One of the common mistakes I see real estate agents make in my real estate expert witness practice is related to attorney referrals.  Let me explain.

In real estate, there are agents who are competent in residential sales,  who may occasionally do a 4-plex.  But they would not consider doing a commercial sale or lease,  raw land sales,  making loans,  selling a business,  apartment houses,  syndication, or any other of the areas where agents legally are allowed to operate.  The reasons are simple.  Could they do it?  Yes,  the could.  Will they do as well as an agent who specialized in that part of our business.  Of course not.

The same applies to the attorney field.  They are even more specialized than agents.  I never will forget conducting a class,  when an agent raised their hand to ask a question.  Without pause,  I answered his question.  He said, “That is the same answer I got from an attorney but the only difference is that he charged my client $600 to get it.“  Of course,  the room all laughed.  Upon inquiry, I found that the client had randomly contacted an attorney,  who obviously wasn’t a real estate expert.  Clearly,  the attorney didn’t know the answer so he was charging the client for the research time he spent finding the question.  When a real estate attorney would have answered it without thinking or research  because it was so basic.

So,  the point is that when you or your client needs an attorney,  it is always best to find someone who does a lot of real estate.  But,  it is more complicated than that.  First, what is the nature of the matter?  There are attorney who are experts in the various kinds of real estate.  Some are experts in dealing with Homeowner Associations,  while others work with developers of raw land.  So, just finding an attorney who tells you they do real estate is not enough information.

If you called me to have an attorney draft a real estate partnership agreement or draft a lease option agreement, I would send you to a different attorney than if I thought you were headed for litigation. Litigation is a specialty and many attorneys rarely go to court.  And,  finding an attorney with lots of real estate experience,  especially in small towns,  is especially difficult.

This doesn’t mean that the General Practitioner attorney is a bad attorney  but his or her world revolves around doing a divorce case today,  writing up a will,  creating an LLC or new business,  handling a dispute over a car accident,  fighting a DUI and the hundred of little things that attorneys handle.  I have a fiend who calls this Door Business……meaning,  whatever walks through the door.

In my cases,  it pains me when I see an attorney who is totally out of their league and didn’t bring in a competent expert witness to help them figure out what their case is really about.  And,  at $300-$400 per hour and the typical real estate litigation costing $80K to $100K in attorney fees on each side,  your clients can’t afford to make a mistake.  You would be surprised how often the attorney who hires me is the second attorney on the case.

Here are some steps to consider before sending your clients to an attorney

• Never let the client go to a friend or someone they sat next to last week at the Rotary Club meeting
• If not sure who to call,  you can go online to www.martindale.com.  Put in your city and choose real estate.  Look up the resume of recommended attorneys.
• If you are in a small town,  you will have go to the largest near city to find an attorney who is primarily real estate
• You,  not the client, should call several attorney offices
• Ask which attorney does real estate in that office
• If more than one does,  ask to speak to their secretaries or a junior attorney who works with them,  not the attorney themselves
• Explain the general nature of your case to them
• Ask what percentage of their practice is real estate (should be 50%)
• As if they consider themselves transaction attorneys or do they also do litigation
• What % of their practice is litigation  (should be 50% or more)
• give them the names of  the seller,  buyer,  and agents and ask that they do a conflict check,   in case the attorney represents one of the parties or has in the past
• Ask them if there anyone else in the legal community that you might also interview?  Note:  just like agents, who know other good agents, attorneys know other good attorneys
• Find out if they charge for the initial consultation.  Note:  don’t choose the attorney based on price.  A talented attorney can accomplish much more in less time that an average attorney can at a much lower fee.  Also,  ask if you go forth with litigation,  how much is their retainer?
• And, most of all,  be sure that you go with the client on the first meeting.   You will be much more likely to be able to explain what did and didn’t happen than the client will.
• Another hint.  You must be impressed with and like the attorney.  If you don’t like them,  neither will the jury

And,  if this is too much work,  call me.  I can help you find a good one. Yes,  Virginia,  there are good ones.

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