During a personal injury claim you will be working closely with your lawyer for twelve to twenty months. Therefore, it's important to select an attorney who understands what you are going through and can meet your needs. In order to find the right attorney, you should meet personally with the one you choose so you can get a feel for their personality and how they will handle your claim.
Explore whether the attorney will accept an employee/employer relationship. The best attorneys understand that the client is in charge of the claim; the attorney is merely the advisor and spokesperson for the client. It is in this area that experience is extremely important because the lawyer will be advising you on the best way to handle your claim to insure fair and full compensation.
When meeting with prospective attorneys ask the hard questions:
- How long have you been practicing?
- Do you limit your practice to the fields of personal injury and wrongful death?
- Are you willing to take a case like mine to trial if that is the only means of obtaining fair compensation?
- How many cases have you tried to a jury?
- Are you Nationally Board Certified as a civil trial specialist?
- What is your win/loss record? Keep in mind that if they have not lost their fair share of cases then they haven't tried enough cases and are not aggressive enough to handle your claim.
The National Board of Trial Advocacy and the Minnesota State Bar Association certifies lawyers as civil trial specialist. This certification process requires extensive trial experience, recommendations from judges and attorneys, and a written exam. The certification process may be the best indication of a lawyer's experience and willingness to pursue their client’s claim even if it means going to court. At Schwebel Goetz & Sieben we have 11 lawyers who are Nationally Board Certified.
Martindale Hubbell publishes a directory of attorneys, available at any public library identifying those who have the highest ethical standards and carry a high ability rating. The publisher arrives at the ratings through confidential surveys of attorneys throughout the state. Of the 17 attorneys at Schwebel Goetz & Sieben, every one has an A.V. rating, the highest rating available.
Super Lawyers - The best attorneys in their field are listed yearly in the Minnesota Journal of Law and Politics and Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine. Their peers as “Super Lawyers” have honored these attorneys. This is an excellent referral source since it tells the reader who lawyers would hire to represent himself or herself. All 17 lawyers at Schwebel Goetz & Sieben have the distinction of being Super Lawyers.
Any law firm or individual lawyer can purchase advertising time. Slogans such as "we're tough with insurance companies" or " who's the law firm on this case; we had better settle" are false and misleading. Insurance adjusters don't settle claims based on TV ads. They do however look at the quality of legal representation provided by certain lawyers and law firms. When judging that quality, they consider experience, the lawyer's willingness to go to court if necessary, the ability of that individual lawyer and their knowledge of the law and the claims they are handling. If a lawyer has developed a reputation for consistently accepting the insurance company's last offer then those offers continue to go down on a case-by-case basis to the detriment of the client.
Choosing an experienced attorney may be the most important step in assuring that you receive full and fair recovery for your injuries. If you follow the recommendations above, you should have no trouble selecting the best attorney for your needs.
