If some person or entity harmed you, then you might consider suing them. If you do, you are bringing a personal injury case against them. To do that, though, you must find the right lawyer. That is sometimes challenging.
Luckily, finding the perfect attorney does not need to be all that complicated. It’s not like understanding the distinction between claims and lawsuits or some other complex aspect of the legal system. If you know what to look for, you should be able to locate and hire a lawyer who you feel comfortable representing you in no time.
Let’s talk about how you can find the perfect attorney to handle your personal injury lawsuit right now.
Look at Their Online Reputation
First, you can ask around and see whether you know anyone who has used a lawyer for a personal injury case before. Maybe you do. These cases happen fairly often, so the chances that you know an individual who has hired one of these lawyers in the past remain fairly high.
If you don’t know anyone who can recommend a law firm or lawyer, you can use Google and the online community as your allies. Start by Googling a keyword phrase like “the best personal injury attorney near me” or something along those lines. That should point you in the right direction.
Look at personal injury lawyers in your area. Find out as much information about them as you can. Before you visit their website, look at how many stars they have on Google. That’s usually a great place to start. If you see a lawyer with two out of five stars or one that has no reviews, that’s probably not the best sign.
Check Out Their Website
Next, go to the lawyer’s website who you feel has the best online reviews. Look at the site and see how you feel about it. Does it look spammy and have lots of pop-ups? Does the user experience not instill you with a feeling of confidence?
Every modern business needs a website, particularly an entity like a lawyer or law firm. If they didn’t set up the site themselves, they should have hired someone competent to do it.
You want to see a site for this lawyer or firm with plenty of professional photographs or high-quality videos. You should have the option to sign up for their mailing list, follow them on various social media platforms, and read their blog. You should also see many five-star reviews from satisfied former clients.
If you don’t see all of that, it probably means you should use someone else. All of these things indicate you’ve found a reputable firm. If you see a hastily thrown-together website with stock photos and no feedback from previous clients, that’s probably a bottom-of-the-barrel lawyer who won’t do a good job with your case.
Look at Their Office Location
Next, look at the location of their physical offices. You can always set up a Zoom meeting with a lawyer, but eventually, you will probably have to meet with them in person. When you do, it’s not helpful if you have a two-hour drive ahead of you.
If you see that the law firm or lawyer has a physical location relatively close to your house, that’s a major point in their favor. You probably don’t want to drive more than an hour to meet with them. A half hour or less might seem even better.
Get a First Impression
Next, you can call them. You might speak to an administrative assistant. It’s likely the lawyer has a very busy schedule, so if you can’t talk to them on the phone, don’t let that worry you.
You can explain your personal injury case’s details over the phone. You probably needn’t get too in-depth with it. Just give the office assistant the broad strokes, and they can let you know if it sounds like the law firm or lawyer they represent might match what you require.
If they say you can come in and meet with the lawyer, do so. If the personal injury you sustained left you unable to drive, maybe you must take public transportation or have someone else drive you. Get there however you can, though.
Once you meet with the lawyer, see what kind of first impression they make. Do they seem honest? It’s sometimes hard to tell at first, but you should always trust your instincts. If the lawyer seems shifty or there’s some other quality about them you don’t care for, remember that you don’t have to hire them. Just like any other service, if you’re not getting a good feeling, you can go with someone else.
See Whether You Can Come to Terms
Explain in detail what happened. The lawyer will tell you whether they think you have a case and whether they have the time to take you on at the moment. If they say they will, you can move forward, but you should probably ask a few more questions first.
You might ask the attorney whether they’ve ever had a case exactly like yours before. If they say that they have, you can ask them how it turned out.
You might ask them how many investigators they have working for them. The larger and more prestigious firms often have multiple investigators on staff who they can assign to your case. These individuals can hopefully uncover evidence that proves the version of events that you assert happened.
If you like everything you’re hearing from the lawyer, you should next ask how much they’ll charge and what payment system they want. They will likely work on contingency. That’s probably the only payment structure you should accept for a personal injury case since you pay them nothing if they don’t win for you.
If the payment structure works for you, you can officially hire them. You’re now well on your way toward pursuing your personal injury lawsuit.
