How many of us have been denied justice because of an incompetent or mediocre lawyer? The fact is, few professions vary as widely as lawyers in terms of competency and professionalism. Yet many people choose a lawyer by thumbing through the yellow pages!

So how does one go about checking out lawyers? In the following I suggest a few ideas to get you on the right track if you find yourself in need of an attorney.

First, of course, you have to think in terms of legal specializations. It's no good calling a tax attorney if you're facing a DUI or a tax evasion rap! If you have no idea what specialization you need, discuss the matter with family, friends, business associates – or call your local legal aid society (pro bono legal assistance organization – for advice.

But where do you get a lawyer's name, once you've decided upon the specialization you need? A reasonable starting point is a good legal directory, such as Martindale-Hubbard or FindLaw.com. (Caution: forget about contacting lawyers whose ads you saw on TV or in the newspaper– this is the worst possible way to choose a lawyer!)

Okay, once you've found one or two lawyers who seem to have the legal background and experience you need, you next want to do whatever you can to find out if these guys are reputable. Or even better, to find out if they're known to be good at what they do.

First, ask yourself if you know anyone in the legal field - other lawyers, paralegals, legal secretaries, court personnel (court clerks, bailiffs, court reporters, etc), or even judges at any level. If so, now's a good time to tap into that pool of knowledge - give these folks a quick call and mention the names of your selected lawyer or lawyers. Perhaps suggest they make some inquiries for you. Checking with friends and colleagues is a good initial step. This may seem a bit intrusive, but remember the old adage: good lawyers, not good cases, usually prevail in our legal system.

Of course, you may not know anyone in the legal field who can help you in checking out your selected lawyer or lawyers - that's fine, there are other sources of information.

The most obvious is the state bar association. Today, this can often be done online, though in many cases the state bar's website will refer you to a telephone number to call for background information, especially for disciplinary information on a given attorney.

For example, when I enter "Florida Bar Association" into Google, I'm taken to www.floridabar.org, the Florida Bar's website. On the home page I click on "Board Certified Attorneys by Specialization" if I want to check out the certification of a specific attorney, or I can click on "Lawyer Regulation," then on "Lawyer Conduct" to learn about Florida state disciplinary actions, news and statistics. However, to obtain disciplinary records on individual members I have to call a supplied telephone number - this information is not provided online in Florida.

You should always check out your selected lawyer with the state board before hiring him/her - in fact, this is the absolute minimum you should do in the way of a background check. The state bar should be able to provide information on the lawyer's education/training (including any continuing education in his/her specialization), additional licenses held (for example, a CPA license), and complaints filed, if any.

You should be aware, however, that the state bar may be less-than-eager to provide disciplinary information on its members to the general public. As in so many professions, there may be a certain amount of behind-closed-doors "hand slapping" of members who have been found at fault for ethics or other violations, and you may have no way of finding out about such actions.

A question in some people's minds who are lawyer-shopping is whether the prestige of a given attorney's law school should be an issue - should you favor an Ivy-leaguer, for example, over a state-law-school grad?

Generally, it's pretty easy to find out where a lawyer went to law school - this is usually available through the state board or the online directories mentioned above. But is it really important?

Practically speaking, it seems very doubtful a Harvard or Yale lawyer will do a better job of representing you in your divorce or tax proceeding than one from, say, Penn State. As in the medical field experience and a history of success are what really count. Would you rather have a surgeon right out of Stanford perform your triple-bypass, or one from Cal State who's done several hundred such procedures successfully in the past? I think the answer is obvious, and probably applies equally well to the legal profession.

Your next step in checking out a prospective lawyer will involve some serious public records checking. I discuss this step in detail in the full version of this article as cited below.