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How To Choose the Best Personal Injury Lawyer

These days, personal injury lawyers are common, not like a century ago where there would only be about a hundred or so practicing in a state. Now there are hundreds of thousands of personal injury lawyers practicing throughout the country. But every personal injury lawyer is unique, and some are better than others. Most individuals who’re seeking damages for injuries only wish to work with the best lawyers, as these lawyers often achieve favorable outcomes for their clients. Here are the steps you should follow when you’re looking for the best personal injury lawyer.

Call us at 1-800-HURT-511 to speak with our highly sought after and experienced personal injury lawyers in Brooklyn. We’ve been representing clients in and around the Five Boroughs for over a decade, and we’ll make sure the at-fault party fairly compensates you for your injuries.

Understand Your Needs

Before you start searching for personal injury lawyers, it’s best to first figure out what you’re looking to gain from hiring professional legal assistance. How to choose the best personal Injury lawyer:

Are you looking to hire a personal injury lawyer because you don’t want to handle the often stressful and costly process that is filing a lawsuit?
Do you want someone with experience to pursue damages on your behalf?
Are you looking to avoid upfront fees and pay only if a settlement is awarded?
What kind of injuries do you have? Do you know how to attach a dollar amount to these injuries?

These are only some of the questions you should ask yourself. If you find that the answers to these questions are collectively steering you towards hiring a personal injury lawyer, then start conducting research online.

Ask For Referrals

Before you dig into online research, contact friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, and other individuals in your life who’ve received damages from an injury case and were helped by a personal injury lawyer. For example, if you got injured in Queens—and your friend recommends a personal injury lawyer in Queens who knows the area and the common injuries that happen there inside and out—going with your friend’s recommendation would probably be a good move, provided you still conduct some research on your own.

Conduct Research Online

The internet has made it a lot easier to find the best personal injury lawyers in an area. However, one should still keep in mind that it may be worth it to travel if a high-quality personal injury lawyer is several miles away. There are also plenty of online reviews sites that rank local lawyers and provide authentic testimonials from former clients.

Create A Short List Of Candidates

After you’ve gone through several websites and browsed dozens of profiles, it’s time to create a short list of potential hires. Choose five to six lawyers who seem qualified, experienced, respected, sought after, and resourceful. Further analysis will still have to be conducted after creation of the short list, but with a short list you save yourself from spending hours and hours viewing lawyers’ credentials.

Review The Credentials Of The Lawyers On The Short List

It takes time to become a credentialed lawyer. A lawyer must go to school for a few years before they can earn a law degree (JD), and after this they must pass their state’s bar exam to become a member of the state’s bar association. When researching credentials, use the following questions to guide your research:

-> From which school did the lawyer earn their law degree?
-> When were they admitted to the state bar?
->Which additional licenses, certifications, and registrations do they possess?
->Do they hold a board certification in personal injury litigation?
->Which awards have they received during their time practicing?
->Are they affiliated with national associations like the American Bar Association (ABA)?

If you can’t answer all these questions while conducting online research, ask the questions you don’t have answers to during your initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer.

Narrow The Short List Down And Call Who’s Left

Once you’ve assessed all the lawyers on your short list according to credentials, it’s time to narrow down the short list to only three candidates. These are the lawyers you’ll actually reach out to and share details of your case with. Below are some points you should address during an initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer.

Ask About What The Firm Will Do

Ask about how operations work at the firm. Is the firm large or small? Large firms often have access to more resources, but your case may not receive a lot of attention if a large firm is handling it. You should also consider the experience and qualifications of support staff, paralegals, and administrators. Some mediocre lawyers pass off as fantastic because they employ invaluable assistants, whereas some of the finest lawyers aren’t able to achieve good results consistently because they don’t have a qualified support staff.

Ask About Trial Experience

While most personal injury lawsuits gets settled out of court, it’s good to hire a lawyer who has trial experience. A skilled trial lawyer will be able to thoroughly represent their client’s interests in court, and they’ll be able to persuade a judge and jury, not only with legal expertise and framing skills but with charisma and other personal qualities.

Ask When They Last Worked On A Case Similar To Yours

Personal injury is a very broad field of law, so it’s best to hire a lawyer who knows the injuries you sustained inside and out. When consulting a lawyer, ask them when the last time they handled a case similar to yours was.

Ask About Resources

A firm may need a lot of resources to thoroughly prove their client’s case. This is one reason why it’s good to go with a big firm, as they tend to have a lot of resources.

Hire The Lawyer Who’s The Best Fit

After you’ve interacted with all the lawyers you were considering, decide which one is best for you. Consider how friendly and engaged the lawyers were when you interacted with them. Who asked a lot of questions and who didn’t? Who treated you like a person in need of assistance and who treated you like just a potential line on the balance sheet? The person you hire will be working on your behalf to secure thousands of dollars in damages, so you should hire someone who’s easy to work with and going to deliver.

Call 1-800-HURT-511 when you want to hire the best personal injury lawyers in NYC!

These days, there are hundreds of thousands of accident lawyers practicing in the United States, and this reality can make finding the best accident lawyer seem like a daunting task. But finding the best lawyer in your area isn’t impossible. Here’s a step-by-step guide you should follow to how to choose the best accident lawyer.

