At first glance, finding a personal injury lawyer doesn’t look that hard. They’re advertising everywhere, after all, and many are promising the moon and the stars, not to mention no charging unless they’re able to win your case.
But finding a personal injury lawyer isn’t as simple as it seems. There are some important tips you need to know, and what follows is a rundown of the most important ones.
The Experience Factor
While it is fairly easy to locate a personal injury lawyer, finding the right one is a little tougher. You need experience, but it has to be the right kind of experience.
What does that actually mean, though? For starters, it means the ideal candidate has extensive experience in cases that mirror yours, which means you need to do some mix and match work.
Start with your own case. Were you injured in an auto accident? Was it a slip-and-fall that’s property related? Or was the scenario more unique in a way that indicates you might need someone who has tried specialty cases.
To tunnel down further, ask questions and look up the lawyer’s track record. Do they specialize in certain kind of cases? Do they frequently appear representing insurance companies? If your case is a class-action suit, what’s the track record in getting awards.
Seek Active Representation
Personal injury lawyers usually take on cases that are based on contingency fees, i.e., they’ll represent you if they know there’s a good chance they’ll win.
In some instances, that means they have to take on a lot of cases, in which case your case could easily get lost in the shuffle.
A good personal injury lawyer who actually wants your case will go the extra mile and ask you questions about your case as well. The best lawyers want to know the details, and they want them to stack up in your favor so that it represents a win-win for both you and them.
Do Your Homework
Hiring any lawyer involves some serious background homework, and hiring a personal injury lawyer is no exception.
You need to make the rounds of family and friends to look for leads, and you need to access the public info records about the lawyer and the law firm you’re hiring.
All of this may not get you to the right lawyer, but it might lead to a great referral, which is just as good as an outstanding initial find. And if you’re in California, that referral might lead you to cwilc.com, where you can find out all you need to know about work-related injuries if that happens to be relevant to your case.
Here’s the piece…structured this as a tutorial, used the keyword at the end. Please let me know if you need anything else.