Directory of the Top Attorneys in Hawaii
Hawaii Attorney Directory
This Hawaii lawyer directory page list the various areas of practice for Hawaii law firms. When you need a lawyer, it is important that you find an attorney who specializes in the area of law in which you need assistance. Although all attorneys are trained in many areas of the law in law school and are tested on these areas in the bar exam one must remember that the law is extremely complicated. It is critical that you find an attorney who works specifically in the area of law that you need help with. The world we live in is becoming more and more complicated. Laws are becoming more and more complicated; therefore it is becoming harder and harder for attorneys to practice in many different areas of law. More than ever, it is imperative that attorneys focus on one specific area of law and become truly proficient in that area. This directory list will assist you in finding the lawyers that you need who can help you with the legal issues that you are facing.
Choosing which lawyer to hire is a very important decision. Once that decision is made, it can be very difficult to change your mind later. Of course, you always have the right to fire your lawyer if you want; however, that doesn't mean that you won't have legal fees to pay. Although many people think that lawyers are overpaid, the truth of the matter is that they are just trying to make a decent living like anyone else. There are a lot of expenses involved in running a law firm, such as, office rent, employees salaries, taxes, license fees, insurance premiums, and many other office expenses. Just because you think that your lawyer's hourly rate is high, doesn't mean that he is actually making that much per hour. Most likely, his actual take home is less than half of what you are paying.
It can be a little more complicated if you choose to fire a lawyer who is being paid on contingency. Most contingency fee contracts provide that you don't have to pay your lawyer until he gets you a settlement for your injuries. Once he gets you a settlement, the contract usually sets forth a fee of about 35-40% of the total settlement amount. If you decide to fire your lawyer before he gets you your settlement, it doesn't mean that you don't have to pay him. The contract will usually indicate that if you fire him before he gets you a settlement offer, than you will have to pay him for the hours that he spent on your case. Depending on what point you decide to fire him, you may only have a few hours to pay him if you fire him within a couple of days of hiring him. If you fire him after a few months or years, than he will most likely have spent many hours on your case which you'll have to pay him for. The contract may also indicate that if he already got a settlement offer for you, but you haven't accepted it, than you would have to pay him either based on the amount of hours he spent on your case, or the contingency fee amount based on the offer that he got for you, whichever if greater.