If you’re in need of the services of a personal injury lawyer, you might be a little outside of your comfort zone. Who do you talk to? How do you find attorneys? And how do you even know if they’re a good fit for your case?
3 Ways to Find a Good Lawyer
Personal injury lawyers are a dime a dozen in the legal world. You can find thousands of them, including hundreds in your own state. But not all personal injury lawyers are created equal. You need to find the best one. Here are several ways to do that:
- Ask for Referrals
The preferred method is to ask individuals within your own personal network. This may include friends, family members, neighbors, or coworkers. When you ask people you know, you have more trust in the recommendation.
When asking for referrals, give the most weight to people who have personally used the attorney before. In other words, it’s better to get a referral from someone who has needed/used an injury attorney in the past, as opposed to someone who just happens to know one.
- Use Online Services and Directories
There are several online databases that can help connect you with attorneys. Some examples include Avvo and Martindale Hubbell. These directories include thousands of attorneys who are sortable by location, practice area, disciplinary records, and even client reviews.
- Search Google
Another option is to simply run a Google search in your areas. While not always the case, typically the most experienced and skilled attorneys will populate the top search results. For example, if you need a personal injury attorney in Plano Texas, you’ll find The Law Office of Joel M. Vecchio, P.C., which is one of the top personal injury firms in the state.
If nothing else, use Google to verify referrals that you get from a personal friend or online service/directory. This allows you to do some independent research to see what other people are saying about them.
What to Look for in a Personal Injury Lawyer
As you gather names and referrals, you need to have some criteria to evaluate various options. We recommend looking at factors such as:
- Experience. You never want to be an attorney’s guinea pig. Work with someone who has at least five to 10 years of experience in the industry (if not more).
- Niche. Some attorneys do a little bit of everything. They’ll handle tax law one day, bankruptcy cases the next, domestic disputes the next, and personal injury cases on the side. While there’s nothing technically wrong with this, you want an attorney who specializes in injury law. (And it’s even better if you can find one who specializes in your specific type of case – like car accidents or dog bites.)
- Results. They might have a lot of experience handling cases similar to your own, but have they been successful? Study their results and ask about the outcomes of similar cases. While no attorney is going to guarantee results, you should get a pretty good feel for how they view your case in light of past results.
- Personality. While experience, niche, and results are certainly the first factors to think about, don’t underestimate the importance of personality. You’re going to be working with your attorney a lot over the next several weeks or months. It’s helpful if there’s some positive chemistry between the two of you. This will make you feel more comfortable and at ease throughout the process.
Evaluating attorneys is fairly subjective. However, if you consider factors like these in your search process, you’ll typically end up with someone you can trust. At this point, your primary responsibility is to let your attorney go to work for you. You can let off the proverbial gas pedal a little bit and let your lawyer drive.
Find the Right Attorney for Your Case
It’s absolutely imperative that you have a good personal injury lawyer by your side. You can’t afford to hire the first attorney you see on a bus stop billboard or TV commercial. Be discerning and use your best judgment. Gather recommendations from people you trust and thoroughly vet each option before making a decision. This sort of patience will serve you well.
