The best lawyer should be courteous and easily accessible to clients. The personal injury lawyer you select must offer a reliable and convenient means of communication with clients. Along the same lines, the best personal injury lawyer will have a record of your results and your settlements. Not All Personal Injury Lawyers Are the Same.
The good guys will be able to show you their results. For the most part, lawyers who handle personal injury or medical malpractice cases charge injury victims the same “contingent fee” no matter how long they have been practicing. If a lawyer with only 3 years of experience will charge you the same fees as a lawyer with 25 years of experience and 100 personal injury jury trials under your belt, you should seriously consider hiring the most experienced attorney. Your Lawyer's Experience Can Make a Big Difference to the Outcome of Your Case.
Once you are nearing the end of your bachelor's degree program, you will be required to take the Law School Admission Exam (LSAT). It is a multiple-choice exam that measures your aptitude in the skills that lawyers often use, such as task management, logic, critical reading, and research. Admission to law school is highly competitive and depends not only on your college GPA, but also on your LSAT score. Contact friends or co-workers who have been represented by an attorney in their own personal injury claims.
If they say good things about the experience, put that lawyer on your list of candidates. But don't make any decision about a lawyer based solely on someone else's recommendation. Different people will have different answers to the style and personality of a lawyer. In addition, at any particular time, an attorney may have more or less energy or interest to pursue a new case.
So don't decide to hire a lawyer until you've met with him, discussed your case, and decided that you're comfortable entering into a working relationship. You may already know a lawyer, either personally or because the lawyer has previously represented you in a legal matter. The second lesson you will learn very quickly is that there is a real demand for the services of a personal injury lawyer. Nearly every personal injury case will involve some “expenses” that must be paid to prepare the case properly.
The practice of law has become so complex that it is virtually impossible for a general practitioner attorney to keep abreast of all developments in personal injury and medical malpractice law. Lawyers who defend personal injury cases know the injury lawyers who actually try cases and those who don't. The practice of law has become highly specialized, and many tax lawyers, for example, know less about personal injury law than you do after reading some Alllaw articles. To file a personal injury lawsuit in New York, the plaintiff must be able to show that the defendant is responsible for the injuries and, if so, what is the nature and extent of the damages?.
If You Have a Serious Personal Injury Lawsuit, You'll Want a Lawyer Who Handles Personal Injury Cases Day in and Day Out. The best personal injury lawyers are backed by a team of professionals who will do the heavy lifting for you. When you're looking for legal representation, you're likely looking for someone who is experienced and comfortable with personal injury cases. A significant percentage of lawyers who consider themselves “trial lawyers” or “personal injury lawyers” have little or no experience in jury trials.
Lawyers often refer cases to each other, and most lawyers have someone in their network who deals with plaintiffs' personal injury cases. And ask what specific parts of the case would be handled by the lead attorney personally and which ones would be turned over to a paralegal. You're likely to get more personalized attention from a small law firm, and many of the best personal injury lawyers choose to work in a law firm with just a few lawyers. Most lawyers who are hired by insurance companies to defend personal injury cases are experienced specialists who limit their practice to defending personal injury cases.
Talk to any successful personal injury lawyer and you'll discover that this couldn't be further from the truth. . .