Whether you’re looking for a tax lawyer in Orange County, a tax attorney in San Diego, a tax lawyer in San Jose, or somewhere in between, there are certain things you need to watch out for. Some of the tax attorneys in California will do things right off the bat to prove to you that they’re not the one you should work with.

If your potential tax attorney falls into any of these 3 categories, you need to find a new one — and fast!

1. A tax attorney in Los Angeles who handles a million types of cases

In Los Angeles, there is a lot of competition — meaning there’s a lot of pressure to stand out. As a result, a tax attorney in Los Angeles might try to boost his business by expanding his services. If he’s handling related types of cases (like probate law), that’s one thing.

But if he tells you that, in addition to your tax problems, he can also handle your divorce, your slip and fall case, and your dispute with your landlord, run the other way! That’s a sure sign that this tax attorney in Los Angeles doesn’t have time to keep up with all of the important details and changes that the IRS is always coming out with — meaning that he doesn’t have the knowledge he needs to represent you.

2. A tax lawyer in San Jose who won’t sit down for a free consultation

The good tax attorneys in California are more than happy to sit down and spend some time answering basic questions, before you actually hire them and write them a check. So, if you run into a tax lawyer in San Jose who’s not willing to discuss anything with you until you’ve paid him, that’s a bad sign. It shows that he really doesn’t have your best interest in mind — or, worse, that he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about, and he wants to get some money before you figure that out!

3. A tax lawyer in Orange County who’s obsessed with his other offices

Many of the successful tax attorneys in California have more than one office. However, if your potential tax lawyer in Orange County seems more concerned with what’s going on in the San Francisco office than what’s going on with your case, that’s not a good thing. That means that he’s not paying as much attention to your case as he should — which can lead to some major damage!