Ten Questions to Ask Before You Hire Your Laywer...and Our Answers
1. Have You Handled a Case Like Mine?
A lot of lawyers handle personal injury cases. But that doesn’t mean they’ve handled a case like yours.
A rear-end collision is different from one caused by an obstructed sight triangle.
A sprain/strain injury is different than a concussion.
A case against an individual is different than a case against a school district.
Experience teaches lawyers:
Which issues are going to be important.
What experts they should hire.
What arguments insurance companies will make.
What works (and what doesn’t).
Experience gives lawyers a big head start. Experience has an outsized influence on outcome.
That doesn’t mean you need a lawyer who has handled a case identical to yours. But you should ask: Have you handled cases like mine before?
Our Response:
There’s a pretty good chance that we’ve handled cases involving the specific issues most important to your case.
Over the last 35 years we’ve handled cases involving injuries that have happened in just about every conceivable way. And those injuries have run—literally—from (cracked) head to (amputated) toe.
We’re happy to talk about the types of cases and specific issues we’ve handled. Click on “Get help now” and we’ll let you know right away whether we have experience with the issues that are most important to your case.
You may also want to look at the Newsletters and Success Stories so you can read about some of the cases we’ve handled and the issues involved in those cases.
2. How Will You Build the Strongest Version of My Case?
It’s interesting to look at verdicts and settlements from other cases. But the real question is how the lawyer is going to create the best version of your case.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all process. Every case is different. Building the strongest version of a case can mean:
Understanding the medicine.
Uncovering liability theories other lawyers may have missed
Finding evidence that supports liability and causation.
Hiring the right experts.
Finding unexpected sources of insurance coverage.
Anticipating the other side’s arguments and formulating a game plan to overcome them.
A good result happens months or years before it’s achieved.
So it’s important to ask: How will you build the strongest version of my case?
Our Response:
The foundation for building a strong case is experience. The way we maximize value is different in every case. We combine what’s worked before with creative solutions that are specific to your case.
Once we have more information, we can talk about the things that are going to help create the best version of your case.
3. Will the Lawyer I Hired Be Handling My Case?
You read something a lawyer has written. You see a lawyer’s posts on social media. Someone recommends a lawyer.
Regardless of how it happens, you decide that you want to hire a particular lawyer.
At some firms, the lawyer whose ideas or reputation brought you through the door will remain actively involved in your case. At others, you may never meet the lawyer. Or, after the first meeting, your case may be assigned to a “starter” lawyer or a case manager who isn’t a lawyer.
It’s important to find out who will be responsible for your case, who will be strategizing, who will handle negotiations, and with whom you will speak when something important happens.
Make sure to ask: Who will actually be handling my case?
Our Response:
We’re vertically integrated. That means all of us work on every case. You can reach out to any (or all) of us at any time. Mike and Sam will give you their mobile numbers.
Mike and Sam will know the most about the legal issues in your case. The rest of the team will be able to answer questions about things like scheduling, working through the first draft of discovery responses, etc.
4. Will My Lawyer Actually Care About What Happened to Me?
Personal injury cases eventually get translated into numbers.
Past Medical Expenses
Future Medical Expenses
Lost Income
Loss of Earning Capacity
It’s not just the economic damages. Even things like loss of quality of life get reduced to a dollar amount.
But the case didn’t start as a number. It started with something happening to a person.
Maybe you can’t pick up your child anymore. Maybe you stopped running. Maybe you don’t sleep normally. Maybe work has become difficult. Maybe something that used to be easy now requires planning, pain or help from somebody else.
Those things matter.
Lawyers should be curious about your life and to understand why the case matters to you. The changes to your life—what is different now compared to before the injury—is the biggest part of the case.
You could ask: Do you care what happened to me?
But that’s going to yield a reflexive “yes.” Probably a better approach is to talk to the lawyer and see what kinds of questions they ask. And, of course, how they listen and follow up about the things that you say.
Our Response:
From our perspective, having a client tell us what life was like before, what life is like now and why the case matters is pure gold. It’s so much easier to do our work when these things are spelled out by clients rather than having to infer what’s important or extract it like teeth at the dentist’s office.
We can piece together a pretty compelling narrative from sparse information. But in the really good cases the story tells itself. And that’s only possible when clients have thought about what they’ve lost and share their reflections with us.
5. Can I Trust You?
Similar to the discussion above... it’s not super-effective to ask someone if you can trust them. It’s a more indirect process.
Here are some things to consider:
Does the lawyer answer your questions directly?
Does the lawyer tell you when something is uncertain?
Does the lawyer explain both the strengths and weaknesses of your case?
When the lawyer doesn’t know the answer to something, is the lawyer comfortable saying: “I don’t know yet.”
Good legal advice usually doesn’t come with a filter. Effective lawyers have to be able to tell clients what they need to know versus what they want to hear.
Our Response:
A good relationship requires trust on both sides. Ask us questions and evaluate our answers. We’ll do the same thing.
If it’s a good fit, we’d love to work on your case. If it isn’t, there’s no charge and we’re happy to provide referrals to other attorneys who might be better for you.
6. How Much Will Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
Some lawyers charge a flat fee. Others bill hourly for the time they spend working on cases. But most personal injury cases are handled on a contingent fee basis.
