Getting an Auto Accident Lawyer on the Case

Whether they advertise themselves as an auto accident lawyer or a personal injury attorney, it means basically the same thing in the end: they work to get clients money after they have been wrongfully injured. You'll find very few attorneys who specialize in only a particular type of personal injury, although some do find their firms concentrating more on one kind of injury than another. If you've been put in the unfortunate position of needing to put legal pressure on a person or insurance company due to funds you believe you are owed, you need to have an experienced attorney on your side.

Initial Consultations

It is instructive to know that an auto accident lawyer usually works on a contingency basis. This means, essentially, that they get paid from the eventual judgment or settlement, meaning the client never needs to come out of pocket for the fees. If the case is unsuccessful, they don't get paid. Not every attorney works this way, but you should probably avoid those who don't, for simple financial reasons. Of course, this method of making money means these firms must be cautious when it comes to accepting cases. They often set up free initial consultations so they can perform an evaluation. But these evaluations are important for you as well. There are two things you need to look for.

Experience

Experience is the bread and butter of a successful and attractive auto accident lawyer. It hardly matters where they graduated from law school, how nice their office is, or how powerful their television advertising is. Even the concept of whether or not you actually like him takes a backseat to experience. You want someone who has plied his trade for a good length of time. Not just how long he has been out of law school, but how long he has been working on these types of cases. How much courtroom experience does he have? These are the considerations you should think about.

Style

Some people will advise you judge an auto accident lawyer on his track record, but there are a few problems with this. For one, it can be difficult to come by this information and he probably isn't going to offer it to you. Two, how successful he was in getting a settlement in easy-to-win cases (or how unsuccessful he was in cases where no one would have stood a chance) doesn't tell you much about how he would fare on yours. A much better indicator is style. Is he a litigator at heart or is he a master negotiator? Is he laid back or is he aggressive? These traits can give you a lot of useful information.