Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Legal Help Online

Los Angeles,California has thousands of well respected law firms handling cases of personal injury. Several are one-person Law firms, but there are large firms also. It doesn't matter about the size, the majority are dependable, and committed to getting the best verdicts for their clients through direct settlements or trial and verdict.

Once the client or his designee choose a lawyer, with the help of friends, the Bar Association or private sources, the lawyer's background can be checked through several associations that provide these services. There are various areas of specialization in the field of personal injury law itself. If the Law firm that the client first contacts, does not handle their particular type of case, they are usually referred to the Lawyers that do handle it. Usually, the first consultation is free.

The lawyer background check may show that a particular attorney mostly goes in for direct settlements. This could be a trend to settle quickly to get the money. But such quick settlements could be wrong. In settlements, the victim should understand the real net value . Simply stated, this means the worth of a certain amount today compared to the value, say, two years later. The most important issue is if the law firm involved is willing and able to take the victims Lawsuit through the trial stage if the settlement offer is unfair. 

When the law firm that is approached studies the case, sometimes it may decide not to take the case. There are several reasons for this. Once the case is accepted however, an agreement about the fees and costs must be reached. For personal injury cases, contingent fees are common practice. This simply means that the law firm gets paid from the verdict that is reached; it is usually quoted in terms of percentage. If the verdict is disallowed, the law firm doesn't get paid anything for its services. Some law firms will inform the client that they must pay the costs in the event of denial of the claim, but others may waive such costs. Before signing up, get this in writing, regardless of the way you proceed. 

Some law firms, will advance the costs on the victim's behalf. Some law firms will also arrange medical services on a loan basis. This is to be paid back to the law firm when the case reaches its conclusion. Such commitment may indicate the firm's confidence in the case it selects to take on.