What to Look for in a Personal Injury Law Firm

The law firm you choose to work with when navigating a claim will greatly influence the quality of legal help they offer and, ultimately, the outcomes of your case. 

If you have already decided to involve a lawyer in your personal injury case, the next step is to determine the best law firm to work with. This guide highlights some critical factors that may be worth considering when making this critical decision. 

Experience with Similar Cases

Experience is everything when it comes to personal injury claim representation, so the first thing you want to know about a law firm is how many years they have been handling relevant cases. A law firm will most likely have their years of experience prominently displayed on their website. 

Besides the general years of experience, you may also want to consider a law firm’s familiarity with similar cases. If you have a choice between firms that have handled a similar case and one that hasn’t, go for the one that has handled a similar one. 

For example, if you have suffered an injury from a defective product, a lawyer with experience handling a case for a similar product will have more insight into the case than a lawyer handling it for the first time,” 

Financial Muscle

Personal injury law firms often charge a contingency on client’s payouts. This means they only recoup their expenses after winning the client’s case. Considering the costs involved in litigating a case and that a law firm could be handling several cases concurrently, a firm’s financial muscle is a critical factor in determining how the resources it can afford to allocate a case. 

Poor resource allocation can mean poor outcomes, so you want to work with a firm with adequate resources. You can ask to see a firm’s audit reports or tax return documents to ascertain its financial health. Also, the organization, staff, and website quality can give you a rough impression of how resourced a firm is. 

Reputation and Track Record

A law firm’s past speaks a lot about what to expect from them, so you may want to do some digging around before engaging them. The best way to get information about a lawyer’s conduct is by investigating what past clients say about them in reviews and testimonials. 

Friends, family, and colleagues can also help with information about a target lawyer, so you may want to ask around. Another aspect of a lawyer’s past you may want to determine is their performance track record. If they have had big successes in the past, you are more likely to get favorable outcomes with them. 

Like experience, law firms love parading their best outcomes on their website. If you can’t find them there, ask during your initial consultation. 

Soft Skills

Soft skills are not a requirement for admission into the bar, but they are critical for any professionals working directly with people, especially for personal injury lawyers, since they work with people in the most vulnerable situations. 

“Soft skills you may want to pay attention to in your initial consultation include empathy, compassion, communication, and organizational skills,” says Connecticut personal injury lawyer Russell Berkowitz.

 Except for organizational skills, the other skills mentioned here may not make a difference in a lawyer’s ability to win favorable compensation; however, they can help make your experience when navigating a claim so much easier.

Also Read: Understanding the Legal Process of Motorcycle Accident Lawsuits