Hiring a Lawyer

September 2, 2010

For-Profit Lawyer Referral Services

When I go on the Internet there seems to be lots of websites that will give me a list of lawyers. Are they good places to go to find a lawyer to help me in a personal injury or wrongful death case?

Well, there is nothing particularly wrong with them. However, you need to know that lawyers are constantly solicited by these websites and often pay money to be listed on them. Thus, on many of these sites, the fact that an attorney is listed says very little about the lawyer’s knowledge, experience, reputation or ethics.

There are several notable exceptions. First, the American College of Trial Lawyers is a fine place to start if you are looking for a civil or criminal trial lawyer. This is an invitation-only, highly selective organization that is regarded as the most elite organization of trial lawyers in this country.

August 18, 2010

What Do You Charge To Meet With Me About My Case?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was hit by a tractor trailer and my car was totaled. I spent 4 days in the hospital and it looks like I am going to miss several weeks of work. What do you charge for meeting with me to see if I want to hire you as my lawyer?

There is no charge whatsoever. I have never charged for an initial meeting with potential personal injury clients. I meet with personal injury clients wherever is convenient for them. For example, last week I met with one potential client in Kentucky and another in Sparta, Tennessee.

I understand that people who have been injured have difficulty coming to meet in my office and the financial pressure caused by the injury makes it difficult to afford gasoline for the trip. Thus, I am happy to meet with any potential client at a place and time convenient to them, including nights and weekends.

August 17, 2010

Does Bar Association Membership Mean Anything When Trying to Decide What Lawyer To Hire?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The law I am thinking about hiring for my personal injury case advertises in the Yellow Pages that she is a member of the American Bar Association. That sure seems impressive, especially since the ads of other lawyers don’t mention that qualification. What does it mean?

Many lawyers advertise that they are members of the Tennessee Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and / or their local bar association. Mere membership in these organizations tells consumers virtually nothing about a lawyer’s competence – all one needs to join these organizations is a law license and the money to pay the dues.

However, active membership in a bar association tends to indicate that the lawyer is interested in advancement of his or her profession. This is a relevant factor to be weighed by consumers because it indicates a passion for the law. A lawyer who has been active in bar associations will list those activities on his or her website. Those that do not list activities probably have not been active and are probably just dues-paying members.

August 16, 2010

A Doctor Made an Error and I Almost Died!

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I had a surgery recently. The doctor made an error and I also died. I spent two extra days in the hospital. I am fine now but I want to sue him.

You will have a difficult time finding a lawyer to help you with this case. Even assuming that you can prove your case it appears your damages are minimal – two extra hospital days, related experiences, and the trauma of the event. Medical malpractice cases are very expensive to prepare and are very vigorously defended by doctors and their insurance companies. Thus, most lawyers have been forced to adopt a rather high damages threshold before they will accept any malpractice case.

Of course, you should talk to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer and see if he or she can help you. Remember that in Tennessee you must take appropriate legal action within one year of the date of the event causing you an injury. Failure to take timely action will result in a loss of whatever rights you have.

August 15, 2010

Will My Case Go to Trial?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was hurt when I was swimming and got run over by a jet ski. I have filed a lawsuit but am scared to death about going to trial. Will there be a trial?

Now days, most cases do not go to trial.

These statistics will give you an idea of how many cases are actually tried. In the one-year period ending June 30, 2009, there were about 11,000 lawsuits filed involving all types of personal injury and wrongful death in the state of Tennessee. (Many other cases were settled before a lawsuit was even filed; those numbers are not publicly available.) However, there were only 260 jury trials and 348 non-jury trials in personal injury and wrongful death cases during that same period. These statistics are about the same from year to year, and thus it is fair to say that only about 5% percent of personal injury and wrongful death cases in which lawsuits are filed actually go to trial.

July 19, 2010

The Lawyer Who Announces A Special Relationship with the Judge

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I met with a personal injury lawyer and she tried to tell me that she could help me win my case because the judge is a friend of hers. Will her relationship with the judge help me?

