When you or your family/friends are injured in an accident or due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated to the maximum extent possible. For this, you will need to choose the attorney who can secure the best remedy and also ensure that you are protected against any retaliation from the other party.
Choosing the right injury attorney may seem easy when you take a look at the Yellow Pages, whose columns are full of attorneys offering their services. However, there are a few things to consider before making your choice.
Word of mouth – Even in the age of high technology, word of mouth referrals remain one of the surest ways to find the right injury attorney. Friends, coworkers, and family members can suggest names from their experience or from those they know and trust. Although you may not have any luck the first time, the attorney you go to for referral may suggest someone else who can handle your case. Since attorneys also earn referral fees from their colleagues, they are motivated to refer your case to someone else who is competent.
Legal Organizations: Local bar councils, state bar associations, law school alumni, local lawyer directories, and members of legal associations and organizations are some places where you can find legal help. These are reliable sources but do not provide evidence of the lawyer’s competence.
Websites and Internet Directories/Yellow Pages/Ads: Useful for evaluating attorney qualifications and experience; however, they may not provide information on competition, ethics, etc.
Specialization: It is best to hire an attorney who has knowledge and experience in the particular area. For example, some attorneys specialize in spinal cord injury, workers’ compensation, medical/dental/psychiatric, etc. therefore, they have all the knowledge/resources at their fingertips.
In addition to these broad areas, you can also keep a checklist of things to ask a lawyer when you meet them, such as exact experience in similar cases, fees, whether they will represent you personally or give the job to someone else in the firm. , how long they expect the process to take, updates and when they are provided, if the settlement offered is inadequate, if they are prepared to sue, if they are unavailable or on vacation, who can take over the job, etc. You should also be sure of the attorney’s background, such as whether he has ever faced disbarment or been under ethics committee proceedings.
Once you have made sure of these matters and possibly many more, you can enter into a written agreement with the attorney and retain them to proceed on your behalf.
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