Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
How do I select a lawyer? Well, first of all, I’d be very careful about asking a lawyer
how to select a lawyer, because there’s a tremendous incentive to say “Pick me!”
I’m not going do that. There are plenty of lawyers who would do a good job representing
you on a personal injury case. The problem is, how do you find one? I’m going to suggest
you look at three factors: First, does the lawyer have a documented reputation for excellent
legal ability and high ethical standards? I don’t mean ask the lawyer “Do you have
a good reputation?” I mean research objective sources. Now, the gold standard is the Martin
Dale Hubble Law Directory, which rates the legal ability of lawyers in the United States
as A, B, C, or no rating. They give a “V” for high ethical standards. So let me ask
you this: Why hire a lawyer with anything less than an A-V rating? That directory is
online at www.martindale.com. And we’re proud of our A-V rating, which is the highest
available. You can also go to a firm’s website. See where they were educated. For example,
our lawyers graduated from Whitman, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, University of Washington,
and Tulane. You can check to see how other lawyers rate the lawyer. Are they repeatedly
selected as a “Super Lawyer” by popular vote of their peers in the annual Washington
Law and Politics survey? Are they members of the most prestigious, invitation-only groups,
such as the American College of Trial Lawyers, which selects from the top 1%? If a lawyer
doesn’t list all those qualifications in their website, they probably don’t qualify.
Don’t rely on the lawyers own undocumented statements about his or her own abilities,
cause anyone can say “I’m the best”. The second factor: does the lawyer have experience
handling my particular type of personal injury case? You know, a lot of lawyers do a fine
job on family law or criminal law or business law or estate planning, and they do a little
personal injury on the side. I’d recommend you hire an experienced, focused personal
injury lawyer. Relatively few lawyers devote their entire practice to representing individuals
with claims for personal injury or wrongful death. And some of those personal injury lawyers
will take lots of small cases; slip and fall, dog bites, whiplash claims. If you hire one
of them, the insurance company is going to know you’re being represented by someone
who takes all kinds of personal injury cases. So before you hire a lawyer, you should know
how many times that attorney has successfully tried a personal injury claim. You should
know whether that attorney has ever obtained a verdict in a personal injury claim for over
one million dollars. 99 out of 100 cases, the answer is no. Don’t allow the lawyer
to answer your questions with generalizations. Ask for specific cases with specific results.
Remember, when you’re talking to a lawyer, you’re interviewing him or her for a job
working for you. Look at their resume. That applies to us too. Look at our case results.
Our website lays out our qualifications. Pick a lawyer who’s not afraid to lay out their
qualifications in full. The third factor and probably the most important: does the attorney
inspire your trust and confidence? You should hire a lawyer in whom you feel comfortable
placing your trust and confidence. Remember, the lawyer’s going to be employed by you
to represent you. You need somebody easy to talk to, somebody able to explain clearly,
and advise you on your situation. And the best way to determine your comfort level is
to personally meet the lawyer. If you want to take things a step at a time, talk to the
lawyer on the phone. Test your comfort level prior to scheduling an appointment. At our
firm, we offer a free initial interview, and case evaluation. That is to help determine
the likelihood of a successful claim, and the likely range of any financial recovery.
It’s also an excellent opportunity to decide if you’re comfortable placing your trust
and confidence in any particular personal injury lawyer. And remember, there are many
good ones, but they all have three qualifications: 1. They have a documented reputation for excellent
legal ability and high ethical standards. 2. They have successful experience handling
your particular type of personal injury case. And 3 you can talk to them, and they inspire
your trust and confidence. So, good luck in finding a lawyer best suited to represent
you.