Lawyers who say such things are scumbags. 99.9% of judges would never allow their personal feelings for a lawyer to directly affect the outcome of the case. To do so would be unethical, and 99.9% of judges would never consider acting in such a fashion.

It is true, of course, that judges tend to respect lawyers who are prepared, who show up to court on time, who understand law and court procedure, and who answer the judge’s questions directly and honestly. And judges, like every other human, would tend to more readily accept the word of a lawyer who earned respect than a lawyer who demonstrated that he or she was not entitled to respect. But disregard the facts or the law simply because of a personal relationship? No, this sort of thing rarely happens.

July 16, 2010

Should I Hire the Lawyer Who Says He Gets Big Settlements?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I notice that lots of personal injury lawyers advertise that they have received big settlements? Should that be a factor in determining what lawyer I should hire?

That may tell you something, and may tell you nothing. Lawyers tell an old joke that goes like this: Do you know how to get a $1,000,000 settlement? Mess up a $2,000,000 case.

Experienced lawyers know that that the size of a verdict or settlement does not reveal much information on how well the case was prepared or tried. Indeed, a sizeable verdict or settlement could mean that the client had a good case and good have had even a better result if a more capable lawyer had handled the case. So, while the size of verdicts and settlements gives you an idea of the size of case the lawyer may have experience working on, it does not tell you much about the quality of the work done on that case.

July 14, 2010

Should My Lawyer Have Malpractice Coverage?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I need to hire a personal injury lawyer. Should I ask if the lawyer has malpractice coverage or can I assume that the lawyer has the coverage because it is required by law to have it?

Believe it or not, there is nothing in the law that requires lawyers to have malpractice insurance coverage. Any lawyer can make a mistake, and he or she should have malpractice insurance to protect a client from harmed by the mistake. Feel free to ask the lawyer you are thinking about hiring whether he or she has malpractice insurance coverage and ask them to confirm their answer in writing. If they don’t have it, hire a different lawyer.

Why would a law firm not have malpractice coverage? There are only two reasons. First, they cannot buy it. It is difficult to purchase malpractice insurance coverage if you handle class action and other specialized types of cases. Second, the lawyer is trying to save money. Malpractice insurance coverage is expensive and there are some lawyers who simply will not spend the money to protect their clients from an error.

July 13, 2010

Is It Important That My Lawyer Claims to Be a Member of the Bar Association?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I have a personal injury case. I am trying to find a lawyer. Lots of lawyers say that they are members of the Tennessee Bar Association or the American Bar Association. What does that mean?

Many lawyers advertise that they are members of the Tennessee Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and / or their local bar association. Mere membership in these organizations tells consumers virtually nothing about a lawyer’s competence – all one needs to join these organizations is a law license and the money to pay the dues.

However, active membership in a bar association tends to indicate that the lawyer is interested in advancement of his or her profession. This is a relevant factor to be weighed by consumers because it indicates a passion for the law. A lawyer who has been active in bar associations will list those activities on his or her website. Those that do not list activities probably have not been active and are probably just dues-paying members.

June 15, 2010

My Lawyer is Charging Me For His Private Plane!

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I hired a lawyer to help me with a personal injury case. The case has settled. I agreed to pay him one-third of my recovery and his expenses. He has sent me his expenses and it includes 3 flights on his plane to and from the city where I live. The cost of these flights was $1500 each way – a total of $9000. A commercial flight is only a couple hundred dollars per trip. Do I have to pay this money?

A key factor is the language of your contract. Did the lawyer disclose that he would be traveling on his private plane and the cost of each trip? If all of this was disclosed and you agreed in advance to pay these charges, you are probably stuck with the charges (although there is no harm in asking the lawyer to waive a portion of the charges).

Private plane flight is very expensive, and many lawyers who fly their own plane will not charge the cost of using the plane but instead will only charge the amount that it would have cost to fly the same trip on a commercial flight.