The idea behind hiring a tax law lawyer is to save as much money as possible, most likely by trying to work a deal with the IRS about your taxes. If you want to save as much money as you can, it is in your best interest to interview a lawyer you are considering putting on retainer and ask some serious questions. While it’s never simple to talk about uncomfortable issues, it is important that everything is disclosed up-front before you even begin so you can avoid paying a lot of money to a lawyer that didn’t even help you, while still owing a lot of money to the IRS. You even want to tell your lawyer absolutely everything about your situation with the IRS so they will have all the information necessary to effectively assess and plan how to handle your case.
Before you begin, you will also need to find out what costs or fees will be associated with hiring the tax lawyer up-front so you know if you can afford to hire them or not. Far too often it’s hard to start talking about money, but it is vital that you get the costs and fees out on the table and into the open from day one to avoid any confusion about charges. Provided the state you live in, lawyers can be required to give you a full disclosure of legal costs up front before you sign any contract or agreement. While quite a few lawyers will only charge you by the hour, many will also offer flat rate fees upon request to their customers if budgetary matters are a concern. If you interview a lawyer that refuses to provide his costs beforehand or avoids answering questions about anything, you are better off finding a lawyer that will.
There are additionally other things to think about when hiring a tax law lawyer, including any additional qualifications and certifications they might have that will work to your benefit. Possessing a CPA or an LLM, which is an additional masters degree, shows that the lawyer worked on an additional year learning just about tax laws. The exams and educational courses that are demanded for these additional degrees are extremely comprehensive, bringing lawyers who receive them to a whole new level of education and experience. Any attorney, no matter whether or not they have specialized in tax law, is cleared to try a case in Tax Court, according to the law; but would you really want just “any” lawyer to represent you in this type of case?
it is extremely vital that you find and hire the absolute best tax law lawyer to take on your IRS case. After you find the attorney that is right for the job, it is your responsibility to determine whether they are fully educated and ready to take on your tax case. If you take the time to ask those tough questions early on, you will be able to move forward and feel safe in your choice of representation.