OT - How to find a real estate attorney?

[katied]

This is completely off topic, but I can't seem to figure out how to do this. We're looking for a real estate attorney in Illinois (DuPage County) to assist in some real estate issues relating to easements.

We're looking to find an attorney who actually has experience in this area.

Does anyone know how you can find attorneys with specific legal experience, and how you confirm that they actually have the experience they claim?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[golfgal]

There is always the phone book. I would check with the mortgage person at your bank otherwise if you know any other attorneys, they should be able to recommend someone. I know a good one in MN but that doesn't help much. The nice thing about most attorneys is they do what they do and if they don't specialize in that area they refer out.

 

[barkley]

if there are any real estate companies (more established the better) you might contact them and ask if they can make any reccommendations or who they have on retainer.

local title companies to the area should be able to give you some names as well.

 

[katied]

Thanks! This gives me some good ideas of how to start looking.

 

[barkley]

one way to save some money is to make sure and educate yourself before you go in to see an attorney.

we have 2 neighbors that are both going through horrendous easement situations, with both i showed them how to find our state's laws on easements on-line. that way they could at least be aware of weather they had a case (and in the one situation weather their adjacent neighbor had a case against them and if they could possibly go after the previous homeowners for non disclosure). they read up on it before their first meetings with their lawyers so when the lawyers mentioned certained laws in our state they were familiar somewhat with them so it took a bit less time (and less money).


good luck-i live in an area with major easement (and lack of easement) problems that will likely result in lawsuits for years to come.

 

[Tink888]

Every county usually has a Bar Association with a list of licensed attorneys in that county and their specialty. The number should be in your local phone book and they may be able to give you some names.

 

[theycallmered]

My brother is a lawyer in Wheaton. The law firm which he works for specializes in (blurb stolen from the firms website):

Representing individuals, families, business owners, real estate investors, and developers, in a variety of areas including:

Wills and Trusts
Special Needs Trusts
Residential Real Estate
Probate and Estate Administration
Financial and Tax Planning
Commercial Real Estate
Commercial Litigation
Business Formation
Business and Commercial Law

Send me a PM if you are interested in either his or his law firms contact information.

 

[Silent1CB]

Doesn't the Yellow Pages break the Attorneys listings down into type just like they do with Doctors and Restaurants?

 

[WDWFigment]

Everyone knows that any good attorney advertises on TV! Call the first one of those for whom you see an ad!

The phone book is an okay starting place, but google the firm name to find their website from there. If it's not a complex matter, I'd recommend going with a smaller firm and indicating that you only want one attorney to work on the issue (this prevents having to pay unnecessary "conferencing" and "internal memo" costs--these are frequent fluff you'll find from bigger firms). It also helps to find an attorney who specializes in the matter, as he or she won't be reinventing the wheel, so to speak, which will also keep costs down.

 

[katied]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the help.

The one complicating factor is that we now live in Minnesota, so we don't have a local phone book from the Chicago area where we need the assistance, but I can find the somewhat equivillant on the Web.

Thanks again.

 

[cm8]

glad to see that you found what you needed! Hope all goes well from here on out on that easement issue