If you’ve been injured and you’re looking for an attorney, you have a few options available. You can use the Only Lawyer You Know, who’s usually a family friend or someone you went to school with.
Alternatively, you can type “personal injury lawyer” into an internet search engine and go with one of the top results. This is a popular strategy for people who don’t know any lawyers.
If neither of these sounds like a great option, that’s because they’re not. Ideally, you want to do some research and speak to a few different attorneys before you make a final decision. This blog is for people who care about what kind of attorney they’re hiring.
Here are five questions you should ask before deciding if a personal injury lawyer is right for you.
How much experience do you have?
If you’re looking to hire someone to represent you in a personal injury case, your first question should be about experience. At the Marc Lopez Law Firm, Attorney Jamison Allen exclusively represents injured clients. Meanwhile, Attorney Marc Lopez spends his days working on complex cases and honing his trial skills.
Experience matters! Between the two of them, Attorneys Lopez and Allen have over 30 years of handling personal injury cases and bringing them to trial. They’ve recovered millions of dollars for their clients.
At the Marc Lopez Law Firm, clients don’t need to worry about having an attorney who is fresh out of law school or—even worse—an attorney who takes every case that walks through the door.
How will your law firm communicate with me?
Of all the complaints that people have about their attorneys, lack of communication is one of the most understandable. At the Marc Lopez Law Firm, every client gets Attorney Lopez, a dedicated associate attorney, a paralegal, and a law clerk.
That’s many more points of contact than a run-of-the-mill attorney will have available. These team members are able to keep clients updated with case developments and address pressing questions.
Our phones are always answered by a live person and the Marc Lopez Law Firm is available 24/7 for emergencies. Clients can reach out by phone, text, or email. As long as your contact info is kept updated, you’ll get regular communication from the Marc Lopez Law Firm.
How do you keep up with changes to the law?
The law is fluid and ever-changing, so the attorneys at the Marc Lopez Law Firm never stop learning. Because they’re regularly taking things to trial, it’s especially important to stay updated on the newest legal developments in the State of Indiana.
It’s not unusual for the attorneys at the firm to spend over 100 hours a year participating in continuing legal education seminars. This doesn’t just mean sitting in a conference room and listening to someone talk. It means:
- demonstrating and practicing trial skills;
- keeping track of the latest rulings on trial rules, procedures, and statutory interpretation; and
- tracking and anticipating the latest tactics used by insurance companies.
Not only that, but the attorneys at the Marc Lopez Law Firm are regularly called on to instruct other lawyers in the State.
What are the attorney fees and what happens if we lose?
The Marc Lopez Law Firm likes to keep it transparent and simple: about 1/3 if the case is settled prior to trial, and about 40% if it goes all the way. Bottom line: at the Marc Lopez Law Firm, no attorney fee is charged unless and until a recovery is made.
If you see a firm that’s advertising 25% attorney fees, read the fine print. It will likely say that the 25% only holds if there’s no dispute as to who is at fault or the amount of medical costs. This amounts to an empty promise because every contested injury claim is going to involve disputes. It’s essentially a marketing gimmick.
What is the up-front cost of an injury case?
Unlike some other firms, the Marc Lopez Law Firm does not require clients to pay expenses up-front on injury cases. This includes everything: investigation costs, medical record retrieval costs, expert witness costs, filing costs, mailing costs, etc. These are all advanced to the client so they can focus on recovery.
If you have any questions, give us a call at 317-632-3642. We love talking about Indiana injury law, helping people with their problems, and sharing our experience in times of need.
