Where do our clients come from ? (Why we do not advertise)
Recent tracking of our clients demonstrates what we have known for generations: our clients come to us on the recommendations of friends, family, neighbors, their doctors, lawyers and other professionals. That is one of the reasons we donot advertise. Not in the yellow pages. Not on TV. Not in thenewspaper. Not on the Internet. We believe that much of the lawyer advertising is unseemly and demeaning. Lawyers often advertise when they do not have good reputations; when they do not get referrals or recommendations; or they seek a volume practice that boasts large numbers of clients but is short on personal service and quality legal representation. Many lawyers that advertise on television with a courthouse in the background of their slick commercials you will almost never see try a case in court. They may also not qualify to be on the State, County or local bar Association’s official “Lawyer Referral Services,” because they do not have the required insurance (which is for YOUR protection) and/or they have a pending Ethics or other related complaint pending against them.
So, how do you know if an advertising lawyer is any good ?
Check to see their Martindale Hubbell Listing (A-V rating is the best).
Ask to see them try a case in Court.
Read articles they have written in PEER REVIEWED publications on the subject matter of your case.
Ask for copies of ACTUAL RESULTS in similar cases.
While being listed in “Best Lawyers In America” and being named a “Super Lawyer” are nice for the ego, see if the lawyer teaches for the Courts, the Workers Compensation Commission and the Trial Lawyer Associations.
Find out if the lawyer has held offices in the major associations that specialize in the area of law you need assistance with (i.e., the National and State Trial Lawyers sections for such things as: Social Security & Disability Law, the Workers Compensation, Workplace Injury Legislation, etc.)
Ask if they regularly contribute time, effort and/or money to the groups that lobby for injured victims and the disabled, such as:
American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America),
their State Trial Lawyers Association (i.e., the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association’s “Williamsburg Society” denotes the HIGHEST level of contribution towards legislative and lobbying efforts on behalf of injured victims, their families and disabled persons.)
The Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, which is a public interest law firm that takes on difficult cases that a private law firm may not have the manpower, resources or ability to take on.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which takes on such groups as the KKK and seeks to protect people who have been injured or killed in the commission of hate crimes.
The local county, city and state bar associations.
Bottom line:
You want a lawyer who has committed their time, effort and money to helping people and to the organizations who help them before the Courts and the Legislatures.