I saw a great blog post by Virginia personal injury attorney Ben Glass about a new client conference he recently had. I thought it was worth sharing.
Although the blog post goes into greater detail, Ben’s point is that — as a client — you should find it funny when a lawyer you are considering hiring to represent you in a personal injury case tells you your case is worth “no less than ______”. After all, how can a lawyer know how much your case is worth without reading your medical records, reviewing your medical bills, and getting to know you and how your injuries ave actually affected your life? (The answer should be obvious…)
Look, it is only human nature to want to know how much your case is worth at the very beginning. Unfortunately, it is often also human nature to hear what one wants to hear. Some lawyers are only too eager to quote a huge number at the very beginning of the case — just to get the client to sign an Authority to Represent. Those lawyers figure they can break the bad news about the “real” value of the case, later — once the client is entrenched.
Most personal injury clients would be doing themselves a huge favor by working with a lawyer who will level with them from Day 1. Trust is an awfully valuable thing these days.
