How to find an accident attorney

If you have been involved in an accident and have been seriously injured the chances are good that you will want to seek the advice of an accident attorney. Talking to an accident attorney will allow you to find out what your options are, but they can also help you decide if you should settle with the insurance company or if you should take it all the way to court. Having an excellent accident attorney is an irreplaceable resource if you have been in an accident.

However, you do not want to hire the first accident attorney that you find. You want to be able to find an accident attorney that has experience in representing people who have been injured in all types of accidents. However, you also want to find a lawyer that you can trust. This might seem like a huge task, but if you know where to look you can begin searching for the perfect accident attorney. The key to finding an accident attorney that is right for you is getting referrals on experienced accident attorneys.

Once you have gotten the referrals you are going to need to talk to each attorney to find out more information, particularly if the lawyer will take your case. When you are talking to the attorneys, you also need to be prepared for rejection. The reason for this is that not all attorneys are going to be interested in your case. For example, some lawyers might not take the case because the recovery amount is going to be too low, it falls below a set amount that they have in mind. Some attorneys will reject the case because it is not cut and dried, they only take cases that they know they can win; this is especially true in cases where the attorney does not charge you any upfront fees, but only collects after the case has been settled.

Here are some places that you can go to get referrals for an experienced accident attorney.

Number one: Friends and acquaintances
Talk with people that you know who have been involved in a personal injury claim. Ask them if they settled with the insurance company on their own or if they hired an accident lawyer to represent them. If they hired an accident lawyer, you will want to ask them what they thought of the accident lawyer. If they have negative things to say about the lawyer, you might want to continue your search. However, even if they have only positive things to say about the lawyer you still might need to continue your search. The reason for this is that you do not want to hire a lawyer based on a personal recommendation because of how different people interact with each other. You will want to meet the lawyer in person, so that you can discuss your case with them and find out if you like them and can work with them ion your case.

Number two: Nolo's lawyer directory
Nolo, which can be found at www.nolo.com, offers a lawyers directory that you can search through to find an accident lawyer in your area. The directory contains a detailed profile on each lawyer, all of the information that the lawyer provides is designed to help you make an informed decision about choosing that accident lawyer. The profile will tell you about the attorney's experience, education, and fees. The profile will also tell you about how the lawyer feels about practicing law. Using Nolo's directory is a huge bonus because Nolo has confirmed that every lawyer in their directory has a valid license, but that they are also in good standing with their bar association.

Lawyers who are included in Nolo's directory also have to live up to the agreement that they have with Nolo. The lawyers in the directory have also agreed that they will communicate with you regularly; provide you with an estimate on how much time is going to be involved with your case and how much money it is going to cost you. Most importantly, they have agreed to provide you with a written agreement that you can understand that will discuss how your case will be handled and how much you will be charged. If you choose another method of finding an accident attorney, you can still use Nolo to check up on the attorney before agreeing to hire them.

Number three: Other lawyers
If you happen to know any other lawyers, they can also be a great source for finding an accident attorney. No matter what type of law they practice, they are going to know other lawyers and will have opinions about other lawyers. Lawyers also refer cases to each other, so they have a huge network of attorneys that they can usually refer. Just like talking to friends and family, you do not want to hire a lawyer based on a lawyer's recommendation. You want to meet the lawyer face to face to make sure that you like the person, plus you will want to research them to ensure that they are in good standing with the bar association.

Number four: Referral services
Almost all local bar associations have a referral service. The referral service lists all of the lawyers that are practicing in your area that have passed the bar exam. The lawyers are arranged by their legal specialty so it makes looking for a specific type of lawyer easy. If you are using a referral service you want to be aware of the fact that the referral services have a wide range in the type of service that they provide, some provide excellent service, while others might not provide you with any type of service beyond a list of names. All referral services for lawyers are supposed to be approved by the state bar association, but that does not mean that they are all going to provide top-notch service. If you are going to be using a lawyer referral service you are going to want to ask the service, what their qualifications are for including an attorney and how carefully the lawyers are screened. For example, some services will carefully screen the lawyers and will only list those that meet certain qualifications and a certain amount of past experience, while other places will list any lawyer that is in good standing with the state bar association and who maintains liability service. The one thing that you are not going to get when using a referral service is an insight into a lawyer's philosophy, such as how aggressive the lawyer is.

Number five: Yellow pages
Your local phone book will also provide you with a list of accident attorneys in your area. The yellow pages are not going to be able to provide you with any details, unless the attorney has taken out an ad, so you are not going to want to hire the first lawyer you come across. The yellow pages will list the attorneys in alphabetical order, but they also have a section that groups the lawyers into specialty areas so you can find the right type of lawyer for your needs. Something else to watch out for with the yellow page ads is the attorneys with the biggest ads. Just because they take out big ads, sometimes two pages, that does not mean they are the best lawyer. All that means is they have a big enough advertising budget to afford the big ads, the lawyers that do not take out two page ads can be just as qualified but would rather spend money elsewhere than on a two page yellow page ad.

Number six: Internet
Using a search engine on the internet, you can find numerous referral services for attorneys, law offices, and you can find attorneys directly. The best part about using the internet to find an accident lawyer is that you can use the search engine to find an accident lawyer for a particular type of accident. All you need to do is type in certain keywords into the search engine, such as car, truck, motorcycle, medical malpractice, etc and lawyer and you will get numerous results. You can also find information on other topics that are related to finding an accident attorney.

No matter which method you choose to help you find an accident attorney you are not going to want to make a final decision until you have meet the attorney. In meeting the attorney, you will be able to interview them to find out if their style of practicing law is going to work for you, and if you think, they will give you the best service possible. Remember if you are filing a personal injury lawsuit, you are going to want to hire an accident attorney who has your best interests at heart. You want to avoid any accident lawyers who are more concerned about collecting fees than getting you what you are deserved.