What Makes a Great Lawyer in the State of Illinois?

There are many attorneys in Illinois that are good at what they do, but what makes a lawyer great? How can you ensure you’re making the right choice for your legal representation?

There are certain skills all lawyers must possess to become lawyers, but there are a few things that differentiate a good lawyer from a great one. Here’s how you can identify a great lawyer for yourself.

Experience in Particular Practice Areas

A great lawyer in Illinois needs, first and foremost, skills! If you’re looking for a criminal defense attorney, then you need to ensure the lawyer you want to hire is experienced in the area you need them to be.

For every aspect of life, it seems, there is some book of law governing it. In turn, there is an attorney somewhere who practices in that particular field. Some common practice areas for Chicago criminal attorneys include:

• Battery
• Assault
• Burglary
• Criminal sexual assault and abuse
• Domestic violence
• Domestic battery
• Drug possession
• DUIs
• Fraud
• Murder
• Prostitution
• Sex crimes
• Tax fraud
• Traffic violations
• White-collar crimes
• Weapons charges

Experience in these areas will ensure that they can professionally handle your case and that they can use the information in your case to help you have the best outcome possible.

Research and Investigation

When you hire a lawyer, you’re not simply hiring someone to accompany you to court, you’re also hiring someone to research your case and investigate it to help you form the best defense possible.

Choosing a lawyer who has the ability to work in investigators, research laws, and judicial opinions that back up your case, and who can utilize online resources is what you need.

Good Public Speaking Skills

Lawyers make their living by being able to clearly communicate, but a great lawyer needs to be able to concisely communicate in front of a large group of people (such as in a courtroom) if you want them to truly be effective in your criminal case.

You also want to feel as if your lawyer has a good grip of all the legal terminology they must in order to help make the law work for you – it’s part of the reason you hire them, after all.

Responsiveness

A great lawyer is a lawyer that is responsive to your needs as their client. It may surprise you to learn that this is not a skill every attorney has and you don’t want to find that out the hard way.

No client wants to have information or meetings they feel are important to their case pushed aside, so make sure when hiring a lawyer you look at their reviews to ensure they’re going to be as responsive as you need them to be.

Listening Is Crucial

Listening skills are another crucial quality for a great lawyer. That’s because they need to be able to take in all the information for a case and properly understand it – something that can only be accomplished if they can effectively listen to you and everyone else involved in your case.

A good listener will be able to understand each aspect of a case and look at it from all angles to help ensure the best outcome.

Finding a great lawyer in Illinois can be a difficult task, but it doesn’t have to be. Armed with this information, you now know what is important in a great lawyer. Don’t worry, when you find a good attorney to represent you, then you will know it because they’ll deliver on all of these qualities and more to help you be successful.

About the Author

Sami Azhari has been working as a lawyer since 2007, after receiving his Juris Doctor from the Michigan State University College of Law. He has handled numerous state and federal cases and is known throughout the Chicago and Rolling Meadows area for providing his clients with high-quality, skilled representation. He has been recognized by Avvo (2013 and 2018), SuperLawyers (2015-2020), The National Trial Lawyers, and other notable organizations, and has spoken at a number of legal conferences.