Trusting someone else with your Personal Injury lawsuit is a huge step. Not only does this mean that you’re ready to move forward with monetary compensation, but it means that you trust someone enough to win for you. As exciting as this is, some people may come across a problem when finding someone to hire. How do you pick? There are so many horror stories about shady lawyers that people are rightfully more cautious about who they hire.
Here’s how to find an incredible firm for your case.
Past Wins or Losses
You’re hiring someone to win your lawsuit. Because of this, your first line of research into a firm should be how many cases they’ve won and lost. A good personal injury law firm in Kingston, PA, should hold a steady number of wins. This track record means that they’ve proven themselves in court, they’re professional, and they’re capable of showing the facts in a way that benefits their clients.
Everyone loses eventually, so don’t be scared off by a blip or two in their numbers: it just means that they’ve been practicing long enough to have seen everything.
How They Listen
Does this law firm listen to what you tell them? Although you shouldn’t be best friends with your lawyer, it’s good to have someone willing to understand you and learn more about your case. You can test them on this by bringing up vital information at the beginning of your conversation and seeing if they could recall it when you ask them later. A lawyer who isn’t attentive or intelligent to notice small nudges like this isn’t someone who you want to represent you in court.
Word of Mouth
Asking those you trust around you is a powerful way to gather the information you can rely on. When lawyers were polled, most agreed that word of mouth is the best way to find clients they can faithfully represent. Not only does word of mouth mean that you know somebody who has seen them in the courtroom, most of the time, the only recommendations someone will make for a lawyer is someone who has won their case.
If you don’t know where to find someone who has been through a similar case, talk to those around you and ask if they know of anyone who’s been in the same seat as you.
Reviews Online
There is a bias in online reviews, since people are more motivated to leave negative reviews than positive ones. Dig through the reviews of every law firm you’re considering, and try to find a consensus for what you want to know. If a law firm has one or two bad reviews, it’s okay to ignore them unless the reviews say something terrible: but if they only have bad responses, then you need to start looking somewhere else.
Don’t let familiarity with the people who recommended them to you make your entire decision either.
Take it seriously, and call any law firms that raise questions for you. It’s better to have wasted a couple of seconds on a phone call than bet your entire case on someone you don’t know or trust.