Finding The Best Harrisburg Personal Injury Lawyer
The best way to find a good personal injury lawyer in Harrisburg is through the recommendation of close friends or family members. This is also the best way for lawyers to find good clients. Potential clients who come to an attorney because of a favorable recommendation from a “satisfied customer” are the most loyal of clients, and generally have relatively good cases. “Word of mouth” is a lawyer’s best advertising, and it is absolutely free.
A person injured in an accident should never select a lawyer by the recommendation of someone they first meet at the accident scene. Our country is filled withambulance chasers who appear at accident scenes. Lawyers should build their practice by establishing a reputation of competency, not by chasing ambulances. If you accept cases from ambulance chasers, you will not only be getting relatively bad cases, you will also be breaking the law. It is illegal to pay a non-lawyer to refer you cases. In many such cases, the injuries will be faked or exaggerated. You must resist the illusion of easy money presented by ambulance chasers. Lawyers who pay non-lawyers for cases get caught, and then they lose their license to practice. It’s not worth the risk. Keep Your Ears Open.
You will from time to time hear people discuss accidents they or someone they know were in. Personally, I find it uncomfortable to solicit business this way. But if the case sounds really good, it is tough to resist offering to assist. It is helpful if friends and family members keep you in mind when they come into contact with people in need of a PI lawyer. Make sure you give some of your business cards to anyone willing to recommend you. You must be tactful about this kind of thing, lest you fall into the stereotype the public has of ambulance chasing injury lawyers. It is not an easy fence to straddle.
When you meet a new lawyer, one of the first questions you should be asked is how you got their name. The lawyer must always thank the referral source. And this thank you should be personal. An e-mail is ok, but a phone call is much better. People need to know that you greatly and sincerely appreciate what they are trying to do for you. The highest praise an old client can give you is a recommendation to someone they care about. That is something to rejoice over, and if the attorney communicates this feeling to the referral source, he or she will have taken a great step toward building a pipeline of new cases.
Another reason to ask new clients who referred them is to ferret out bad clients. From time to time, all PI lawyers are approached by people who seek to pursue fraudulent claims. If the new client cannot recall who referred them, or gives you a name you do not recognize, there is a very good chance that you are being scammed. A final reason to get this information is so that you will know who to contact if you lose touch with the client.
Just as lawyer must focus on building referral sources at the initial client interview, the final meeting—when the attorney distributes the settlement money—is another ideal time to focus on this issue. When I settle a case, I let the client know how much I appreciated working with them (not for them), and how much I would value referrals for the future. People like to be asked, so be sure to do so. If possible, distribution of the settlement should be in person. This is the time when their feeling toward you may be at its most positive. But many times clients will prefer that you mail them their check, so you may miss out on that in-person meeting.
For more information on finding the best Philadelphia injury lawyer, click here.
For more on finding the best Pittsburgh injury lawyer, click here.
