5 Steps to Locating a Good Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer

Think about the last time you purchased a car. Chances are you didn't go to the yellow pages, choose a dealership at random, and buy the car from the first lot you visited. However, this is exactly what many people do when seeking legal counsel for decisions that will impact the rest of their lives. Much like purchasing a car or buying a home, finding a qualified personal injury lawyer requires research.

There are thousands of personal injury lawyers available in every state jurisdiction, and if you've been injured, you may be wondering how to choose the one that's right for you. It's important to thoroughly research several potential candidates before deciding on your personal injury lawyer. The following 5 tips will help you in your search:

1. First, look up the lawyers' record with the Florida Bar. Many lawyers advertise that they will accept personal injury cases, but few have actually resolved many of them. Make sure he/she has a solid success rate in previous cases.

2. Next, find out if your Orlando personal injury lawyer is board certified in civil trial law by the Florida Bar or by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. There are many extremely competent lawyers who are not board certified, but board certification is one way of evaluating your attorneys' experience and qualifications, as recognized by his peers.

3. Look up your potential lawyers' ratings on directories such as Martindale-Hubbell or Avvo.com. These organizations will provide you with feedback from the lawyers' peers that will help you evaluate his experience, skills and ethics.

4. Avoid putting too much stock in review websites such as Yelp.com or directory listings. Unlike a restaurant review, a clients' experience may have less to do with the lawyers' skills than with merits of the case. Clients with unsatisfactory results may often blame a lawyer who delivered high quality work.

5. Finally, ask any potential lawyer to provide you with references from previous clients. If the attorney is unwilling to supply references, you should continue searching.

Additional tips to consider:

• Small offices and solo practitioners will be much more affordable than larger firms because their overhead is lower. Your decision here will best be decided on your complexity of case.

• If you have interviewed a number of potential candidates and still can't decide, one strategy is to discard the cheapest and most expensive providers. The cheapest will likely have underestimated your needs or is planning a cookie cutter approach, while the most expensive may be flooded with work and doesn't really want your business.

• Lastly, if you hire an Orlando personal injury lawyer and you don't like the work he or she does, remember that the attorney works for you. You have the right to end the relationship with any lawyer. However, before you fire them, you may want to first talk with a different lawyer (or several) as there may be issues to be resolved surrounding fees and deadlines.