How to Choose a Personal Injury Attorney
- 1). Call your personal attorney first if you have one. Many people already have a lawyer because of a past legal need, like the purchase of a house. Your personal attorney can recommend a local injury attorney. You may even find that your personal attorney can handle your injury case. This could save you the trouble of having to search for an injury attorney as well as save you some money.
- 2). Search for personal injury attorneys in your area. The two best ways to do this are by either calling the local Bar Association in your area or by logging onto the American Bar Association's website and searching for lawyers. The American Bar Association's website will give you the name and contact information for personal injury attorneys in your area as well as other information about those lawyers, such as where they obtained their degree and how long they have been practicing injury law.
- 3). Get to know the reputations of local personal injury attorneys in your area. Chances are that you know of at least one top-notch attorney as well as one “ambulance chaser” from television commercials and other ads. You can also get this information from friends or families who have needed an injury attorney or from public editorials. Talk to people you trust who have been in a similar situation before. Ask them which attorney they used, why they picked that attorney and if they would do so again.
- 4). Make appointments and meet with at least two personal injury attorneys. Compare choosing a personal injury attorney to buying a car. Most people don't just select the first car they see. You shouldn't pick the first attorney who is recommended to you, even if that attorney is recommended by your personal lawyer. Meeting with two or more attorneys allows you to compare price, professionalism and personal demeanor.
- 5). Ask about any and all fees when you are meeting with a personal injury attorney. Every attorney has his or her own way of billing clients. For most, there will be an upfront fee, hourly fees for how much work they do and a final cost once the case is settled. Many personal injury attorneys, however, do not charge any fees other than an upfront fee unless they win your case or achieve a settlement. Make sure that you are 100 percent clear on what you will owe before you retain that attorney.
- 6). Obtain information about the attorney's staff before you choose. The best attorney in the world is nothing without great paralegals and legal secretaries. Ask the attorney if you can speak with a member or two of her staff or if staff members can sit in on your consultation. You want to be sure that you get along with the staff since you will most likely be speaking to those people more than the actual attorney. Don't be afraid to find out this information. You have every right to know about every person working on your case, especially when you will most likely be paying a large amount of money to the law office for your particular case.