People advise to hire a "good" lawyer. How do you know if you have good attorney? What is considered to be a good attorney, what is considered to be a bad attorney and would I be able to know this?

This is old age thinking. You call the bar association and find a lawyer registered with them.

From references. Obvious someone with years of experience and a track record of winning is better than one with one month expereince and no records of winning. Also one in your field of law, taking a bankruptcy attorney to a murder trial is not much help either.