Avoiding The Slogans When Choosing A Lawyer
The Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC knows choosing a lawyer is a frustrating process, especially when you turn on the TV or look at their ads and all you see is a bunch of slogans that sound good. Well here’s what all that lawyer talk really means…
· “No fee if no recovery”
This means you will not be charged an attorney fee unless and until the case is settled or won at trial. However, what they don’t tell you that this means is there may in fact be fees and expenses. There are many costs involved in a personal injury case including court filing fees, expert witness fees, and other third party expenses that the attorney may incur and charge to their client.
**All fees should be clearly covered in your retainer agreement with any attorney you consider hiring**
· “Free initial consultation”
This is common with most attorneys in personal injury situations. However, many attorneys continue to brag about this offer in their advertising as a way to make you think your getting something special.
· “Member of the Million Dollar Roundtable or Million Dollar Advocate Club”
This indicates that the attorney may have settled a case for $1,000,000.00 or more sometime in his legal practice. This impressive figure might grab your attention, but it says nothing about the competence of the attorney, merely showing that they represented someone who suffered a very serious loss or injury. This also doesn’t mean that is how much your case will be settled for. So don’t let that fool you.
· “Best Lawyer in Town”
Any lawyer that claims to be the “best” is making an unethical claim. No one can prove such a statement. Therefore this means absolutely nothing. A monkey can say they are the Best Lawyer in Town.
· “Over 30 years of experience!”
A number of years experience is another meaningless claim we see all too often. The experience could be on cases totally unrelated to your needs and the quality of work performed during this experience could be clearly substandard.
· “Former District Attorney”
Claims of experience as a former prosecutor could be of value, if you are charged with a crime. However, such a claim is totally irrelevant in the case of a personal injury.
· “You may be entitled to cash for your pain”
This is the kind of claim that can hinder a personal injury case, because such claims can make jury members unsympathetic toward accident victims. Our law is meant to protect injured victims by providing them just compensation for their injuries. It is not a new form of lottery where the ticket is a fender-bender.
If you or someone you know needs a lawyer, call our Toledo, Ohio lawyers at toll free 800.637.8170 for a free case evaluation and to request your FREE copy of one of our books.
