Hiring a Local Lawyer Versus a Big City Firm

There are a number of benefits to choosing to work with a local law firm that is close to home and familiar with the community you live in. In this article, we discuss with one of our senior solicitors why choosing a local lawyer close to home may be right for you. Are you considering travelling several kilometres  for legal advice from a big city firm? Read this first.

Will clients benefit from working with a firm that is well established in a smaller community versus a big city firm?

In my opinion, yes, clients will benefit from engaging practitioners that are local to where they either live or work. One reason why I think this is true is because there is a such a good range of law firms dedicated to family law matters, particularly in the mid north coast, from Newcastle upwards. There really is not  a need to travel for legal advice.

I think the benefit for the client, from my experience, is they feel that using a local practitioner with local knowledge makes them familiar with their opponent, which is often very important. Because I am a local lawyer, I know other local lawyers and have rapport with them and that can be a huge benefit in family law cases. Often we find that having rapport already established with opposing lawyers can sometimes mean the difference between a legal matter being addressed early or dragging on,  because the two practitioners don’t see eye to eye or don’t understand each other.

There’s also the added benefit of convenience and more hours in a day to meet with clients if they live or work close by. Lawyers in our practice have often met with clients outside of normal working hours, either early in the day or later into the evening. I sometimes see people before they start work because that’s when it suits them. That kind of meeting works when you live close to your lawyer. As long as you find a lawyer who is experienced in the area of law that you require service in, you don’t need to engage a big city firm.