Someone that hopes to win a personal injury case should plan to take advantage of the uncharged time that he or she gets to spend consulting with a potential lawyer. In other words, he or she should have some good questions prepared–inquiries such as these:
With what types of personal injury cases are you most familiar?
Obviously, it would make no sense for an attorney that had chosen to specialize in wrongful death cases to accept a case that concerned an injury that had been sustained in an automobile accident.
What are the chances that my case might go to trial?
Seldom does a personal injury case go to trial. Most of them end with a settlement. Still, a potential plaintiff should not hire a lawyer that would not realize how to prepare for any time that might be spent in the courtroom.
What percent of cases have you won in the past?
In answer to this question, a personal injury lawyer in St. Charles should offer a rough estimate. The potential plaintiff ought to seek information that would indicate the frequency with which the consulted member of the legal community has managed to win a given client’s case.
Who would be handling my case?
Someone that has chosen to consult a lawyer with a small practice would probably not need to ask that specific question. On the other hand, someone that has thought about using the legal services of a large firm would want to present that inquiry. Large firms often give selected cases to those members of its staff that have just finished law school.
How long do you think my case might take?
No one wants to hire a lawyer that seems ready to take just about every shortcut. By the same token, someone that needed a bit of a financial boost would not want to retain an attorney that saw no reason for proceeding in an efficient and expeditious manner.
What are your rates? If you charge a contingency fee, then from what size of settlement or court-ordered judgment do you expect to get that fee?
This inquiry gives a potential client the chance to ask about how much money he or she might receive at the case’s conclusion. This question comes in 2 parts, because the size of the contingency fee is tied to the size of the amount of money that could be awarded to the plaintiff.
Potential clients that can demonstrate their understanding of how the contingency fee gets determined should allow a potential lawyer to feel at-ease. Generally, lawyers do not like to devote a great deal of time to explaining the method used for determining the fee for any given client.