If you have recently been involved in an injury accident and have decided to search for a Houston-based personal injury attorney to represent you, the choice can be overwhelming. There are tens of thousands of licensed attorneys in the Houston area and of those, thousands practice personal injury law. Before the dawn of the Internet you would probably have to rely on a recommendation from a friend that a particular personal injury attorney had represented them and done a good job. Thanks to the information age however you can do some fairly effective initial research yourself. Below are a few suggestions on how to go about researching a Houston personal injury attorney to help you with your case:
1. Online reviews: There are a great many web sites that allow customers to post online reviews of products or services they have used and personal injury attorneys are no exception. Previous clients of a Houston personal injury attorney (or law firm) can write anonymous reviews and detail their experience with a lawyer or firm. Generally speaking, the more reviews that are posted the better, as you can take multiple considerations into opinion. Of course, don’t just focus on positive reviews, there may be neutral or negative reviews also. If you had a particular personal injury attorney in mind but noticed a negative review online, if you decide to interview the firm to possibly represent you, why not just ask the attorney about the negative review? Also take into consideration how far back the reviews go (e.g. does the firm have reviews going back 1 year or 5 years). Consumer review web sites worth checking into include Google Places and Citysearch.com
2. The law firm’s web site can provide you with background on the law firm’s history, how much of the firm’s practice is on personal injury and usually will include a biography for the lawyer or lawyers at the firm. It may be important to you that a law firm focuses exclusively on personal injury law. You may also want an attorney who is board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
3. Interview the firm and/or ask for a free consultation, even if it is over the phone. Your personal injury case is the most important case in the world to you, and you want to feel comfortable with your choice of personal injury attorney. Many (if not most) Houston personal injury firms will offer potential clients a free consultation, either in person or over the phone. This is a great opportunity for you to get some free legal advice about your particular personal injury case, but also to get an impression of the attorney or the firm. You will probably want to come away from the consultation feeling the attorney understands the issues in your personal injury case, has a plan of action and has answered your questions. Particularly in a contingency fee arrangement, you and the attorney are entering into a relationship similar to a partnership: its important that you and your personal injury attorney are on the same page.
Smith & Hassler has been based in Houston representing injured Texans for over 20-years. We encourage you to run a Google search for “Smith and Hassler” and read our reviews from former clients and visit us online at www.smithandhassler.com If you like what you see and want to learn more, call us at 713 739 1250 or 1-800-WIN-WIN1 for a free consultation regarding your personal injury case.
