Before you sign an engagement agreement, spend five minutes confirming that the attorney is licensed, active and in good standing in your state. It's free, it's public, and it's the single most useful piece of due diligence available to you.
Where to look
Every state has a bar association or supreme court office that licenses attorneys, and nearly all of them publish a searchable directory online. Search for your state's name plus "attorney search" or "lawyer lookup." The official site will typically end in .gov, .org, or a bar association domain, not a commercial directory.
What the record shows
- Status: "active" and "in good standing" are what you want. "Inactive," "suspended," "disbarred" or "resigned with charges pending" are not.
- Admission date: how long the attorney has been licensed in that state.
- Public discipline: reprimands, suspensions or other sanctions. Minor administrative lapses (a late continuing-education certificate) are different from misconduct toward clients. Read the entry rather than just the label.
- Sometimes: firm address, bar number and whether the attorney carries malpractice insurance, where disclosure is required.
Multi-state matters
An attorney can only practice in states where they're admitted, though they can sometimes appear elsewhere with a local co-counsel through a process called pro hac vice. If your matter is in a different state from the attorney's office, ask how they'll handle that.
Red flags beyond the directory
- Pressure to sign today
- Guarantees about outcomes
- Vague answers about fees or who will do the work
- A "consultant" or "case manager" who won't tell you which attorney is responsible for your matter
Checking a license isn't an insult. Good attorneys expect it and will often tell you their bar number before you ask.
Other records worth a quick look
The bar directory tells you whether someone is allowed to practice. A few other sources help you see how they actually practice:
- Court records. Many state and federal courts let the public search cases by attorney name. If a lawyer says they try cases regularly, you should be able to find some.
- Specialist certification. Some states certify attorneys as specialists in fields like family or criminal law after extra exams and experience. The state bar usually lists who holds it, and in some states only certified attorneys may call themselves specialists in advertising.
- The firm's own materials. Compare the names on the website to the directory. Everyone described as an attorney should appear in it.
- Reviews. Read them for patterns about communication and billing, not for one angry or glowing post.
None of these replace the license check. They fill in the picture, especially when you're choosing between two attorneys who both show up as active and in good standing. Ten extra minutes of looking can tell you a lot about the day-to-day experience of working with someone.
If something on the record worries you
Finding a discipline entry isn't automatically a reason to walk away, but it is a reason to read carefully. Open the actual order or summary if the directory links to it. Note how long ago it happened, what the conduct was, and whether it involved client money or honesty. A decade-old reprimand for a missed filing reads very differently from a recent suspension for mishandling a trust account.
Then ask the attorney about it directly. A straightforward explanation is a good sign. Defensiveness, or a claim that the record is simply wrong, is not.
If you can't find the attorney at all, try variations: a full middle name, a former surname, or a neighboring state. If you still come up empty, ask for their bar number and search with that. Someone who can't produce one shouldn't be handling your matter.
If you believe a person is giving legal advice without a license, most state bars accept reports of unauthorized practice. And if a lawyer has already taken client money dishonestly, many states run a client protection fund that can reimburse some losses.
A realistic example
Picture this: Mark is hiring an attorney to handle a dispute with a contractor who walked off a half-finished kitchen remodel. He's narrowed it to one lawyer whose office is ten minutes from home.
He searches the state bar directory and gets no match. Before assuming the worst, he asks the office for the attorney's bar number. The receptionist sends it, and a search by number shows her listed under her full legal name, active and in good standing.
The listing also shows a public reprimand from about eight years earlier. Mark opens the summary: it involved failing to respond promptly to a client's messages. At their meeting, he asks about it. The attorney explains what happened, what she changed in her office afterward, and how her team handles client calls now.
Mark also finds several contract cases under her name in the county court's online records. He signs the agreement and saves a dated screenshot of the listing with his copy.
Common questions
What does it mean if a lawyer's status says inactive?
In most states it means the lawyer isn't currently allowed to practice law there. People go inactive for ordinary reasons: retirement, a job outside law, or practicing in another state. It isn't a mark of discipline. But an inactive attorney can't represent you in that state until they return to active status, which usually involves paperwork, fees and sometimes continuing education.
Can I see complaints against a lawyer that were dismissed?
Generally not. In most states, a complaint that doesn't lead to public discipline stays confidential, so the directory only shows sanctions that were actually imposed. That protects attorneys from baseless grievances, but it also means a clean record isn't a complete history. Rules on what becomes public, and when, vary by state, so check your bar's website for how its process works.
How do I file a complaint against a lawyer?
Contact your state's attorney discipline office, which is usually part of the state bar or the state's highest court. Most offer an online or printable form. Describe what happened in plain terms, include dates, and attach copies of key documents. Keep in mind that discipline is about the lawyer's license. It doesn't recover money or repair your case, which may need a separate fee dispute or malpractice claim.
Save a dated screenshot of the attorney's bar listing and keep it with your signed engagement agreement.
