“It depends” is every attorney’s favorite response to any question. And it isn’t a bad one, all things considered–very few things in the legal profession are black-and-white guarantees. But this can be frustrating to a client who wants some kind of reassurance that things aren’t going to go sideways when they least expect it.

Here, I discuss what I believe any attorney should be able to guarantee under any circumstances. If they can’t? Find a new attorney. Let’s address this one step at a time.

1. Competence

When you think about attorney competence, ask yourself this simple question: does my attorney know what they are doing? Competence is not the same as confidence, nor is it the same as a high win/loss rate in cases (see the Results section, below), though both of these might also be other good traits for an attorney. Competence, at a baseline, means that an attorney knows what is happening in a case, knows a client’s goals, and knows what options are available to reach those goals.

As a baseline, an attorney should possess a comprehensive understanding of the law and have the ability to apply legal principles to a wide range of situations. An attorney should also be skilled in writing, ensuring that they can effectively communicate their legal reasoning to courts, clients, and opposing counsel. An attorney should also have practical skills beyond legal theory, such as negotiation, litigation, and the ability to translate legalese into more digestible ideas for a client.

2. Transparency

When you think about attorney transparency, ask yourself: do I know what my attorney is doing? If this seems like an obvious question, it is because it is an obvious question. Nothing in the practice of law is so complex that it cannot be broken down into concepts that a client can more easily understand. Items on an invoice should have a clear relation to tasks that an attorney has performed. Tasks an attorney performs should have a clear relation to instructions that a client gives. At all stages of a case, a client should know what is happening and know what their attorney is doing or waiting on for their case.

3. Results

An attorney who gets results usually “wins” in court. However, some cases are not so easily broken down into wins or losses. And even competent attorneys face setbacks in a case. Any attorney who claims to have never lost in court has either never been to court or has only gone to court on uncontested cases. Not even professional baseball players have batting averages of 1.000.

Make no mistake: all litigation is a risk. However, a competent attorney is able to explain the risks of options in a case and convey the changes of different options to a client. Although no attorney can guarantee a result, any result should come as no surprise to a client. And no representation should end with the phrase “we lost.” Even in the face of a major defeat, your attorney should be saying “here is what we can do next.”

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If you are looking for representation, an attorney should be competent, transparent, and be able to get the results you need. However, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for a great attorney, just as there is no one-size-fits-all type of client. If you want to know if an attorney is right for you, arrange a meeting, talk to them in person, and judge for yourself whether they are right for you.

Take charge of your own future.