It would be foolish to buy a new or used car without first taking that vehicle for a test drive. Similarly, before partnering with a personal injury lawyer to handle your case, you should first meet with and speak to that lawyer.
By asking informed questions, you can get a better sense of the attorney’s background and their approach to handling your case.
Asking Your Lawyer Questions that Matter
While you may know how to test drive a car, knowing how to “test drive” a Charleston personal injury lawyer through good questioning techniques is a different matter.
During your case consultation, you want to learn as much as possible about the lawyer, your case, and whether this attorney is the right one to handle your legal matter. To learn this vital information, you can ask these questions:
How Long Have You Practiced Personal Injury Law?
This question gets the attorney talking about themselves, which most lawyers love to do! It is a simple question that will get the conversation flowing. What you are looking for in the attorney’s answer is not just how long this attorney has been licensed to practice but also how long they have been handling personal injury cases.
You do not want an attorney who primarily draws up business contracts but only occasionally takes a personal injury case to be the one handling your injury matter. With experience and exposure to a specific field comes familiarity with the processes, laws, and issues that might arise in any given case.
While an attorney with considerable experience in personal injury law cannot guarantee a specific result, you can rest assured that such a lawyer will guide your case more smoothly than an attorney who needs to refresh themselves on the principles of personal injury law.
Do You Think I Have a Case, and How Much Is It Worth?
Personal injury cases come in all types. Some are clear-cut cases of negligence, while others are more nuanced, and liability is more questionable. By asking these questions, you can gauge whether the lawyer with whom you are speaking will be honest with you and give you both good news and bad news.
Next, take note of whether your attorney says you have a strong case — and also why this attorney believes that to be so. You do not want an attorney who boldly but without foundation proclaims that you will succeed and win all the compensation you desire.
Similarly, you want to know whether this attorney can be honest with you about what compensation you can reasonably expect to receive. This figure can help you decide whether to settle your case or take other steps to secure additional compensation.
You want and deserve a lawyer who believes in your case, as they will advocate strongly for you. If an attorney seems lukewarm about your chances for compensation, you should get another attorney’s opinion.
How Will You Help Me Resolve My Case?
By asking this question, you will learn more than just your lawyer’s strategy for taking your case to completion. It is an opportunity to see if your attorney cares about your thoughts and needs. You want an attorney who will listen to you and partner with you to ensure your goals and objectives have the best opportunity of being realized.
Will the attorney let you explain your goals for the case, such as whether it is more important that you are fairly compensated or that you receive some compensation quickly?
If they do, pay attention and ask questions about the attorney’s plan to achieve those goals. While an attorney has legal skills and knowledge that you do not, this does not entitle them to keep you in the dark about what they do with your case.
Partner with a Charleston Personal Injury Lawyer You Can Trust
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