Where do our clients come from ? (Why we do not advertise)
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.
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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.