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Legal issues related to the workplace can have a significant impact on our personal lives. If you feel that your employer isn’t respecting your legal rights, you were let go and want to confirm that your employer doesn’t owe you any more in severance (they often do), you’re negotiating a raise, you’d like to have a lawyer review your employment contract, or you have to make any significant work-related decision, you should consult an employment lawyer.
The following tips will help you find Toronto’s top employment lawyer – the one that’s the best fit for you.
Comparison Shop and Research Online
When searching online and visiting local employment lawyers’ websites, here are a few things to look for:
- Reviews from former clients that aren’t on their websites.
- Any published cases or appearances in the news. Take a look at how far back they go to get an idea of their experience.
- Search the lawyer’s name in the Law Society of Ontario’s online directory to see how long they’ve been in practice.
When you search for a lawyer on the LSO site, just confirm that their license is in good standing and that they aren’t currently under suspension, or worse, that they aren’t licensed at all. If you find any of the above scenarios, you can report them through the LSO website. You can also check out the Law Society Tribunal website to see if a lawyer has been subject to any disciplinary hearings. Use this search before hiring any lawyer, employment or otherwise.
After you’ve narrowed down your options to two or three possible candidates, the next step is to meet with each one before making a final decision.
Get Organized Before Your Consultations
Whenever someone finds themselves in a legal situation, their minds often run to all the possible ways it could affect them in the future. Unfortunately, these thoughts don’t happen in an organized way at the same time. Whenever a concern or question does come to you, try to write it down as soon as possible; that way, you have a list of all the questions that have been bothering you ready, and hopefully, you won’t leave the lawyer’s office forgetting to ask about something that’s been on your mind and remember a question after it’s too late.
To prepare for your employment lawyer consultations, write out your story, including as much detail as you can remember. Try to get emails, letters, performance reviews, and anything related to your case that backs up your story (or that doesn’t.) Any communications from your employer to you can give an employment lawyer a clearer picture of what happened.
After speaking with them all, choose the one that you felt most comfortable with and who was honest with you. A trustworthy employment lawyer will tell you the good and bad about your chances of success. If everyone you met with told you roughly the same thing, they are probably all on the level. If, however, one tells you something completely different than the rest, this may be a red flag that they were telling you what you want to hear.
