I was recently asked, by a potential client, why he should choose me rather than one of the bigger, nationally known law firms like ‘Morgan & Morgan’ to handle his personal injury case. As is true of most Americans, in his mind, bigger must mean better. When it comes to choosing a personal injury attorney, this isn’t always the case and I would like to take this opportunity to explain why. Let me start by saying that nothing here is in any way intended as an indictment of ‘Morgan and Morgan’, or any other of the larger law firms. It is simply a statement of my opinions on how clients of different types are best served by different types of law firms.
When Bigger is Better
If you are involved in a large ‘class action suit’, against a national or multi-national company, where the case has the potential to be played out over several judiciary jurisdictions, spread across various states, then it makes perfect sense to use a law firm that has offices and licensed attorneys that can step in and help negate the maneuvers that these companies and industries often try to use in order to find courts that are more favorable to them. This would be a better way for the people to have strength on their side. In these cases, you, as a client, will have little, if any, direct involvement and will normally just receive notices by mail of what is happening.
A Personal, Personal Injury Attorney
However, for the more common cases that the average person is most likely to be involved with there are some great advantages to working with a smaller firm like ‘Sinclair Law’.
- Communication– In a smaller law firm there are fewer layers of bureaucracy to deal with. YOUR attorney will be much easier to reach and the majority of the time you will deal directly with them.
In larger firms you will rarely, if ever, talk directly with the attorney in charge of your case. The majority of the time, it will be one of his or her assistants, or a secretary that you will deal with.
- Lower Case Load = Larger Reward– Many people would have you believe that by dealing with a big law firm, you have a better chance of receiving a larger settlement, but the exact opposite may actually be true.
Judges and insurance companies know that large firms have to carry a heavy caseload to support the staff and support personnel that it takes to keep them operating. They also know this means that many times they are more anxious to settle quickly so they can move on to the next case. Small firms don’t normally have these issues. We are in this case more for the people and your needs will be served. This list could go on, but let’s cut to the chase. There is nothing wrong with going with one of the big firms if you have a case that warrants their type of multi-state attention. But, if you want personalized attention from an attorney who cares about you as a person, has the time to focus on your case, and will fight to get you every penny that you are entitled to, then you are much better off with someone like ‘Sinclair Law’, a personal injury attorney that is focused on and dedicated to serving his clients without concern for the company accountants looking over his shoulder.