Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney

When you need to pursue justice and compensation through a personal injury claim, your chances of success will essentially only be as good as your legal counsel. This can lead to a bit of a dilemma: how do you know who is the best lawyer for your claim? There are so many options and surely many of them will seem finely-suited for the task. If you want to get a clearer idea of who to retain, you’ll need to start asking the right questions.

When you are looking for a personal injury attorney, you should always ask:

1. How long have you worked in this particular field of practice? Experience is second-to-none when it comes to learning and growing. This is, of course, true for attorneys. However, make certain the lawyer you are questioning actually has personal injury claim experience, not just general legal experience. It can be helpful to also get a list of recent personal injury claim case results.
2. Do you have any professional accreditations or awards? There are plenty of organizations that are completely dedicated to rating and reviewing legal professionals from coast-to-coast. You might recognize Super Lawyers®, Martindale-Hubbell®, and Avvo, and there are many more. See if your attorney has earned recognition from these prestigious groups.
3. Is your law firm well-staffed? Finding a small law firm can be great for getting personalized service, but going too small could be detrimental. You do not want to work with a law office that is understaffed and takes on too many cases so that yours is delayed or underappreciated. Another way to ask this is “Do you have the time scheduled for my case?”
4. If this case becomes complicated, can you take it to court? Many lawyers bank on personal injury claims resolving in settlements. This isn’t completely flawed logic since the majority of claims do conclude out of court. But the majority is not the entirety. If your case needs to go before a judge or jury for a ruling or verdict, you need to know upfront if your lawyer can handle it.
5. Have you managed a case similar to mine before? While it is not great to see clients as case numbers, there is no harm in recognizing similarities between cases. Indeed, this is a good way to learn case law and figure out weaknesses in the opposition’s arguments before they are ever even made. You should ask your lawyer if they have taken a similar case, especially if your claim is something not entirely common, like a burn injury case.
6. How long do you think my case will take to resolve? Do not expect a precise answer to this question, as there are numerous factors that can change how quickly or slowly a case pans out. However, this is a good question to gauge your attorney’s understanding of legal processes and whether or not they have already come up with a basic “plan of attack” or legal strategy.
7. Can I talk to you directly when I have questions? The last thing you want is to feel like you are alone in your pursuit of compensation, despite hiring a personal injury attorney. Some law firms might field all questions to paralegals, investigators, or even just secretaries. To have confidence in your case as it progresses, you should work with someone who is actually willing to give you personalized attention.
8. What are your contingency fees? Once again, the answer to this question can and should vary. Namely due to the fact that the more complex a case, the larger the contingency fee an attorney will probably charge. A ballpark median is about 33%, though. If your attorney says something like 50% without even knowing the challenges of your case, it might be cause for suspicion.

The Personal Injury Attorney Wisconsin Trusts

At Casey Law Offices, S.C., we are proud to be able to say that we have built a reputation for delivering both excellent case results and compassionate representation to our clients. Attorney John Casey is an award-winning, trial-proven, and client-focused Wisconsin personal injury attorney with 25+ years of legal experience – that is more experience than some law firms have put together. We believe in being honest and forthright with our clients from the very beginning; we do not lavish ourselves with praise in an attempt to over-advertise ourselves to get another client.

If you have any questions you would like to ask us, please do not hesitate to contact our firm when it is convenient for you. We can also give you a free consultation if you already know you would like to work with our team.