Investor Friendly Real Estate Attorney needed in Los Angeles

[Matthew Newman]

I am looking for an investor friendly RE Attorney in the Los Angeles area to help me construct and go over documents for Wholesaling and Lease Options.

Are there any out there you recommend? How much should I be expecting to spend?

[Jeff S.]

With all due respect, much of this is not how you should find an attorney. In the fourth post down in this thread, I note how we naïvely took a recommendation for an attorney simply from others who had seen and were entertained by him at a local REI club. It was a five-figure mistake but helped us focus in on what and what not to look for when choosing a professional. There is some simple criteria.

Don’t accept a referral from anyone who has not personally used the attorney and only after you confirmed your legal issues were similar. Would you choose a doctor this way? Like medicine, there are specialties even with real estate law. A great attorney for a friend’s problem might not be suited for yours.

Here are the few lessons I concluded that post with:

1. Select an attorney based on your specific need and his specific skills. Don't choose one because someone else was happy and recommended him, unless you know your situations are identical. Worse, make sure those who recommend anyone to you actually use him or her.
2. It's not the law firm, it's the attorney. Make sure you know who you're getting, as well as their specialty/capability and fit to your problem.
3. Don't choose an attorney because he's a good entertainer/speaker on stage at a real estate club or any other professional, or guru, for that matter.
4. Obtain and check relevant references from those in your shoes.

I know this doesn’t provide you with an answer, Matthew, but it might provide a bit more certainty in your choice.

Jeff