| Understanding
Your Legal Representation
Before
you hire an attorney, it is important that you understand your
legal representation. All too often, victims run out and hire
an attorney without fully comprehending what is involved in
choosing, working with or even compensating their attorneys.
Not every lawyer that works for a contingency fee charges
clients the same fee or handles the expenses of the case in
the same way. Thus, it is important to understand how your
lawyer does these things at the beginning of the relationship.
This can avoid misunderstandings and even conflict later.
Moreover, there are certainly instances where you may not
even need a lawyer to handle a claim which you can handle
yourself. In such instances, you can save the approximate
33 1/3% attorney's fee without compromising your ability to
fully recover for your injuries.
Understanding how the costs of the case must be reimbursed
is also important. Some lawyers require the reimbursement
of costs even if the outcome is negative. Most only recover
costs if a recovery is obtained. You need to know what the
policy of your lawyer is on this subject.
You also need to understand the nature and extent of expected
expenses that your automobile accident case will involve.
If accident reconstruction experts, medical experts or other
experts are needed, how much will they cost? Will proceeding
to trial cost more than if we settle now?
In those instances where your damages are more significant,
or the issues are more involved an attorney will need to handle
the matter. However, your cooperation, input and communication
of information will play a major role in the successful outcome
of the case. For instance, the defense lawyer will attempt
to put you and your life on trial hoping that some unfornuate
event of your past will cause a jury to award you little or
nothing.
Accurately communicating your background, history of any
prior claims, and history of prior medical conditions to your
attorney can make a huge difference. Most lawyers can prepare
for information that may seem bad. It is only when your lawyer
gets surprised by information that a client knows and fails
to communicate that the case suffers a serious blow.
In this age of information, there is really no excuse for
a lawyer and his client to lack communication and a basic
understanding of what will be involved in the representation.
| 
