Before you pay a lawyer
A quiet way to tell a licensed attorney from a notario or scam, before you hand over money or documents. Nothing you type ever leaves your browser.
A real lawyer is one you can look up by name and bar number. This one check settles most cases. Get the individual attorney's name and the state they practice in, then confirm the record matches the person contacting you.
On the bar site, confirm the license is active and in good standing, and that the name on record matches the person emailing you. If a bar number they gave belongs to someone else, that is impersonation. Stop there.
Mark anything true of the lawyer or firm contacting you. The dealbreakers are disqualifying on their own.
Paste the lawyer's email, or type their name and state, and the checker will look them up and give a verdict. Unlike the checklist above, this one is sent to a server to do the research.