What to Look for in a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve been injured due to the careless or negligent actions of someone else, realizing that you need to hire a lawyer for a personal injury claim can be an important and necessary step to take. It can make you feel intimidated and uneasy, especially if you’ve never had experience with the legal system before. If you find yourself in this position, you may not even know where to start. Before you can hire the right lawyer or firm, it’s essential to know what you’re looking for so you can make the best choice. The following are some factors to consider when deciding who to hire:
Reputation/Reviews
One of the most critical things to look for when hiring an attorney are reviews from former clients. Make sure you look on Google and other websites, not just the attorney’s personal web page. Lawyers tend to handpick the best reviews to put on their website, so it’s highly unlikely that you’d find anything but positive reviews up there. If a lawyer has a bad reputation or a lot of bad reviews, this doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t hire them. It means you should proceed with caution and really analyze where those negative comments are really coming from. Are they legitimate? The internet is flooded with fake reviews, so be cautious when doing your research.
Find a Lawyer Who Can Negotiate and Litigate
Most personal injury cases settle before getting to trial, so it’s important to choose a lawyer who is good at negotiating. When trying to hire a personal injury lawyer, you can set up multiple free consultations with different firms. At these meetings, you can ask them questions about their negotiating style, how successful they’ve been in the past with settlements, and you can ask any other questions you feel will give you an idea of how that particular lawyer performs.
While most cases don’t make it to trial, some do. Therefore, it’s just as important to make sure you pick an attorney who is an experienced litigator as well as a good negotiator. If you choose a lawyer whose primary strength is settlements, you run the risk of being pressured into taking a mediocre offer that you really don’t want. You need someone who isn’t afraid to go to trial and who can fight for you in the court room.
Choose Someone With Compassion
While you don’t have to hire a lawyer based on their personality traits, it can be helpful to find someone who understands what you’re going through and who is able to show you some compassion. If you hire a lawyer who doesn’t really care about you or what you have to say and is just looking for a quick settlement, it will make the process even more stressful than it already is. It’s vital to have an attorney that you can trust and feel comfortable speaking openly with.
Experience With Your Type Of Case
While it’s also necessary to find an experienced lawyer, it won’t do you any good to hire someone who hasn’t handled many cases similar to yours. If you were in a car accident and you hire someone who has never dealt with car accident cases, this could end up being a mistake. You also need to decide if you want to hire someone who only handles personal injury cases, or if you’re okay choosing a firm that deals with many different types of law.
Choosing a Lawyer is Difficult
Deciding who to hire can be an anxiety-producing experience. Just make sure you know what you’re looking for and do your research. You deserve to find an experienced and compassionate Jersey City personal injury attorney who will handle your case with care and skill.