How to hire the right South Dakota lawyer (and what to ask)

Law is specialized in practice even when it is not formally divided. A lawyer who drafts excellent estate plans is not the person for a felony trial, and a lawyer who handles routine traffic matters is not automatically the person for an aggravated assault case. Ask directly what portion of the practice is devoted to matters like yours.

Jurisdiction matters too. Practice in Minnehaha County is not identical to practice in Lake County. Local knowledge — how a particular prosecutor evaluates cases, how a particular judge runs a motions calendar, how a jury pool in that county tends to think — is real and it affects strategy.

If your matter is federal, ask specifically about federal court experience. Federal criminal practice, the sentencing guidelines, and federal civil litigation are their own world, and admission to the federal district court is a threshold question.

Ask how many jury trials the lawyer has tried to verdict, and when the most recent one was. Not hearings. Not bench trials. Jury trials, start to finish.

This matters even if you have no intention of going to trial. Every negotiated outcome is priced against the alternative, and the alternative is trial. A prosecutor or insurance adjuster who knows the attorney across the table has never tried a case has no reason to move. The willingness and ability to try a case is the leverage behind every settlement and every plea offer.

Follow up on the answer. What kinds of cases? What were the outcomes? A lawyer who tries cases will answer immediately and specifically. Vagueness is an answer too.

Fee structures vary and each is appropriate in different contexts. Criminal defense is usually a flat fee, sometimes staged by phase — pretrial, motions, trial. Personal injury and many civil rights matters are contingency, where the fee is a percentage of the recovery. Some civil work is hourly with a retainer.

Whatever the structure, get it in writing and read it. The questions that avoid later conflict are simple: what exactly does this fee cover, what happens if the case resolves early, what happens if it goes to trial, and what costs are separate from the fee?

Costs are the part clients underestimate. Expert witnesses, investigators, transcripts, depositions, and records requests are typically charged in addition to the fee, and in contingency cases they usually come off the top of a recovery. Ask who advances those costs and what happens to them if the case is lost.

A brilliant lawyer who does not return calls will make you miserable and, in some circumstances, will cost you outcomes. Ask who you will actually speak to when you call, what a typical response time is, and whether the lawyer you are meeting will personally handle the hearings.

In larger firms it is common for a senior attorney to conduct the consultation and a junior attorney to handle the case. That arrangement can work well, but you should know about it before you sign, and you should meet the person who will do the work.

Ask about capacity plainly: how many active cases are you carrying, and do you have room for mine? Most lawyers will answer honestly if asked directly.

Certain behaviors in an initial consultation reliably predict problems later.

A productive first meeting depends on documents. Bring the charging paperwork, any citation or complaint, bond conditions, police reports if you have them, correspondence from insurers or opposing counsel, and a written timeline of events. Bring the names of any other lawyers you have already spoken to about the matter.

Also bring your questions in writing. Consultations move quickly and it is easy to leave without asking the thing that actually mattered to you.

Be candid about the bad facts. Your lawyer's job is to deal with reality, and a surprise in discovery is worse than a difficult conversation on day one. Everything you say in a consultation is confidential, whether or not you hire the attorney.

After the meeting, ask yourself two questions. Did this person listen carefully and tell me things I did not want to hear? Did they explain what happens next in terms I understood?

Then verify independently. Check the attorney's standing with the state bar. Look for reported appellate decisions with their name on them — those are public and they tell you something advertising cannot. Ask for references from other attorneys if your matter is significant; lawyers know who actually tries cases.

Hiring a lawyer is a judgment call made with incomplete information. Asking direct questions and paying attention to the quality of the answers is the best available substitute for certainty.