How to Choose a Lawyer
The biggest mistake people make when choosing a lawyer is relying only on advertising. The problem is that advertisements don’t provide much information. Yellow Pages ads all give basically the same information. Also, anyone can buy an ad on TV. Advertising takes a lawyer’s resources, both time and money, away from your case and directs it toward generating new business for his or her law firm. Lastly, lawyers that do a lot of advertising need a lot of clients to generate the case flow required to pay for their advertising.
The best trial lawyers do not rely on advertising to bring in new clients. The majority of their cases come from other lawyers who respect them and their trial skills. They take only a small number of cases and concentrate their efforts on achieving the best results possible for their clients. Elite trial lawyers are never under any pressure to settle cases because of high overhead from their advertising costs. Insurance companies and defense lawyers know this as well.
When choosing a lawyer it is best to rely on word of mouth. Get references from other lawyers or even judges you might know. Try to find other people who have been injured in a similar manner and ask them what their experience was. Remember, this will be a long-term relationship built on trust and mutual confidence. A little time and research go a long way in helping you find the right lawyer for your case with whom you will be comfortable.
Some questions you will want to consider when choosing a lawyer are:
- Who will be handling my case? Is it a named partner or a young associate?
- How experienced is the lawyer who will be handling my case?
- How long has the lawyer or firm been handling medical malpractice cases?
- Are the law firm’s resources directed exclusively toward medical malpractice cases or does the law firm handle other types of cases as well?
- Will be case be one of a few cases the lawyer is handling or one of forty or fifty or even more?
- Am I comfortable with the lawyer?
- Will the lawyer return my phone calls?
- Has the lawyer achieved significant results through either verdicts or settlements for his clients?
- Will the lawyer take the time to explain the legal process and answer any questions I have about my case?
