How to Find the Right Car Accident Attorneys After You’ve Been in an Accident
Were you recently in a car accident? If so, you may not want to handle things on your own.
The good news is you have plenty of options available to help. When six million accidents occur every year, there needs to be attorneys around for people who need them.
If you want to help your case, finding the right car accident attorney to help is vital. Follow the tips below to find the right person for the job.
1. Find a Car Accident Specialist
There are a lot of types of law out there. The chances of you finding one that can handle everything is small. You need to look for someone that has a history of taking on car accident cases.
When you interview an attorney, make sure to ask them about their history with accident cases. They should have a history of winning. These attorneys likely know the ins and outs of this type of law.
2. Learn Who Will Be Taking on Your Case
You’ve probably had the experience of driving down the highway and seeing an advertisement for a local law firm. You want to work with them, right?
The bad news is not all the people you see on the billboards are available for work. They use their reputation to get clients in the front door. The problem is, they have a lot of clients.
This is why they pass on the work to the other attorneys who work at their firm. Make sure you learn who will be working on your case before hiring anyone. You need to make sure you know and like the person that you’ll be working with on your case.
3. Learn How an Attorney Communicates
Make sure you have clear expectations of how you want communication to be handled before you hire an attorney. Everyone is different, so find someone that works with your requirements.
Ask your attorney how they prefer you reach out to them. Do you want you to call, email, or text them? Once you reach out, how much time will it take them to get back to you?
You should also consider how up to date you want to be kept on your case. Your attorneys should send you regular updates on their progress. Make sure they send them often enough for your needs.
4. Find Someone Willing to Go to Court
Not every case will work out. Sometimes you need to take your case to the courtroom.
Before you hire an attorney, check their case history to see if they are willing to go to the courtroom. If someone doesn’t have any court cases, it may be a sign that they aren’t ready to go the extra mile for you.
If they settle all their cases out of court, they are either very good or are willing to accept lowball offers for their clients.
5. Look for Discipline Problems
The last thing you want for your accident case is a wild card. If an attorney has a history of problems with the bar association, that’s precisely what you’ll be getting.
Check with your state’s bar association to look at an attorney’s discipline history before hiring them. All the records of their past misconduct will be available for you to see.
Having an issue here or there may not disqualify someone from representing you. But it should cause you to take a second look. Ask the attorney in question for their side of the story so you can make up your own mind.
6. Find a Good Fee Structure
A lot of people are worried about money when they think of hiring an attorney. That isn’t without good reason. A good lawyer isn’t going to be cheap.
Luckily, you have options when it comes to paying them. There are three main ways you can make your payments.
The first two are hourly and a flat fee. You will pay an hourly attorney based on how much they work on your case. Flat fees are typically for cases where the amount of work is known.
For a large case, you have the option of paying based on a contingency fee. This is good for larger settlements because you won’t pay anything if you don’t win. Your attorney will take their payment out of your case settlement.
7. Find Someone You Like
Even if a lawyer is good, your case may not go well if you don’t get along with each other. Your accident case may go on for a long time. Make sure you can work well with the person you hire through this time.
You can judge an attorney’s personality in your interview. Don’t only focus on their legal skills. Try to get a feel of what they are like to work with.
You want someone who can make you feel comfortable throughout the entire process.
8. Look for Reviews
You have a lot of options for attorneys if you’re starting from scratch. You can use car accident attorney reviews to narrow down your choices.
Start with a Google search for car accident attorneys. You’ll get a map that shows you everyone local to your area. You can begin your search by getting in touch with the firms that have good reviews.
Of course, online reviews don’t always tell the whole story. You should also ask for referrals when you start interviewing attorneys.
When you talk to an attorney’s past clients, you can learn more about the process of working with a firm. You can use this time to better judge if they’re the right fit for you.
Finding Good Car Accident Attorneys Takes Work
You don’t want to go into a car accident case without the right help. Make sure you do your research on car accident attorneys so you can find someone to help you win. Doing a little research will go a long way.
Do you want more advice on handling your legal issues? Head back to our blog to read more.