Legal Question in Personal Injury in Virginia

Re: How do you check out your attorney?

I really don't think an attorney's reputation or the attorney makes much difference in the outcome of your case. What judge you go before has 100 times more impact. If the judge is a nut case (and we have a few of those in Virginia), the judge may not allow your attorney to present a fair version of your case, will ignore inconvenient facts, and will be too confused and muddled to render a correct decision. However, if the judge is a competent judge (and we have some excellent ones also in Virginia), any competent attorney should be able to present the facts of your case and the judge will be able to make a reasonable decision.

If the attorney's reputation makes a difference in the case, the judge is a corrupt and reprehensible scoundrel who should be suspended by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission for violating his or her responsibilities. (And don't hesitate to file a complaint with the JIRC. Too few people file JIRC complaints against bad judges.)

However, what matters is if your attorney (a) works often with your TYPE of case. An attorney can be competent in OTHER areas but not be familiar with your type of case. How often the attorney litigates your type of case is important. A good attorney who takes an unfamiliar type of case is more prone to miss important details or procedures. (b) how organized and precise he is. Winning a case of this type requires precise compliance with a lot of technicalities, filing deadlines, etc. He may be required to file exhibits and witness lists well in advance of trial, or you lose the right to present evidence. (c) whether he or she stays in touch. Many law firms take on too many cases, more than they can reasonably handle. The best attorney in the world won't handle your case well if he has taken on way too many. An attorney that is difficult to stay in touch with (except if you are nagging or being a pest, I mean about legitimate questions, not redundant conversations) may be too busy to give your case the best treatment. You would be better off with an inexperienced attorney who devotes a lot of time to your case than the best attorney who has no time for your case. (d) is the attorney enthusiastic about your case? If your attorney thinks your chances of winning are small, find an attorney who shares your enthusiasm for the case. It will affect an attorney's efforts if he doesn't really believe in your case. (e) if he does not share your goals. There are some large-scale personal injury law firms who "heat you up" before you sign, and then "cool you down" after you sign, and pressure clients to settle cheap. Some lawyers don't want to do any work on the case, and make money on the contingency from settling cheap and easy without doing much work. Make sure you share the same goals for your case.

Re: How do you check out your attorney?

There is no perfect solution, but Martindale Hubble (www.martindale.com) provides a peer rating service for lawyers. Attorneys are rated only if they receive a "V" or very high ethical rating, and are rated on legal ability AV, BV, or CV, the latter still being above average (most lawyers are not rated, which does NOT mean anything, since there may be any number of reasons for non-rating, including not submitting onesself for review, a practice with limited exposure to other lawyers, not long enough in practice in a given location, etc.). Note that some people believe that the rating system is biased against small-town and small-firm/solo lawyers, particularly plaintiff's personal injury lawyers (who may be adversely rated - unfairly - by insurance lawyers), so it is far from gospel. An AV or BV rating is a good sign, but if the lawyer is CV or unrated, again, do not read anything adverse into that.

Re: How do you check out your attorney?

You've already signed a contingency fee agreement with an attorney, and you didn't say how you found this attorney... now that you are in midstream, don't switch horses.