Hiring An Excellent Lawyer - Background Part #1
I am not an attorney—which some will see as a point in my favor. But I am married to an attorney—which may cause some to question my intelligence. Be that as it may, I am uniquely qualified to help the layperson understand how to choose a lawyer for a personal injury, car accident, or wrongful death case. Especially if that case involves trying to get fair compensation from an insurance company.
My background is in marketing, advertising, and communications, and I have always enjoyed helping people understand complex or difficult issues. I am writing this brief guide to help the average person who is looking for a great lawyer. That person is probably trying to wade through a sea of yellow page ads or surfing through the hundreds of pages of lawyer website links that a Google search will produce. I want to give you a few simple tools to help you find the right lawyer for your case, because you probably don’t have time to read an over fluffed, self-important tome. And I don’t really have the time or interest in writing one. So I have boiled it down and made it as simple as possible.
Why am I qualified to give advice? For starters, I grew up around the insurance industry. In fact, my very first job was working as a filing clerk in my father’s insurance agency. I have seen up close how having the right kind of coverage from the right insurance company can be a real blessing in your hour of need. And I have seen how a lack of coverage or the wrong kind of coverage can be a devastating blow.
In addition, I have had run-ins with the insurance companies while dealing with my own personal injury claim. In the mid-90s I was involved in a car accident which caused injuries to my back and neck. It took months of chiropractic treatment and massage to get back to normal. The insurance company fought with me every step of the way about the “necessity” of the treatment that I was receiving and the “appropriateness” of the cost.
But my biggest qualification for writing this guide is that I am married to a personal injury attorney who sues insurance companies on behalf of injured people. And I now work as the client relations manager in his office.
Like it or not, when you are married to a lawyer and work in his office you spend a lot of time with lawyers. I have met a lot of attorneys at association meetings and conventions. And I often meet the attorneys who are the opposing counsel. When you hang out with attorneys, you also end up listening to how lawyers talk about and evaluate one another. It isn’t always the most interesting of conversations, but with any luck the cocktails are complimentary.
