A Great Question to Ask When Choosing a Personal Injury Attorney

Author: Attorney Dennis Schaefer

There are many valuable questions you can ask when deciding on the right personal injury law firm to represent you in an accident case. Obviously it is important to know the number of years that your new attorney has been practicing and to make sure that practice is in the area of your claim. Also important is the structure of the firm. It is important to know about professional staff, investigative staff and other elements that make up a successful law firm. However, the single most important issue might be the one that is most frequently overlooked.

Particularly in personal injury work, a very large number of lawyers and law firms advertise and market their services. They do it in many ways. Law firms use billboards and television ad’s, radio spots and print media, yellow pages and mailers, and many other means. Statistics will show one very alarming statistic. A very small number of lawyers who publically hold themselves out as personal injury attorneys have ever seen the inside of a courtroom. Frankly stated, the vast percentage of the lawyers who barrage the public with all types of “marketing” are not able to and never have litigated a personal injury case.

The best question to ask an attorney who wants to represent you in a personal injury case is, whether they have ever litigated a personal injury case. You do not want to know if they refer cases to other law firms when needed. You want a lawyer who has actually presented a case from start to finish to a jury, in personal injury case. Lawyers who have not litigated a case will give you all kinds of reasons as to why. The bottom line is very simple, either they have or they have not. Stick with a lawyer or law firm that litigates their cases.

Dell & Schaefer is a litigation firm. Dell & Schaefer litigates their own personal injury cases. Dell & Schaefer also litigates cases for other personal injury law firms that do not litigate their own case. Do not be fooled by other marketing techniques, litigating cases is the most important factor in picking a lawyer. Insurance companies also know this fact. The settlements offered to lawyers who litigate their own cases is significantly better than those who do not litigate cases. Insurance companies have no concern if a lawsuit is not going to be filed, but they do have a large concern if a lawsuit might be filed.

Always ask if your lawyer or law firm litigates their own cases. Dell & Schaefer litigates their cases.