This is a topic that doesn't get talked about enough, and it's something I've heard from hundreds of people over the years who call our office looking for a second opinion. They already have a lawyer. The lawyer took the case months ago. But since then — nothing. No phone calls. No updates. No sense that anyone is actually working on the file. The client feels like their case is sitting in a pile on someone's desk collecting dust. And honestly? In a lot of cases, that's exactly what's happening.
Here's the uncomfortable truth about how some law firms operate. High-volume personal injury firms sign up as many cases as possible. They cast a wide net — TV ads, billboards, internet marketing — and they take almost everything that comes through the door. Small case, big case, doesn't matter. Sign them up. But then the sorting begins. The big cases — the surgeries, the permanent injuries, the cases with clear liability and high insurance coverage — those get attention. A senior attorney handles them personally. The smaller cases get farmed out to paralegals or junior associates who are juggling 200 files at once. Your case becomes a number, and nobody is invested in its outcome.
You can tell this is happening to you when your lawyer won't return your phone calls. When you call the office and get a different paralegal every time who has to pull up your file because they don't know who you are. When months go by with no updates. When you ask what's happening with your case and the answer is always some version of "we're waiting." Waiting for what? Waiting for the case to resolve itself? That's not how this works.
Here's what I want you to understand: you deserve a lawyer who cares about your case. I don't care if your medical bills are $5,000 or $500,000. If a lawyer agreed to represent you, they owe you communication, attention, and effort. That's not a favor — that's the job.
Now, there's a difference between a lawyer who isn't excited and a lawyer who is being honest with you about the challenges of your case. If your lawyer sits down with you, explains that liability is going to be tough to prove, or that your injuries are on the milder side, or that the available insurance coverage limits what you can recover — that's a straight shooter, and you want that. What you don't want is a lawyer who took your case, ghosted you, and is now going to pressure you into accepting whatever the insurance company offers because they want to close the file and move on.
If you're in that situation, here's what you should do. First, call your lawyer and ask for a direct, honest conversation about your case. Ask them what they think it's worth, what the obstacles are, and what their plan is. If they can't answer those questions, that tells you everything you need to know. Second, know that you have the absolute right to change lawyers at any time. The total attorney fee doesn't change — it just gets split between the old lawyer and the new one. So switching costs you nothing extra.
We take cases other firms aren't excited about because we treat every client like they matter — because they do. If you feel like your current lawyer has given up on your case, call us at 312-500-4500. We'll give you an honest assessment, and if we take it over, we'll actually work it.
I'll call the attorney and smooth things over. More than half the time, the attorney thanks me and calls the client and smooth things over. Of course the other half of the time, there have been times where I've called an attorney three or four times because their client keeps calling me and they won't talk to their client. So I think if an attorney loses a case under those circumstances, they've got it coming.
My point is, this guy called me and he's like "I'm not sure if my attorney believes in my case, I'm not sure if the attorney likes my case, he didn't seem friendly like you are on the telephone". This is what I told him. If you're looking for an attorney to just be a yes-man, just tell you "oh your case is worth a million dollars, it's going to be easy, it's going to be like shooting fish in the barrel".
There's really like two kinds of attorneys. There's the kind of attorney who you can bring him the most screwed up challenging injury case ever in the history of injury cases. And that attorney is going to tell you
"Oh yeah, sign on the dotted line, hire me, I'm going to get you so much money for your case. This is a great case, I'm going to make you a lot of money, yeah just sign on the dotted line. ".Of course, after that happens, you never hear from the attorney. And then a year and a half late, they call you with a $3000 settlement or a $500 settlement or something like that.
The other attorney is more like my style. Which is I'm going to ask you questions about the case, some of them are going to be hard questions. And then I'm going to tell you the truth. It's better for you to know if your case has challenges. Everyone wants to be told that they've got an easy case and it's going to settle in a week for a million bucks. That's like our wish list if we're having problems in an injury case.
The truth is, it's more important for you to know the challenges of the case and have a realistic expectation. So in my opinion, if you talk to a lawyer who says "oh yeah it's a home run, I'm going to make you rich, I'll be done in a month, I'll get you an offer this kind of thing". This is not a serious consultation, this is a sales job by an attorney who's trying to get you to hire him or her.
On the other hand, if you have an attorney who actually listens, who asks you questions and then tells you
"Well you have a very solid case, I'm a little bit worried about this, this, and this, and my advice is that you should do this and this to make your case stronger."In my opinion, that's the kind of lawyer you want to talk to.
