Preparing for a Personal Injury Lawyer Consultation

 

Many lawyers these days offer free initial consultations to new clients. They do this for a couple different reasons: to see if the case is worth taking on, and to become acquainted with the client to see if the relationship is a good fit. The consultation is not intended to be a lengthy sit-down where the lawyer gives you his entire legal plan for your case, but more of an introductory sort-of occasion for both parties to see if they want to proceed with the case. To that end, here are some important things you can do to get the most out of your consultation.

Keep a Precise Info Log

It is important to have all the significant details and dates pertinent to your case in bullet-point form when you go to your consultation. This will allow you to present your case in the clearest, most time-efficient manner so that the lawyer can quickly form a picture of the situation. For example, if you were injured in a car accident, you will want to include the date of the crash, when you first felt the injuries, dates that you visited the doctor, which doctors you saw, any correspondences with insurance companies, etc.

Compile Papers Related to the Case

Like your bullet-point history of the case, you will want to compile any documents related to your dispute. These will give the lawyer concrete evidence which he or she can quickly look over to judge the validity of your case. Appropriate documents will depend on the type of case you have, but could be medical bills, email disputes with an insurance company, contracts, medication warnings, etc.

Prepare a List of Questions

You need to learn if the lawyer is a right fit for you, both for your case and your personality. To figure this out, you should ask some of the following questions:

• What type of cases do you normally handle?
• How long have you been practicing law?
• How many cases like mine have you taken on?
• What would your general strategy be for my case?
• Would you seek a settlement or take it to trial?
• How long would it take to resolve my case?
• How often should I expect to work directly with you, or will I mostly be working with associates?
• Will I be able to contact you directly about the case?
• How will you be paid for working my case?

 

Questions like these should give you a good idea about what the lawyer can do, how he or she will go about handling your case, and what working with the lawyer throughout the case will be like. This should help you determine if you want to move forward with this lawyer or if you want to seek other representation.

Need a personal injury attorney in Southeastern Missouri who will aggressively represent your case? Lanzotti & Rau focuses solely on representing the interests of individuals, never big companies. We have decades of experience with personal injury cases, and will do everything we can to get you the results you deserve. In fact, we won’t even take a fee unless we win money for your dispute. Call us today at 573-335-9300 to schedule your free consultation.