Is Strategic Legal Practices a Scam? The Truth Exposed

All About Strategic Legal Practices

Strategic legal practices involve the tactical application of the law in its various forms, by lawyers, to address a need of a client. Such need may be for either defensive or offensive purposes, or merely to comply with the law as it exists. By way of example, if a company finds itself being sued for patent infringement, the company will engage a law firm to defend itself from an offensive threat. Alternatively, if the company seeks to acquire another company that has many pending patent applications, it will likely seek a law firm to investigate those applications to determine if they might conflict with patents the company already owns, so that it can determine if buying the company is appropriate.
Strategic legal practices are not always directly related to operating as a law firm. A government agency, for example, might engage the services of a law firm to provide consulting on a regulatory effort, such a drafting a new law, or to provide policy advice in anticipation of a new treaty or other international agreement . Alternatively, a private business may ask a law firm or lawyer to perform research regarding the potential purchase or sale of a competing business, or could seek a legal strategy for effectively managing its annual employment review processes.
The strategic legal practice can be a vital part of the legal practice in many ways. It should be recognized that this is distinct from the practices of criminal defense, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and other similar practices related to the representation of clients in, and acting as counsel (lawyer) for the client, in legal proceedings. Strategic legal practices should not be confused with the creation and management of successful and growing law firms. A strategic law practice is one that is focused on helping clients achieve their objectives through the creative use of law.

Checking for Legitimacy, Warning Signs

One of the most reliable ways to assess the legitimacy of any business, including legal practices, involves examining a few key indicators. Here are some of the ways to identify whether or not a practice such as Strategic Legal Practices has what it takes to be considered legitimate.
Licensing and Accreditation
One of the most fundamental ways to separate scams from legitimate practices is to ensure that a given legal professional is accredited or licensed in your specific area of the world. Most regions require independent licensing for lawyers and other legal professionals. While other professions may have looser requirements, it becomes clear that Strategic Legal Practices is licensed to operate and is up-to-date on laws and best practices.
Transparency
In addition to seeking out licensed legal professionals, one should also look for transparency in that professional. Legitimate legal practices will have information about themselves available to clients. This includes history, office hours, areas of expertise, and so forth.
Client Reviews
Finally, perhaps the most powerful predictor of a legal practice’s legitimacy is the existence of client reviews. In the modern age, these are extraordinarily easy to find through search engines and social media. If a legal practice has real, solid reviews from clients, there is a good chance it’s a legitimate operation.

Strategic Legal Practices Reviews

Online reviews and ratings are imperative in determining the legitimacy of a de facto legal practice. Not only is it good practice to do your own personal research before hiring a lawyer, a potential client can even inform their decision based on the ratings and reviews given to that law practice by its current clients.
The most common way to find out what everyone else is saying about the law practice in question is to search their name (or the name of the specific attorney if needed) in your favorite search engine, that can be either a web browser like Chrome or Safari, or a social networking app like Facebook or Twitter.
One of the most common sites for client reviews on nearly everything is Yelp, an app designed to offer an easy way for folks to read and leave short public reviews about services or businesses they’ve used. While this doesn’t offer privacy or anonymity to any of the law firms or clients involved it does allow for a person to read up on previous customers experiences in a succinct manner. However, that does come with the benefit of reading how the law practice in question responded to any negative comments.
Google allows you to search for and read reviews of local businesses, including law firms. Yelp is often preferred because it allows it users to easily comment and review small businesses that may otherwise not have much online presence.
Facebook and Twitter both allow any and all users to leave comments, not all are reviews however. If the reviews you are reading on either social media website are not formatted exactly the same as those seen on either Yelp or Google, they are likely comments that are okay, to a degree, but possibly not as reliable.
Another option to consider would be Screened, powered by LexisNexis, a service that is designed to allow its users to read and provide reviews.

Reputation and Experience

One cannot overlook the power of reputation. It is an easy-to-use barometer by which the legitimacy of a law firm can be judged. Track record is another telling aspect. A firm cannot continue to secure new clients without already having an established set of happy clients who will vouch for the firm’s abilities. A case history, including previous clients and the types of matters handled, and a high success rate are indicative of a successful law practice. Public or peer recognition such as industry accolades, awards, or even being top-ranked in a practice area demonstrates credibility. An ethics record that shows no disciplinary action is evidence that a law firm is legitimate. Personal awards and honors also underscore a firm’s track record.

Warning Signs of Scams

There are several indications that a law firm may not be legitimate. If you are in the process of selecting legal representation, or doing research regarding specific attorneys, these factors can help guide you towards selecting the best candidate. A legitimate attorney will be certified and in good-standing with their relevant Bar Associations. This can be verified by checking online or by calling the state Bar Association. An attorney in good standing will have no disciplinary actions issued against them and will be free to practice in their relevant jurisdiction. An attorney not licensed to practice in the relevant state or country can legally practice Law in those jurisdictions. A legitimate attorney will not charge a legal retainer. If an attorney charges a retainer prior to the commencement of services, they could be committing fraud . The only time fraud would be acceptable is if the retainer was for expert witness fees. However, an attorney should not require an expert witness retainer without first obtaining approval from the client. A legitimate attorney should return client calls or messages within 24 hours. Failure to do so is a sign of unprofessional and unethical behavior. It is important to gauge your attorney’s communication habits from the beginning, to avoid future complications. The most common sign of an illegitimate law firm is probable fraudulent misconduct. If they have been involved in a scam, whether it be a legal scam or a fraudulent scheme, a formal complaint will likely have been lodged against them with the Bar Association. Research on the Bar Associations website will help you to verify any questions regarding charges levied against an attorney.

How to Check if a Law Firm is Real

To check the credentials of a law firm or lawyer, interested parties should consult the websites of their state bar association or Supreme Court, as well as the American Bar Association. Additionally, for individual attorneys, the website Justia.com provides up to date information from lawyers’ profiles, and can help to identify those who are practicing fraudulently.

Advice to Potential Clients

As a valued potential client, it is crucial that you do your own due diligence when selecting your legal advisor. We do not make any promises or guarantees about the outcome of any matter, and that includes promising that we will always win. No ethical legal advisor can promise you a victory , because they know that there are too many factors in every case that are out of their control. But, they can promise you that they will honor the attorney-client relationship, and that they will do their best to fight on your side and for your best interests.