Have you recently been in a car accident? Is the other party in the process of suing you, even though it wasn't your fault? You probably already realize that you're going to need a good attorney if you're going to win the case. In order to pick the best lawyer for you, you're going to need to ask the right questions. Here are some things to consider asking before you hire any attorney:
How long have you been an auto accident lawyer? Many lawyers will pick one area of law to specialize in and will work only those types of cases until they finally retire. Other attorneys may decide to switch to a slightly different field, later in their career. So while your potential lawyer may have been practicing for over a decade, it's possible that he or she may only have a few years working auto accident cases. Make sure to ask whether they were in a related field, like motorcycle accident cases, or something entirely different, like being a patent attorney.
Have you ever won a case like mine? While confidentiality agreements may prevent your potential auto accident lawyer from discussing specifics of past cases, he or she should be able to give you a broad overview of his or her case history. If the attorney says that he or she handled a case nearly identical to yours and won, make sure to find out how long ago it was. If he or she hasn't handled a similar case in more than a year or two, you may want to look for a lawyer who has more recent experience with your situation.
How much do you charge? If you're almost certain that you want to hire a particular auto accident lawyer, you'll need to find out how much and when they expect to be paid. If you are being sued, your attorney may expect to be paid hourly. If this is true, make sure to get a breakdown of the various fees that you might expect to see on your bill. For example, you could get charged a document filing fee or hourly rates for court appearances. But if your attorney feels that you have a strong counter-suit, then he or she might work on a contingency fee basis. This means that instead of you paying the lawyer directly, he or she will take a percentage of any settlement that you might get.
For more information, consider contacting a professional like those at Davidson Law Center Inc.