Call us at 1-800-HURT-511 when you’re looking for the best accident lawyer in the Bronx. Our accident lawyers have been representing accident victims for over a decade, and we’ll exhaust every option so you’re properly compensated for your injuries.

Step One: Ask For Recommendations

The first thing you should do when seeking an accident lawyer is reach out to friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors to see if anyone you know has had a good experience with an accident lawyer. It’s an unfortunate truth that individuals get hurt every day, so it’s likely there’s somebody in your life who’s needed an accident lawyer before.

When you’ve found someone who’s used an accident lawyer before, ask them what they liked about the lawyer and how the experience was. But don’t hire a lawyer just based off a friend’s recommendation. You still have to conduct research on your own.

Step Two: Search For Injury Lawyers Near You Online

Most lawyers practicing today have a website. All one needs to do is search “accident lawyers near me” on Google or another search engine and they’ll be shown the websites of local accident lawyers. Browse these pages and keep the following points in mind as you look through:

• Is the site well organized and professionally designed?

• Does it seem current?

• Are there testimonials to look at?

• Does the lawyer have their credentials on their site?

Check Lawyer Reviews Sites

It’s also wise to check lawyer reviews sites, as here you can find genuine reviews of lawyers in your area. Most of these sites include written and video reviews, ratings, and listed lawyers’ basic information. Below are some trusted lawyer reviews sites:

• Avvo.com

• Martindale.com

• Legalmatch.com

• Lawyers.com

• Findlaw.com

Step Three: Create A Short List Of Candidates

Once you’ve browsed several sites, you should create a short list of accident lawyers that seem promising. There should be six to seven names on this short list. These are the lawyers you’ll conduct in-depth research on. Here’s how you should conduct research:

Examine Credentials, Experience, Associations & Awards

If a lawyer has their credentials on their website, make note of these. Here are some credentials you should keep an eye out for:

• Where they went to school

• Which certifications they possess

• Which professional associations they belong to

• Which awards they’ve received

If you can’t locate a lawyer’s credentials using their website, this isn’t necessarily a red flag, but it does demonstrate that the lawyer chose to not include their credentials on their site, which is strange considering how important credentials are in the legal industry. It’s common practice for a lawyer to include at least some of their credentials on their website.

You should rank lawyers according to their credentials. For example, if a lawyer graduated from an Ivy League law school, belongs to the state bar and a number of professional associations, possesses a range of useful certifications, and has received numerous awards, then they should be at the top of a short list of candidates.

Step Four: Select Three Interview Candidates

Once you’ve conducted thorough online research—and you’ve seen who has positive reviews, a detailed website, and impressive credentials—it’s time to narrow down your short list to just three candidates. These are the candidates you’ll reach out to so you can set up initial consultations. These consultations can be conducted over the phone or in person, but there are benefits to meeting with a lawyer in person if you’re able to do so.

But before you consult an accident lawyer, you should collect all relevant documents you’ve acquired so far, including medical records, the police report, an accident report (if you have one), and any witness statements you’ve gathered. You should also have a prepared account of what happened, as a lawyer will not be able to make a determination regarding whether or not to take your case unless you present them with clear facts.

Step Five: Consult With The Lawyers

Now it’s time to reach out to the three accident lawyers who’re most promising. You can interview according to rank or in a random order; it doesn’t really matter how you interview, as after you’ve interviewed everybody, you’ll easily be able to compare and decide who’s best. When you consult a lawyer, you should ask the following questions:

What Can I Expect From Your Firm?

A lawyer is nothing without their support staff. Therefore, you should find out how the lawyer’s support staff will help your case along. Do they work with paralegals? Will multiple lawyers be handling your case? This is probably the most important question, because how a firm operates largely determines how your experience will be.

How Much Attention Will My Case Get?

If you’re looking to have your case handled by a big firm, there’s a chance your case may not get a lot of attention. This isn’t necessarily a problem, considering your case may not need a lot of attention in order to get handled correctly.

When Was The Last Time You Handled A Case Similar To Mine?

You want a lawyer who is familiar with your injury and the accident that caused it. There are so many kinds of accident lawyers out there, so it’s best to hire one that specializes in cases like the one you intend to bring.

Do You Have Trial Experience?

It’s also wise to hire a lawyer who has trial experience. While most accident cases don’t go to trial, going to trial is still a possibility. If your case ends up in court, you’ll need a lawyer who can defend your interests in front of a judge and jury.

Step Six: Determine Which Lawyer Is Best For You And Hire Them

After you’ve consulted all the lawyers on your short list, it should be clear which lawyer is the best one to hire. Choose the lawyer who:

• Made you feel most comfortable

• Possesses relevant skills, experience, and credentials

• Has a dedicated staff

• Has a lot of resources at their disposal

• Will treat you like a valued client

The process could take awhile, which is all the more reason why you should only hire a lawyer who’ll respect your time and appreciate your business.

If you’re in NYC and you’re looking for the best accident lawyer in the area, call 1-800-HURT-511 to get in touch with the accident lawyers at the Sanders Law Firm. We’ll treat you like family and help you seek damages after you’ve been injured in an accident. Thanks for reading how to choose the best accident lawyer.

Tag: accident lawyer

How To Choose The Best Personal Injury Lawyer