Seeing Ads for Lawyers

I’ve often wondered about something within the professional law world. You see a lot of advertisements for lawyers and attorneys, especially on television. It’s easy to conjure up facsimiles of Saul Goodman, the notorious lawyer from Breaking Bad (and recently his own show). But lawyers and attorneys advertise for a very good reason: it works. It gets people in the door. Even well established law firms will generate some advertising now and again, working to get people in the door. There’s nothing wrong with that. Even small towns will have their share of lawyers—Mallie Law Office, a family law firm in Brainerd, MN, uses advertising.

But all this makes me wonder about something: what actually gets people in the door? When do people decide that now is a good time to get a lawyer? As someone with not a whole lot of experience as, you know, an attorney, I may not be the best person to answer that. But I can certainly think about what would get me through the door. I can think about what would get me to go see a lawyer. There are definitely a few things.

Receiving a Legal Notice of Some Kind

The first thing that would get me into an attorney’s office would definitely be if I received some kind of legal notice. So, if somebody decided to sue me for a lot of money. And, to be fair, it would have to be a lot of money. If it was a small amount of money, I may just show up to court myself. This would, undoubtedly, be a very bad thing—as I would have no idea what I’m doing. But I have to admit to a certain kind of morbid curiosity about that. In all likelihood, after that first day in court or with someone else’s attorney, I’d probably go find myself a good lawyer.

After I’ve Already Had a Good Experience

Nothing can make you want to call your lawyer right up more than having a good experience with one beforehand. If an attorney can get you out of a jam, I would figure that would make one much more likely to seek one out a second time. I mean, this makes sense, and it’s a basic principle of, you know, good customer service. But I have to admit that if an attorney saved my bacon, I would be much more inclined to seek one out (and pay for it).

My Wife Tells Me To

Look, let’s get right down to it. I’ll go see an attorney if my wife tells me to. And while that may seem like a kind of stereotype, I don’t mean it like that. What I mean is that my wife often has a way of seeing things rationally that I don’t. Often times, when I find myself in the midst of a fairly emotional moment, this can mean that my wife is often the voice of reason. I suspect this is true more broadly—not just about significant others, but about those in our lives whose advise we’ve learned to take. Sometimes I wonder if lawyer advertisements are not targeted at those who could use legal help—but the family and friends of anyone in legal trouble.

Getting Help Pays Off

I find this question to be interesting because, in most cases, getting legal help is kind of the obvious way to go. Getting legal could save you money, especially in the long run, not to mention your reputation. The legal system is designed for a kind of absolute fairness, I think—not the kind of fairness that goes hand in hand with easy accessibility. In other words, the legal system is probably pretty fair (or at least complicated), but only if you know how to use it as an expert and as a professional. Unfortunately, that means the legal system really isn’t set up for the laymen. It’s best to get some expert advise; maybe it’s time to start looking at those advertisements.