Accident Lawyers in Los Angeles, California
You have had an accident in LA and you need a lawyer. Where do you start? If you enter “Los Angeles Accident Attorneys” into your favorite search engine you could get between 2 and 4 million results, depending on the engine. Most of the top hits will be advertisements from law firms. You can’t read them all, so what do you do.
Finding a Lawyer
Wading through some of the results you found in your search engine is actually a good place to start. It will give you an idea what issues are important when selecting a lawyer, the most important being does the lawyer have experience in representing the specific kind of accident you had. If you were injured on public transportation don’t go to a lawyer who specializes in dog bites. You will also learn a little about the law and some things to keep in mind when considering a lawsuit. So while it may seem overwhelming, investing the time and effort required to read through a few pages of these ads could prove to be very beneficial. Many of these law firms offer free consultations, sometimes over the phone, so you might want to talk to a few of them. The California Bar Association can provide you with a list, but they do not give recommendations of any kind. There are also websites that specializing in selecting lawyers. They are frequently general in nature and after providing some basic information they will put you in touch with lawyers in your area. While this may save time, you have no control over which lawyers call you. In an ideal world, you want to be the one determining which lawyers with whom you wish to consult about your case.
Narrowing the Search
Personal referral is very often the best source for selecting any service. If you were bitten by a dog and you have a friend who was also bitten and they sued, ask them for the name of the lawyer they used. If you have any contacts with any lawyers at all — through family, friends, co-workers — ask a lawyer you know whom they would use if they had experienced the accident you have experienced. Lawyers very often are aware of each other’s work, even if they practice in a different field. If you can’t come up with any referrals try entering your specific accident into a search engine, like “truck accident lawyers” or “public transit injury lawyers.” Finally, once you get a few specific names of lawyers, you can enter their names into a search engine and you should find some information on some of the cases they have tried. You could also go to the Los Angeles County Courthouse and read any of their case files that are in the public record. There are several major law schools in the Los Angeles area, like UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, and Loyola.
