STEP 1: DON’T START YOUR SEARCH WITH TV COMMERCIALS

There is nothing wrong with working with an personal injury lawyer who has television commercials. Advertising is an important way for lawyers to get clients, after all, and those who can afford big advertisements are often available to take your case quickly. Unfortunately, though, looking at these advertisements shouldn’t play much of a role in your quest to find the perfect injury lawyer.

Remember, what you see on television has been very carefully worded to catch your interest – but it might not be particularly relevant to you. Major firms that advertise on television tend to present themselves as highly invested in their clients and often make it seem like senior partners will be handling cases when little of the actual work will be conducted by those featured in the ads. Look at these advertisements as a good source for phone numbers, but not for relevant legal information.

STEP 2: REVIEW THE LAW FIRM’S PRACTICE AREAS

Once you’ve got a reasonable idea of who’s practicing law in your area, it’s time to start narrowing down your choices. Not every lawyer practices personal injury law, so you won’t be sifting through every lawyer in your area when looking for help. Instead, you’ll be looking at a very select group of professionals.

The good news is that lawyers are bound by certain professional guidelines when it comes to how they advertise themselves. If a lawyer holds himself or herself out to be a personal injury specialist, the odds are in favor of that lawyer having at least a reasonable amount of experience in the field. While there are certainly different levels of competency among those lawyers who practice personal injury law, it’s not a bad idea to start with this list.

It is important to note, though, that not all lawyers who practice personal injury law advertise themselves as specialists. If you happen to know an lawyer, he or she might be able to point you toward someone that has handled a few cases in that field. These lawyers don’t tend to spend quite as much time on personal injury, but they do tend to be more than competent enough to represent you.

The best lawyer for your case will probably be a firm that specializes only in personal injury cases. Would you want a family or bankruptcy lawyer handling your injury case? After all, a jack of all trades is a master of none.

STEP 3: ASK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FRIENDS & FAMILY

Now that you’ve narrowed down your search to a smaller group of lawyers, it’s time to get recommendations. If you know anyone who has dealt with a personal injury suit before, it’s a good idea to ask him or her about the experience. If he or she feels like the lawyer did the job well, it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and give that person a call. If not, you can strike him or her off the list.

If you don’t know anyone who has worked with an lawyer, it might also be a good idea to talk to another lawyer for advice. You obviously won’t be getting a recommendation for a personal injury lawyer from someone who practices in that same area, but you might get a good recommendation from a lawyer who practices in another specialty. Many lawyers have working relationships with other lawyer and regularly send clients their way. While this isn’t necessarily where you should stop your search, it is a good way to continue to narrow down your search.

STEP 3: ASK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FRIENDS & FAMILY

Now that you’ve narrowed down your search to a smaller group of lawyers, it’s time to get recommendations. If you know anyone who has dealt with a personal injury suit before, it’s a good idea to ask him or her about the experience. If he or she feels like the lawyer did the job well, it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and give that person a call. If not, you can strike him or her off the list.

If you don’t know anyone who has worked with an lawyer, it might also be a good idea to talk to another lawyer for advice. You obviously won’t be getting a recommendation for a personal injury lawyer from someone who practices in that same area, but you might get a good recommendation from a lawyer who practices in another specialty. Many lawyers have working relationships with other lawyers and regularly send clients their way. While this isn’t necessarily where you should stop your search, it is a good way to continue to narrow down your search.

STEP 5: REVIEW THE LAWYER’S TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS

Doing online research you should review the lawyer’s track record of success. Have they successfully tried most cases? What is their winning percentage? How much money have they recovered from past clients? While past recoveries will not reflect your case accurately, it’s important to know that they’ve had a lot of success in the right fields.

STEP 6: TALK TO THE PERSONAL LAWYER ON THE PHONE

Once you’ve got your list of possible lawyers narrowed down, it’s time to talk to each lawyer on the phone. If you’re hiring a personal injury lawyer these consults should be free as the lawyers work on a contingency basis. This is your best chance to go in and ask questions. It’s also your best chance to gauge the lawyer’s personality. While legal skills should be your primary factor when choosing a lawyer, it’s important to find someone with whom you will be able to work. If the lawyer rubs you the wrong way, it may be a good idea to keep searching.

When talking to an lawyer, don’t be afraid to talk about cost. While many personal injury cases are handled on contingency, every lawyer has his or her own methods of charging customers. Knowing more about the cost ahead of time can help you to figure out if this is a person with whom you should work. At the Fischetti Law Group, we are confident in all cases that we pursue so we handle all personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis.

Finding a good lawyer can be a long process. If you put in the work, though, you will find that the effort pays off. Finding the perfect lawyer not only gives you a better chance to move forward with your case, but it also helps you to find someone who will support you during what might be a very trying time.

See if the relationship feels right. Ask whether you will be able to talk to an lawyer if you have questions, rather than a paralegal or secretary. Know yourself – if you are the type of client who is going to want significant “hand-holding” throughout the case, say so. It is better to know in advance if the firm’s “personality” matches yours.

Schedule a meeting with Michael Fischetti, Esq. by calling 561-810-8448 or submitting an online request.