Now, it turns out there were other issues when the client was talking to this attorney. But I still told the client to sleep on it and think about it. Because other than the bad bed signed manner and some rude comments and not really wanting to listen to the client, it sounded to me like this attorney was doing a good job. He was telling the client "If you didn't go to the doctor right away, that's a challenge, and if you're claiming all these serious injuries but you stopped going to the doctor for whatever reason that makes the case more challenging". that's the most valuable information you're going to get from an attorney on an injury consultation.
I don't take cases off people I know or if it sounds like the other attorney is doing the right thing. Otherwise, if it's vague I won't take the case. I just tell the client to stick with who you've got and that's ultimately what happened here. He's going to give this attorney another shot and stick with them and that's probably for the best.
Now, do I make any money? Would I make money if I took the case? Yes, but it's not the right thing to do. Being an attorney, high-pressure job, lots of irons in the fire, lots of balls in the air, a juggling reference. So I have sympathy and empathy for other attorneys who don't stay on top of their callbacks. It happens to me sometimes. I'm a pretty good communicator and I'm a pretty good listener, so I know it's not always easy to be those things if you're really under the gun, and a lot of attorneys are under the gun. I try and put myself in the other guy's shoes.
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What should you take away from this? Don't necessarily believe that just because an attorney isn't being over the top positive and making you promises, just because the attorney identifies some challenges in the case, does not mean that attorney doesn't want your case. It doesn't mean that he or she is negative about your case. It doesn't mean that he or she isn't going to fight for your case. It may just mean that they really want to give you a valuable consultation.
I'm always nice to people during a consultation. But I'll tell people "hey this really hurts your case". Usually, people take it well. I think the idea that people can't handle bad news is a myth. Any adult person out there has had life throw them some curve balls and they can handle it, but what they want is honesty.
If you feel like your lawyer is not interested in your case, you’re not alone—and you’re not stuck. A disinterested lawyer can leave you frustrated, confused, and worried about the outcome of your case. You deserve better.
At the Law Office of Scott DeSalvo, we prioritize your case and treat it with the care and attention it deserves. Whether your case involves a car accident, nursing home injury, or construction accident, we’re here to make things right and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Don’t settle for less. Contact us today for a free consultation, and let’s get your case back on track. You deserve a lawyer who fights for you—every step of the way.
There are several possible reasons. Your injuries may be relatively minor with low medical bills, which means the case value is limited. Liability might be unclear or disputed, making the case risky to pursue. Your medical records might not strongly support your claimed injuries. Or the available insurance coverage might be low, capping what can be recovered regardless of how strong the case is. A lawyer who isn't excited isn't necessarily a bad lawyer — they might just be honest about the challenges.
Yes, it matters a lot. If your lawyer isn't excited about your case, they're probably not going to invest the time, energy, and resources needed to maximize its value. Your case will sit on the back burner while they focus on their bigger files. Phone calls won't get returned as quickly. Settlement negotiations will be half-hearted. And when the insurance company makes a lowball offer, your unenthusiastic lawyer is more likely to push you to take it than to fight for more.
It depends. First, have an honest conversation with your lawyer about where your case stands and what they think it's worth. If they give you a straight answer and explain the challenges, they might still be the right lawyer — they're just being realistic. But if they won't return your calls, can't explain what's happening with your case, and seem to be pushing you toward a quick, cheap settlement, it's time to move on. You have the right to change lawyers at any time.
Maybe. Different lawyers have different thresholds for what cases they take and what excites them. A case that's too small for a high-volume firm might be a great case for a lawyer who handles fewer cases with more personal attention. The key is finding a lawyer whose practice is the right fit for your type of case and your case value. Don't be discouraged if one firm passes — it doesn't mean your case is worthless. Call 312-500-4500 for an honest second opinion.
The best thing you can do is follow your doctor's treatment plan completely. Go to every appointment, every therapy session, every follow-up. Don't skip visits or leave gaps in your treatment. Document how your injuries affect your daily life — what you can't do anymore, how your sleep is affected, how it impacts your work and family. The stronger your medical evidence and the more clearly your injuries are documented, the more valuable your case becomes — and the more excited any lawyer will be about pursuing it.
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If you or a loved one is dealing with a situation like this, give us a call any time, day or night. We are here to help. 312-500-4500
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
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