The lawyer’s fee is a percentage of the amount recovered. If there is no recovery, there is no attorney fee.
There are also costs. They include medical records, filing fees, depositions, expert witnesses, investigators and other expenses necessary to prepare the case.
Before hiring a lawyer, you should ask:
What percentage will I pay?
Does the percentage change if a lawsuit is filed?
Who advances the case expenses?
How are those expenses repaid?
And what happens if there is no recovery?
Our Response:
In most cases we charge a fee of 33 and 1/3 percent if the case settles without filing suit. If we have to file suit the fee increases to 40 percent.
We advance all of the costs. We’re reimbursed for these costs we advance out of the recovery.
If there’s no recovery there’s no attorney fee and we’re not going to ask you to repay the costs we advance. (We don’t drill many dry wells, but it does happen from time to time.)
7. What Is My Case Worth?
It’s natural. Everyone wants to know what their case is worth.
Case value depends on a lot of factors.
How serious is the injury?
Will it heal?
Will additional treatment be necessary?
Can the person return to work?
Are there permanent limitations?
How has the injury affected everyday life?
Is liability disputed?
How much insurance coverage is available?
It’s unlikely that all that information will be available during the first meeting. Trying to value a personal injury case right after a collision can be a little like trying to determine the final score of a game during the first quarter. Or maybe even before you know which teams are playing.
Our Response:
If a lawyer tries to tell you what the case is worth at the first meeting, what they’ve really told you is that they’re inexperienced or are willing to say what clients want to hear in order to sign up a case.
During the first meeting we won’t be able to tell you what your case is worth. But we can tell you whether there’s enough there for us to commit our time, energy and resources to working on it.
Willingness to handle a case on a contingent basis is the most sincere indicator that we believe in you and your case.
8. Will My Lawyer Keep Me Informed?
One of the most common complaints people have about lawyers has nothing to do with the result of the case. It’s communication.
People want to know what is happening.
Personal injury cases often contain long stretches where someone is receiving treatment, records are being collected, an expert is reviewing information or the parties are waiting for a court date.
Good communication doesn’t mean talking to your lawyer every day. It means knowing who to contact, getting questions answered within a reasonable time and understanding what’s going to happen next.
Before hiring a lawyer you should ask:
Who will update me?
Who do I call with a question?
How quickly should I expect a response?
Our Response:
We try to respond to calls, text messages and emails on a same-day basis. I have a hard time thinking of any business with whom I work that’s more responsive.
Active communication is part of our firm culture. This is how our Operations Manual reads:
Clients evaluate us primarily based on the way we communicate with them.
If we communicate regularly and coherently, they form a really good impression. If they have to request information from us because we haven’t provided it, they get frustrated.
We have an alphanumeric update schedule to establish a minimum level of communication. I never want more than a month to go by without client contact.
[By alphanumeric I mean that if your last name starts with “A” an update should go out on the first of the month. If your last name starts with “M,” we should send an update around the 13th of the month.]
When we communicate with clients, our messages need to be clear, accurate, and well-delivered.
In some ways—at least to us—communication about the process is as important as the result.
9. How Will Hiring a Lawyer Make This Easier?
After an injury, people suddenly have a surprising number of jobs.
Schedule treatment.
Attend doctors’ appointments.
Get the car repaired or find a new car.
Coordinate with work.
Return calls from the insurance companies.
Complete forms.
All of this on top of everything they were doing before the injury.
So it’s important to ask: How will hiring you make this easier?
Our Response:
A lot of those things can’t be outsourced. But one thing we can do is deal with the insurance companies—both yours and the carrier for the person who caused your injury.
Here’s what we’ll do next:
Send letters of representation to all insurance companies. From that point forward, they’ll stop calling you and start calling us.
Determine liability limits.
Investigate the collision and liability theories.
Work up and send a demand letter for your property damage claims including loss of use.
Collect your treatment and billing records.
Provide feedback about what providers might be able to provide the most help with your injuries.
Work up damages.
Engage experts.
Draft a demand letter.
Etc.
We’re not going to give you another job. We’re going to take over a couple (that we do really well) so you can focus on getting better.
10. Who Do I Want Beside Me When Things Get Difficult?
Most personal injury cases don’t start with a trial. They start with phone calls, medical records and insurance claims.
But sometimes cases become difficult:
Fault is disputed.
An insurer says an injury wasn’t caused by the collision.
A reasonable settlement can’t be reached.
Suit is filed and a trial date is set.
That is when the relationship between lawyer and client becomes especially important.
You want a lawyer whose judgment you trust.
Someone who will tell you what is happening.
Someone who has prepared for the difficult issues rather than hoping they won’t arise.
And someone you are comfortable having beside you when an insurance company says no.
You can’t know at the beginning exactly where a case will end. But when choosing a lawyer, it is worth asking yourself a simple question: If this becomes difficult, is this who I want standing next to me?
Our Response:
Just so you know how we’re wired, we’re usually disappointed when an insurance company says “yes” to something other than a policy-limits demand. It gives a vague feeling that we haven’t asked for enough.
We’ve tried and arbitrated a lot of cases. It’s that experience that usually gets insurance companies to “yes.” But if an insurance company isn’t willing to pay a fair amount to settle a case, then we’re all in for arbitrating or trying it.
Talk to us to see if we’re the right fit for you.