Juan Monteverde Shows Importance of Choosing the Right Attorney

Determining that you are in need of an attorney’s services is an important first step to resolving many legal disputes. However, selecting the right attorney can be even more important in these situations. While simple in theory, finding the right attorney for your situation can be a confusing or difficult process for many. To help explain items you may want to consider in this search, we looked to the example of Juan Monteverde, a top attorney practicing in New York. Read on for a look at his career and an overview of things to consider when seeking legal assistance.

Area of expertise

An important consideration to be aware of early in the attorney selection process is what area of law is relevant to your dispute. While an attorney may come highly recommended and they may excel in their field, if they are not familiar with the area of law relevant to your issues then they will likely be of limited help. By contrast, an attorney who is skilled in the area of your dispute will be a much more powerful ally as you seek to rectify your situation. A good first step here is identifying the most relevant area of law so that you know where to look.

For example, the career of Juan Monteverde has focused in the area of securities law, which is a specialization that deals with legal matters related shareholder rights. In these matters, there are sometimes disputes between the sharheolders and a company seeking to effectuate a merger and he often deals with high profile mergers. In these disputes, he seeks to maximize shareholder value, recover damages and/or improve the financial disclosures regarding the merger. 

Reputation

Once you have determined the area of law in which your attorney should be concentrated, it’s important to find an attorney who is highly regarded in their field. Attorney, like many other fields, have top practitioners as well as practitioners who may not be as effective in achieving a positive outcome for your situation. Selecting an attorney who is diligent and skilled can make all the difference here. Recommendations from colleagues or other acquaintances can be a good place to start here. There are also many independent review sites and services that can be used to gauge an attorney’s effectiveness.

This is an area where the example of the above attorney can again be instructive to those who are confused as to how to select their own legal representation. Not only is he highly regarded by those in the legal profession, he has also received many accolades that help to showcase his reputation. He has been selected as a New York Metro Rising Star in four separate years by Super Lawyers, an award that is given to less than 2.5% of a specific field’s attorneys. He has also been selected multiple times by Martindale-Hubbell as a Top Rated Lawyer.

Location and record

Since laws can vary by geography, it’s important to select an attorney that is familiar with the specific nature of your legal dispute as it relates to local laws. In some cases this can mean selecting an attorney who is local to your area, however, some disputes may require an attorney or firm who has experience at a national level. One way to gauge this can be to look at the record of the practitioner so that you can determine their success at varying levels. This can refer to locality but also their degree of experience at different levels of the appellate court system.

Monteverde’s firm, Monteverde & Associates, is based in New York City, where there is a high need for securities attorneys, and the attorney himself is admitted to the NY bar as well as a in a number of Federal and Court of Appeals throughout the country. The firm has extensive experience operating on the national level and often participates in class action suits at this level. Through this work, the firm represents shareholders who have incurred financial loss due to misconduct by corporations. This work has seen the firm achieve success at many different levels of trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.  In 2019 alone, the firm obtained or secured six cash common funds for shareholders.

Strong communication

Another important consideration when selecting an attorney is their ability to communicate. While a legal practitioner may be talented in many aspects of their field, if they are unable to adequately communicate with you it may be difficult to form a beneficial professional relationship. This issue may be addressed by a positive recommendation or review, however, it’s often a good idea to evaluate this aspect of an attorney’s work as an issue unto itself, due to its importance.

One useful method of evaluation in this regard can be the practice of examining the written or spoken work engaged in by the attorney. To again take the career of Juan Monteverde as an example, the attorney shows his strong penchant for communication by regularly crafting articles for law publications to help clear up areas of legal dispute. He is also regularly invited to speak at law conferences, such as ABA, ACI, and PLI, regarding executive compensation and issues relating to merger litigation. By looking at his work in these areas, potential clients can have a better idea of his ability to communicate and inform others about his work.

While understanding the need for an attorney in a particular legal proceeding can be an important aspect of arriving at a successful outcome, it is also critical that you select the correct attorney for your circumstance. The overview above should help illuminate some of the items to consider when undergoing this process. This information, as well as the example set by Juan Monteverde, can be a vital touchstone as you start on this journey. Consider returning to these ideas if you do indeed need to move forward in the attorney selection process, as they can help you maximize your chance of finding a good fit.