STEP 7: TALK TO FORMER CLIENTS ABOUT THEIR RESULTS

The proof of how effective a firm is at handling personal injury cases isn’t only based on their dollar amount of recoveries but also what formers clients have to say about working with them. Working with an lawyer that has high client feedback shows that the lawyers were easy to work with during the process and also achieved a strong result for their client. Don’t be afraid to research the lawyers or the firm online and see what people have to say about them. Here are some suggestions to help you along your journey:

• Check the lawyer’s Google reviews and see what the internet has to say about them.

• Do they have a social media presence?

• Can they provide any client references?

BELOW ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK LAWYERS THAT WILL HELP YOU PICK A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOUR CASE:

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WHAT IS THEIR DOCUMENTED RECORD OF VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS?

If, for example, a firm cannot present to you written documentation showing a jury verdict over $1 million in one or more of its cases, it is a fair assumption that such a firm will never be taken as seriously, by insurance companies or corporate defendants, as a firm that has obtained numerous million-dollar verdicts. That can be significant even if yours is a smaller case. Most states have some sort of professional journal that reports jury verdicts and settlements, so the documentation is where – you need to ask for it and get it from lawyers that you are considering. The Fischetti Law Group has collected in excess of $50 million dollars from insurance companies since our doors opened.

HOW MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DO THEY HAVE?

Michael Fischetti has over eighteen (18) years of litigation experience in the Florida Civil and Criminal court system. Mr. Fischetti was part of a Certified Legal Intern program during law school that allowed him to try over a dozen cases with the Broward County Public Defenders’ office even before he was a sworn lawyer. Since becoming a licensed lawyer, Mr. Fischetti has filed in excess of 19,000 lawsuits against all insurance companies operating in the State of Florida.

HAVE THEY HANDLED SIMILAR CASES BEFORE?

The Fischetti Law Group has won cases against all of the major insurance companies in a variety of different practice areas. We’ve handled car accidents, wrongful death, and trucking accidents with successful verdicts, just to name a few. Selecting an lawyer that has experience in taking your type of case to trial can give you the winning edge and the maximum benefit. Alternatively working with an inexperienced lawyer can produce the opposite results. Be sure to ask your lawyer if they’ve worked on a case similar to yours before and what those results were. Although lawyers can’t guarantee similar results it’s a great way to find out if they’re a good fit for the job.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THEIR PRACTICE IS DEVOTED TO PERSONAL INJURY?

Many law firms practice personal injury law only part-time, as part of a general practice that might also include divorce, criminal defense, and other unrelated fields. Law is like many other fields of endeavor: the more an lawyer practices in one particular specialty, the more expert he or she becomes. Since, as noted above, any lawyer in most states can call himself or herself a “personal injury lawyer”, irrespective of how many personal injury cases he has actually handled, this is a very important question to ask.

WHAT IS THEIR FEE STRUCTURE?

Most personal injury cases in many states proceed on a contingency fee basis, which means that the client pays nothing unless or until you win or obtain a settlement of your case. Contingent fees can differ, not only as to the percentage of a recovery that goes to the lawyer and to you but also as to how that percentage is mathematically computed.

Knowing what you will be charged by a particular lawyer and understanding who will advance the necessary case costs of the suit (court filing fees, expert witness charges, etc.) is essential to choosing a personal injury lawyer. These are important points, and differences in how these matters are handled from law firm to law firm can make a great financial difference to you. Here are some specific money-related questions to ask:

• Who pays for expert witnesses?

• What out-of-pocket expenses do you anticipate for my case?

• Can the law firm afford to take my case to trial?

• What percentage do you charge for your contingency fee?

WHAT LAW SCHOOL DID THE PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER ATTEND?

Certainly, this should not often be a definitive point in choosing a personal injury lawyer, but it is valuable information. Law schools can be fair, good, better or best. You may or may not care that much about the reputation of your lawyer’s school, but the more information you have on your potential lawyer’s background, the better.

FIND OUT WHO WILL BE WORKING ON YOUR CASE AT THE FIRM.

Law firms generally operate with a hierarchy of partners, junior partners, and associates with varying experience from much too little or none. Less significant than who talks to you at the beginning of your inquiry is the experience level of the person or persons who will be doing the work on your case. Ask about this in the beginning and insist that the firm honor its commitments in this regard if you do retain them to handle the case. It does not help you if the senior partner is a leader in the field in your city if he or she never actually works on your case. Know who your lawyer will really be. This is the information that you need to know.

HOW ACCESSIBLE ARE THEY TO YOU?

Like all professionals, lawyers are usually busy. Some busy people return all their clients phone calls, respond to letters and e-mails conscientiously, and update their clients periodically on the progress of each case. Others do not. Does this law firm strive to be within easy reach of its clients? Ask for the names, as references, of former clients. The lawyer will have to get permission from former clients for you to contact them, but usually, this can be arranged. Call some of these former clients and ask how they felt they were treated. See if there is a former client comment page on the firm’s website. Of course, only the favorable comments will be there, but just having such a page shows some acknowledgment by the firm of the importance of client satisfaction. Ask about firm policies concerning return phone calls and correspondence. Don’t hesitate to understand exactly how the firm works in this regard. Ask about whom you would contact if something important came up, meet that