Questions for my lawyer.

[Robert Lemley]

Hello,

I am meeting with a real estate lawyer, and I want some suggestions on important questions I should ask him. It will be my first meeting with him to get to know how he operates. Anything will help. Thank you.

[Matthew Johnson]

You need to make sure the individual is an actual licensed attorney in the jurisdiction in which you reside or in which you plan to operate your real estate business.  Who you pick as an attorney primarily depends on what you need the attorney to do.  I would start out your meeting explaining what you need done.  Ideally, it's helpful if your and your attorney's personality 'clicks'.  In general, I would research and/or ask him or her the following:

- Is the attorney a 'generalist', or do they focus on real estate, business, and realty business matters?
- Is the attorney a real estate litigator or do they focus on drafting and reviewing realty contracts and documents?  Will you need someone who can do both?
- Do they have experience in forming, operating, and dissolving businesses and trusts?
- Do they have experience in taxation of real estate matters?  How deep is that experience?
- Does the attorney's firm offer title services?  Can the firm perform title examinations and lien searches?
- Does the attorney understand the real estate business and ways to creatively and legally finance properties?

*This answer is not intended to provide you with specific legal advice regarding your situation, or to create any attorney-client relationship. The intent is only to provide general information. You should be aware that you cannot rely on this answer to provide you with any protection against tax penalties. You should always consult your own attorney in order to obtain legal advice. I am licensed only in Tennessee, so an answer in another state may be different.