If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, then you should seek specialist legal advice if you are thinking about making a claim.
The best person to get legal advice from is an accident lawyer specialising in your type of accident and injuries. For example, it will be beneficial for you if you discuss your road traffic accident with a road traffic accident lawyer. The good news with regards to this is that there are many good accident lawyers out there to choose from. However, not all lawyers are equal so it is worth doing your research. To this end, here is how to find a reliable lawyer:
Start your search with a large law firm
First and foremost, we recommend you start your search for a lawyer within a large, reputable law firm, and preferably a law firm that has been in business for many years. Such law firms are big for a reason – because they win their cases – and as a result, they invariably have the best lawyers working for them. These law firms are also easy to find because they tend to dominate online search engine results. A quick search for “personal injury law firm” right now will reveal several large law firms for you to review.
Ask about the lawyer’s ‘success rate’
When you are finally put through to a lawyer, you should use the time you have with them on the phone to assess their reputation. To this end, all lawyers have a ‘success rate’ which is a percentage of the amount of cases they have won. It is common practice to ask a lawyer about this, and you should do the same. A percentage above 80 per cent is considered excellent in personal injury law and especially for lawyers who a renowned for taking on the riskier cases. However, a success rate of 70 per cent is not too bad. Anything above 90 per cent is the sign of a top, top lawyer, especially if they have been practicing law for years.
Discuss communication and relationship
It is common practice for law firms to only contact their clients when they have news, or when they require something such as fact clarification. However, law firms and lawyers also understand that some people have an eager mind and want to chat more often. With regards to this, some lawyers are absolutely fine with you calling them now and again to get an update while others would rather you left them to do their job. Which type of lawyer would you prefer? The only way to find out if the lawyer you are speaking to is happy for you to contact them regularly is to ask them, so feel free to do so.