Consider a Specialist
Keep in mind that a “general practitioner” who practices in many legal areas might not know enough about the particular area of your concern to be effective. For example, of the almost one million lawyers in America today, probably fewer than 50,000 possess sufficient training and experience in small business law to be of real help to an aspiring entrepreneur.
It can pay to work with a lawyer who already knows the field, such as employment discrimination, zoning laws, software design issues, or restaurant licensing. That way, you can take advantage of the fact that the lawyer is already far up the learning curve. A specialist might charge a little more, but it is often money well spent.