- Tips for finding and choosing the best lawyer for you and your personal injury case.
Whether you’ve decided to go to court and want to hire an attorney to handle your personal injury case, or you want help settling your personal injury claim (or preparing it for small claims court or arbitration), you want Don’t just hire a lawyer. You want an experienced personal injury lawyer with whom you feel comfortable.
In this article we cover:
- methods for finding the right personal injury lawyer, and
- tips on choosing the right lawyer to represent you.
Find an experienced attorney
The legal practice has become very specialized, and many lawyers know less about personal injury law than you will know after reading this site. So your first job is to find an attorney who has experience representing plaintiffs (known as “plaintiffs”) in personal injury cases. You may not want to be represented by someone who has primarily been an attorney for insurance companies, even if they have experience. Such a lawyer may be too accustomed to siding with the insurance company and may not fight hard enough for your claim. On the other hand, a seasoned plaintiff attorney who does some experience on the other hand (representing personal injury defendants or insurance companies) can be a real asset.
A lawyer may not want your case
Finding a lawyer to hire is one thing. But that lawyer must also want your case. And a lawyer can have various reasons for rejecting you as a client.
Most personal injury lawyers work on an unforeseen cost basis. (See “Managing Attorney Fees and Expenses in a Personal Injury Case.”) This arrangement means that the attorney’s fee is a percentage of what you ultimately receive in compensation. And if the amount you’re likely to receive is small, most attorneys won’t take the claim. That’s because a lawyer’s overhead — the cost of running a law firm — is too high to make small cases economically worthwhile.
But even if your case is too small for an attorney to take over the entire claim, it may still be possible to hire the attorney on an hourly basis to advise you on certain parts of your claim.
Even if your injuries are serious and your potential compensation is high, a lawyer may refuse to take your case if the chances of full compensation are slim. This may be because you were largely responsible for the accident, because it is too difficult to prove that someone else was at fault, or because the person responsible for the accident has little or no insurance.
Finally, a lawyer may refuse to take on your perfectly good case for the same reason you might not want to hire a perfectly good lawyer. That is, the two of you may not be comfortable with each other. If your personality and the attorney clash right away, the attorney may decide that it’s just not worth it to handle your claim.
Friends and acquaintances
Reach out to friends or colleagues who are represented by an attorney in their own personal injury claims. If they say good things about the experience, put that lawyer on your candidate list. But don’t make a decision on a lawyer based solely on someone else’s recommendation. Different people will have different reactions to a lawyer’s style and personality. A lawyer may also have more or less energy or interest to spend on a new case at a certain time. So don’t make a decision about hiring an attorney until you’ve met them, discussed your case, and decided you’re comfortable with entering into a working relationship.
Lawyers you already know
You may already know a lawyer, either personally or because the lawyer has previously represented you in a legal matter. So if you’re considering hiring an attorney to work on your personal injury claim, it may seem obvious to hire this person you already know.
But this attorney may have little or no experience representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases. If so, ask the attorney to refer you to someone — in that attorney’s office or elsewhere — who might be a good fit for you. Attorneys usually refer cases to one another, and most attorneys have someone in their network who handles plaintiffs’ personal injury cases. However, as with referrals from friends or colleagues, don’t take another attorney’s referral as gospel.
Websites and submissions via chat/forms
Websites such as AllLaw.com (and Nolo.com) not only provide you with practical information on all aspects of a legal matter, they are also portals to get help from a qualified attorney in your area. Use the “Chat” and “Case Evaluation” tools on this page to tell us about your situation and take your first step towards the best outcome for your personal injury case.
Choosing the right lawyer
Regardless of how you initially approach a candidate, it is best to sit down with the attorney in person to discuss your claim. Bring copies of all the documents you have regarding your claim: police report, medical bills, loss of income information, and all correspondence with the insurance company, including your summons letter if you have reached that stage.
Most personal injury lawyers do not charge for an initial consultation.
There are a few basic things you should know at the start of your first conversation with the attorney.
General experience
Find out more about the lawyer’s background and experience. If you want to know where the lawyer went to school, ask – although it’s not as important as real world experience. Some other questions might include:
- How long has the lawyer been in practice?
- What percentage of the lawyer’s practice concerns personal injury cases?
- Does the lawyer usually represent plaintiffs (plaintiffs) or defendants (companies, insurance companies)?
- Does the lawyer have experience with the insurance company in your case, or even with the relevant insurance expert?
Who will work on your case?
In almost every law practice, lawyers work together on cases. Often, less experienced lawyers and paralegals perform routine tasks. This can benefit you as the work gets done faster. And if you pay by the hour, it’s to your financial advantage that you don’t let the more expensive senior lawyer handle routine paperwork.