Hiring a good injury law firm in Mississippi should always be a priority for you when injured because of the actions of someone else. If you hire one without good experience and a bad track record, you hurt your chances of getting the financial compensation you actually deserve. As a result, whenever you arrange a free consultation with a law firm, here are some very important things you have to talk about.
Popularity Among Other Law Firms
You assess this by asking to know the percentage of law firm clients coming from referrals. It is important because the best injury law firms always get a steady influx of such referrals. Remember that lawyers do know who is a good attorney and who is not. If the peers of the attorney you consider often recommend them, it is a very good sign to take into account. As a result, when you know an attorney that you respect with another specialty, ask for a referral.
Avoid Solicitation Letters
If a personal injury law firm sends solicitation letters to victims after accidents, it is a sign that you have to avoid it. There are way too many injury lawyers who hire gophers so they obtain accident reports. After the reports are received, the staff will look for potential clients. Then, they send solicitation letters to victims to talk about the case, usually highlighting that the law firm wants to handle the case. Sometimes, injury victims end up receiving dozens of such letters. They can even receive extra phone calls. All of this is just harassment.
Never trust injury law firms sending these since they just rely on a very high volume of clients and fast turnover. They just want to reach a fast payment even if this is not the maximum that could be obtained for the client.
Contingency Fee Agreement
Personal injury attorneys asking you to pay for the initial consultation or some sort of per hour rate have to be avoided at all costs. This is because the industry standard is to use contingency agreements. Basically, this means that the attorney will only get paid if the injury claim is successful as a percentage of the final amount obtained.
Some fees might exist and you would need to pay them. However, this often also comes out of the final settlement.
Law Firm Resources And Finances
The one extra thing you should know is that injury lawsuits tend to be complicated and some end up lasting a long time. Even with a contingency fee agreement, the expenses of the attorneys have to be met while the case is active. This would be impossible for the injury law firms that do not have access to enough staff and resources.
Always ask questions about the law firm staff. Then, see if the attorneys have access to legal and medical specialists that would help them build a stronger case. If the law firm does not have the finances needed to handle a huge case, you might end up pressured into settlements or deals that are not in your best interest.
