When you start looking into hiring a personal injury lawyer, you’re going to see a lot of offers for free consultations. They’re pretty standard in the industry because they let you determine if you want to hire someone without any commitment.
They not only allow the lawyer to decide whether to take on your case or not, but they also give them a chance to show you why they’re the right choice.
However, if you’ve never done one before, it can be a little intimidating. Especially when you’ve been injured and have a lot on the line.
Today, we’re going to help you put your worries at ease and understand a little more about what to expect during a free personal injury lawyer consultation.
Where the Consultation Takes Place
There are two ways a free consultation can be conducted. There are in-office consultations where you go to the lawyer’s office and handle the rest of the steps we’ll talk about, and there are phone consultations.
For the convenience of both you and the lawyer, free consultations are often conducted over the phone. After all, these are preliminary consultations that are designed to help the two of you learn more about each other and determine if you have a strong case or not.
There isn’t anything that really needs to be handled in person, yet.
Getting to Know Each Other
The legal stuff is crucial, but you’ll be spending a lot of time with your lawyer and giving them a lot of very private information. There should be a good relationship between the two of you, and communication should come easily.
Now, the lawyer knows the two of you aren’t going to be best friends or anything like that, but a little bit of less serious conversation goes a long way toward building trust and helping both of you decide whether you want to continue the partnership beyond the consultation.
As such, you can expect a basic meet-and-greet type of conversation to take place with a slightly more casual tone.
There isn’t much of this despite it being important. Just common pleasantries to make the two of you comfortable with in-depth communication.
Assessing the Case
With pleasantries out of the way, it all comes down to discussing your proposed case.
It’s important to note that scheduling a consultation does not mean that the personal injury lawyer will take on the case.
Instead, you’ll provide as much background information as possible. You’ll need to describe the event, the injuries you sustained, and what you’ve done since the event.
In a lot of cases, the lawyer is going to determine whether you have a winnable case or not. There’s simply no point in taking the case on, for you or the lawyer, if there are glaring issues that show you have no chance of getting a decent settlement or winning in court.
We’ll talk about this more later, but it’s important to start this phase as soon as you can after an accident, because a lot of the things you do between the accident and your consultation will affect whether or not the case is viable.
Read also: The Role of Witnesses in Strengthening Personal Injury Cases
Discussing Taking Things Further
Assuming your case is viable and worth pursuing, and the lawyer is interested in pursuing it, the next step is to discuss taking things further.
This will mostly come down to two things.
First, you’ll discuss payment options going forward to see if the relationship is going to work out, or if you need to go to a different lawyer who is more capable of handling your needs and budget.
Don’t worry too much. Flexibility is necessary when serving a wide variety of people, and there are typically payment plans that lower your costs or completely remove your financial liability.
When the financial side of things is discussed, you just have to commit, and you’ll start scheduling more in-depth legal services, meeting in person, and building a case.
How to Make the Most of Your Free Consultation
A free consultation is pretty limited. It’s more of an initial meet-and-greet and a general discussion of the case than a full-fledged legal service. However, there are some things you can do to get the most out of it before committing to a more official relationship with the lawyer.
First, make sure you have all the facts organized and ready to talk about before you call. If the lawyer is open right away, they might not schedule the consultation for days away, and you might just get right down to business.
Showing that you have plenty of information to build a case with is a good way to ensure that the lawyer will take on the case. If you call four months after the event and don’t have anything but unverified claims, it’s not as likely that you’ll have a viable case to work with.
Then, you want to focus on communication. Like we said earlier, your ability to communicate with your lawyer and your comfort in doing so are crucial.
A lot of personal information will be shared, and you’ll likely be in a fair amount of distress over the incident. Take this into consideration before committing to ensure you’re working with someone you trust to get the job done.
Ask about payment options before you commit, too. A good lawyer is going to let you know about the various ways they can be compensated, but it’s always good to get a complete rundown of all your options before committing.
Finally, give the lawyer a minute to do a bit of self-marketing before you decide. When choosing the right lawyer, it’s always a good practice to ask a few important questions:
How are they going to win your case? What type of track record do they have, what resources are at their disposal, and do they have a portfolio you can look at?
This will give you a good idea of their performance in the field, and you can make an informed decision.
Contact DeSalvo Law for Your Personal Injury Case
So, what to expect from the first injury lawyer consultation? If you’ve been injured and want to start a personal injury claim, it’s very important to work with a personal injury lawyer who has the experience and dedication to win your case.
At The Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo, LLC, we understand how overwhelming this process can be, and we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
We offer a wide range of legal services, including:
And many more!
Contact us today for a free injury lawyer consultation, and let us help you get the compensation you deserve. Your recovery is our priority!
