimer” section in the top menu of this site.

Last week, I talked about the importance of an attorney’s personality.  This week, I address another top concern in choosing an attorney — the artist’s needs.

Artist Needs

Attorneys do different things.  Some litigate (sue people), some draft and negotiate contracts.  Other attorneys “shop” or try to get clients a deal, while other attorneys have a strict “no shopping” policy.  What do you need at this point in your career?  What do you think you may need as your career grows?  Think about these things and try to find an attorney whose services match your needs.

Many attorneys do not shop, so it is wise to check the attorney’s website or ask the attorney for his/her shopping policy before requesting that the attorney shop you.

Next time, I’ll talk about attorneys with a client base that fit your genre.

© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This site is not intended or offered as legal advice. These materials have been prepared for educational and information purposes only. They are not legal advice or legal opinions on any specific matters. If they are considered advertisements, they are general in nature and not directed towards any particular person or entity. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between this site, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq., and you or any other user. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The law may vary based on the facts of particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking professional counsel. No person should act or fail to act on any legal matter based on the contents of this site. Unless expressly stated otherwise, no document herein should be assumed to be produced by an attorney licensed in your state. For more information, please click on the “Disclaimer” section in the top menu of this site.