When an accident occurs, along with many other stresses like
the physical, emotional, and psychological ones, one of the most thought about
things is the choice of the lawyer.
Making a choice when it comes to a lawyer can be a very
difficult process for someone who has just been in an accident. But there are a
few things that one has to keep in mind while making this decision.
An informed choice will never help you and would probably
cause you to lose money along with the compensation that you were thinking of.
A personal injury lawyer in Houston is the only hope that can save your case and must be chosen with
great care.
The Role of a Lawyer
The role of an attorney is very crucial and is just not
confined to the legal side of things. It is very complex as he has to win the
case keeping his demeanor very strong but at the same time has to act
empathetic onwards the party being suffered.
Before even taking a case, the role of a lawyer also involves
having initial consultations with the possible clients. These usually are done
to study the merits of the case and just to give some initial advice to the
parties who will be dealing with the case in the future.
A very important role of a lawyer is the negotiations that
they have to do with the insurance companies. These companies usually try to
minimize the amount of compensation and focus more on their own profitability,
so a lawyer does help the client a lot in this matter.
Tips to Choosing the Right Attorney
Here are some of the important factors that you need to keep
in mind while choosing an attorney for your case.
Valuable Experience
Now, to choose a good lawyer, experience does matter a lot
and is one of the most crucial factors when you are making a choice.
A great lawyer will not be telling you different facts about
law, rather than that he will be giving you examples about his past victories
where he managed to succeed in winning cases.
Make sure to know how the lawyer dealt with cases in the
past, and how they ended. Was there always a fair settlement or was it just a
moderate settlement to keep both the parties satisfied?
Also, make sure that you choose a lawyer that has one
sociality. Just like in the field of medicine doctors have some specialties
that they work in, lawyers do have specialties as well. So, in the case of
personal injuries, do look for a personal injury lawyer with a
specialization.
Great Communication Skills
Now, one more thing to look for in an attorney is the way
they communicate with you. Communication is the key factor that keeps things
smooth between the client and the attorney.
If you see that the lawyer is being transparent with you and
makes sure that you are being updated with the cast from time to time, then you
have made the correct choice.
When a case is going on in the court, there have to be
several cases that are to be made by the clients. And this can only be possible
if things are communicated clearly to the client by the attorney. So, if
you are well-informed by your lawyer, you will be able to make great
decisions.
Legal Fees and Structure of Payment
The aspect of the legal fee and the fee structure plays a
very important role here. It is important to know which payment plan is more
appreciated by your lawyer.
Contingency Fee: This is the structure in which a percentage
is decided between the client and the lawyer. That is the amount that can be
given to the lawyer in one case. If the layer manages to win the case,, he gets
the decided percentage, but if he doesn't then he gets nothing.
Hourly Schedule: As far as the hourly rate is concerned, in
this matter, the lawyer can charge you according to the work he does hourly.
Now, this however is a very transparent method of payment but sometimes it can
get really difficult to come to a total amount at the end.
With these methods, a detailed fee agreement should also be
made between the attorney and the client to make sure taht everything is
clearly communicated.
Discuss the payment method suitable with your lawyer and
make sure there is just payments made.
Conclusion
So, choosing a lawyer is never easy, but if you understand
some of the common qualities to look for, you can easily help yourself. Make
sure taht you do your own research before handing over your case to an
attorney. It is always best to look for options so that you can stay
stress-free in the future.
