How to Find a Lawyer

Medical malpractice law is a highly technical field, and because of this malpractice lawyers specialize in narrow areas of medical negligence. In other words, there are different lawyers for birth trauma cases, for surgical errors, for misdiagnoses of cancer, etc.

Also, keep in mind that medical malpractice cases are expensive and difficult, and lawyers choose their battles very carefully. Therefore, it is possible that an lawyer will refuse your case. If this does happen, do not be afraid to request a referral to another lawyer for a “second opinion.”

You may find that an lawyer’s initial acceptance of your case is conditioned upon a thorough investigation and review of your medical records. You will need to provide your lawyer with the names of all physicians who have treated you, and all of your medical conditions even if you do not believe they are relevant to your case.

Where to Find a Lawyer*

You can find the names of attorneys from a variety of sources. These include:

Referral From a Trusted Attorney

One of the best ways to find personal injury lawyer is to consult an attorney you trust. If you do not know any attorneys, ask your friends for names of attorneys they trust. It is not important that they give you the name of a lawyer who can handle your case — what is important is that the attorney is likely to comprehend the issues of your case, and is well-positioned to know which attorneys in your community have the skills to handle your case. Even if the attorney cannot personally take your case, he will often be able to refer you to a lawyer who can.

Please note that attorneys frequently receive “referral fees” when they send personal injury cases to other lawyers or law firms. The amount of this fee can be significant — it is usually about a quarter to a third of the fee received by the personal injury lawyer who handles your case. This gives the attorney an incentive to refer you to a good personal injury lawyer. If this possibility makes you at all uncomfortable, do not hesitate to ask if the attorney referring your case expects a referral fee.

Referral Services & Membership Organizations

Many state bar organizations offer referral services to help people find attorneys. However, any member of the organization can list with its referral service, therefore you cannot know simply from the referral if the lawyer is truly qualified to handle your case.

There are also a number of specialty organizations, such as the American Association For Justice, which offer online directories of their membership. Most lawyers with significant personal injury practices are members of the AAJ. However, and again, know that most legal organizations are open to all attorneys, and membership only means that the attorney has paid the membership fee — NOT that they are qualified to handle your case.

Internet Lawyer Directories

A number of commercial online directories claim to screen their attorneys, or claim to list only highly qualified attorneys. Most are not being completely honest. Regardless of their promises, most online directories will list any personal injury lawyer who pays the required fee, and there is absolutely no guarantee that the listed attorneys are qualified to handle your case.

Advertising: 1-800 Numbers & TV Ads

Generally speaking, television and radio advertisements are a bad way to find an attorney. Many advertisements are paid for by referral agencies, which collect large numbers of calls and then divide them up between member attorneys. Even when the advertisements are paid for by a law firm, often many of the cases are referred out to other firms who share the enormous cost of advertising. Most of the time, the attorney with the big advertising campaign will not have an office near you. Unless your case is worth a lot of money, you may well find that you are quickly referred to a different firm or that you can’t get much attention for your case.

Please note that, when it comes to hiring a personal injury lawyer, many of the best personal injury attorneys do little or no advertising. They get their cases through “referrals” from other attorneys, due to their reputations for doing good work and getting good results.

If you need further assistance in finding an attorney, simply fill out the “Contact Us” form in the upper-right hand corner.

Related Topics

Questions to Ask a Lawyer
FAQs About the Lawyer-Client Relationship

*copied from ExpertLaw

Tagged as: Find a Lawyer, medical malpractice attorneys