Who's the Boss?
I recently heard from a condominium association board who was interviewing an attorney for a construction defect case. They felt that the attorney himself had a great deal of experience, but they were concerned that he may not have been a leading attorney in court as it related to pursuing their claim. Their question to me was how can they be sure that the guy leading the team is the guy they want leading the team.
When an association is going through the attorney interview process, they should be bold enough to ask which attorney will be leading the case. Some law firms have persons who have experience in a particular area of law but who are not litigators or who will not appear in Court. Litigating is somewhat of an art; therefore, it is very important that the right attorney is handling the case as it pertains to in-court appearances. The flip side is that some law firms have litigation divisions which may have experience at dealing with judges and juries in the litigation process, but they may not have experience in the area of law of which you are desirous.
It is simply imperative that the proper questions must be asked when an association is going through the attorney hiring process. Do not be afraid to step on toes with your questioning – ultimately the association is the boss!