There are many personal injury law firms in Illinois. As our firm’s competitors, I’d like to tell you that they were all average at best, but that would be dishonest. Some of them are actually pretty good. We think we’re better.
First of all, weeding out the wrong lawyers to handle a personal injury case is easier than selecting the right one. The lawyers you do not want for your case have limited experience in handling personal injury cases. Just as you wouldn’t go to a foot doctor to handle your heart surgery, you shouldn’t go to the lawyer who handled your real estate closing to handle your personal injury case. You need and deserve a firm who focuses on personal injury law.
Another type of lawyer who you do not want to handle your case has a limited track record of success. This guy may brag to you about his handful of nice settlements, but you should want someone with a long list of not only high value successful settlements, but high value verdicts as well.
There are many other traits other than lack of experience and lack of a track record of success that many of my competitors share but I will not use this article to discuss those traits. Instead, I will focus on a major difference between good personal injury lawyers.
Now, you’ve found a few firms that you identified as good ones. You may inquire, “Why should I choose your firm? After all, even you admit that there are other good lawyers who practice personal injury law – experienced lawyers who have all types of awards and accolades just like you.”
Here’s my partial response: One thing that sets apart my firm from other personal injury law firms is that we do not have too much on our plates. We do not handle a large volume of cases like most of our competitors. Instead, we handle a limited amount of cases so our clients get the personal attention at the time when they likely need it the most. Many of my firm’s competitors, while decent lawyers, simply have a case load that is too heavy to manage carefully. That’s no good for you. The quality of work performed on your case will suffer. In addition, since we aren’t “volume” lawyers, your case will be brought to a conclusion much faster than most personal injury law firms could offer. Add to the mix that two of our lawyers have experience on the defense side – defending personal injury lawsuits, and it’s game over. Our competitors just can’t offer what we can.
Why Choosing the Biggest Personal Injury Firm May Not Be Right for You
Have you decided you want to file a personal injury lawsuit to get compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and more?
If so, you need to choose your law firm with care, and it’s not always the biggest personal injury law firm that is going to be right for you. Here’s why.
The Name on the Firm Isn’t Going to Be the Name of Your Personal Injury Lawyer
Most likely, you’re choosing the large personal injury law firm because of the reputation of one of its named partners. However, that person is likely NOT going to be the one handling your case. Instead, you are likely to get a more junior lawyer. If you’re lucky, the senior partner may be involved in some of the strategy meetings, but it’s possible the senior partner won’t show up except at trial and maybe negotiations, if they show up at all. Your case may even be handled by paralegals and legal secretaries most of the time.
You May Not Get the Level of Attention Your Case Deserves
Because most large law firms are always working on a series of personal injury cases at all stages of the process, their pipeline, cases are always moving in all directions at the same time. People are often just too busy to dedicate personal attention to every case. The firm may quickly “pigeonhole” your case and treat it the same as they treat other cases they think are similar, even if they’re not.
This is especially true if your personal injury case is not considered to be a big winner. Everything in a large law firm runs on dollars and cents, and if they don’t feel your case will bring in a lot of money, they’ll look to quickly pass it through to try to make their money with less effort.
It May Cost You More
Working with a large personal injury law firm can be more expensive. We’re not just talking about the lawyers’ fees, which you’re told about up-front, and which can be higher in a large firm. We’re also talking about expenses. Large law firms are often used to working with a big budget for their cases, and they may readily employ experts, technologies, and other tools on your case that are more expensive—but may not bring better results.
These expenses can eat up your compensation, especially if you end up with a smaller verdict or settlement than expected, which can always happen.
For most types of personal injury, it’s best to work with a small firm, where you know the lawyer will be handling your case with personal attention and is used to keeping expenses under control. An ethical lawyer will also tell you when he doesn’t have the resources to handle your case, and will refer you to the larger firm if necessary.
At Willens & Baez, we do not focus on quantity. We focus on quality. That’s why we meet people in person, take phone calls when we are available, return phone calls… quickly, and make an unpleasant experience for our clients as pleasant as possible. You’ll see from the moment you contact us what top-notch service feels like.
