We cannot tell you what you should look for in a personal injury lawyer, however, we can tell you what we would look for if we were in your shoes. Additionally, we can offer some suggestions as to what we think are important for you to now. The end of the day it comes down to preference. At the end of the day, you have to feel comfortable that your case is in the best hands possible.
The first topic should be experience. You should look at a potential attorney’s experience. Not only the number of years he/she has been practicing personal law cases, but how many times these attorneys actually go to court. You would be surprised at the number of attorneys that hold themselves out as “trial lawyers”, however, you will never see them inside of courthouse. The fact of the matter is you want a lawyer that is not afraid to go to court and try your case if necessary. Truthfully, most personal injury attorneys don’t go to court because their case is settled. My guess is that approximately 95% of personal injury cases settle without the need of ever having to go to court. If your attorney does exclusively personal injury work, how often are they actually appearing in court to know what to argue, how to argue, and the propensities of the judges?
The next question I would ask is whether it is a paralegal driven law firm. This may sound like a given that a law firm and should be run by lawyers. But here’s the difference of an attorney driven law firm versus a paralegal driven law firm. If it is an “attorney driven law firm” that means that the attorneys primarily work the case and delegate assignments to paralegals, legal assistants, secretaries etc. The attorney has more of a hands-on approach and relationship with your file. This also means that when you call the office, the attorney is not looking up your injury case in case notes written by someone else. A paralegal driven law firm, is where there is one attorney for multiple paralegals. The paralegals are primarily responsible for client contact and managing the files until it becomes time for negotiation. By doing this, the attorney’s office can handle more cases at cheaper overhead, however, it also means you lack the personal attention from attorney who’s been licensed and trained to handle your case.
The third thing that I would look for is comfort. Are you comfortable with that attorney? Does that attorney instill a sense of confidence in you wherein you can relax and know that your file is in the hands of someone that you’re comfortable with. The attorney client relationship is a very delicate and is an extremely important one. I t is easy to let emotions cloud logical and/or proper decisions. But if you are in the hands of someone you’re comfortable with, then you tend to trust them a little bit easier than you would otherwise.
The last thing I would look at is responsiveness. Do you want a firm that is going to be responsible to you and be able to help you when issues come up regarding your injury case? Whether they are unexpected bills, lost wages, or merely the desire to vent about some frustration that exists, you need to be able to contact your attorney and express those to him or her. If your attorney never picks up the phone or calls back or if he or she relies solely on email, in my opinion, you’re lacking the personal intention that you desire and should be getting. I am a person that actually likes to talk to people as opposed to hide behind a computer monitor. I know that if I had an injury case on accident case I was working with Person, I would want that too.
These are just a few of the things that I thought about when drafting this blog post. When it comes to what to look for in a personal injury lawyer, I’m sure there are a dozen other things that I could elaborate upon. Perhaps for a different post or FAQ. At this point, this should be enough to hopefully get you started. If not, please feel free to call us and ask any further questions that you have. There’s no charge for a consultation and NO ATTORNEY’S FEES UNTIL WE WIN!
By hiring our firm, our premises liability attorneys will fight to maximize compensation for your injuries caused by a landowner’s negligence. Please contact us for a free consultation at 757-454-2110 or by filling out the consultation form found here.
Give us a call at 757-454-2110 or click here to contact us for a free consultation about your injury or accident case. And as always - there are no attorney's fees until we win!!!
/s/ Brian
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