After graduating law school, lawyers usually decide on the field they want to specialize in. Some lawyers usually specialize in commercial law, criminal law, injury law, real estate law or constitutional law among others. Whenever you find yourself in a legal problem, it is recommended you hire the best lawyer for your needs. Since all the lawyers in the city will claim to be the best, you have to conduct some research before you make your final decision. The following are key factors to consider when looking for a Maine personal injury lawyer:
Area of Specialty
You have to check the areas of specialty of the top-rated lawyers, like https://garmeylaw.com/portland-maine/, and make a shortlist of the best personal injury lawyers. Since there are slip and fall lawyers, car accident lawyers, medical malpractice lawyers and product liability lawyers, you have to shortlist lawyers who have specialized in the same types of cases you are facing. For instance, if you have suffered in the hands of a doctor when seeking medical treatment, you should shortlist medical malpractice lawyers only. Similarly, if you have been injured after using a defective product, you should only shortlist product liability lawyers.
Experience
It is recommended you hire the most experienced lawyer if you want to get the best possible outcomes. Therefore, you have to check the number of similar cases handled by the lawyers on your shortlist as well as the number of years different lawyers have been in practice. This is crucial because experienced lawyers usually offer the best possible legal representation. Therefore, the most experienced lawyers with similar cases should get special consideration.
Success Rate
You have to compare the success rates or win rates of the injury lawyers you have shortlisted. You want to be represented by lawyers with over 70% success rates. However, you should not just look at this percentage as the total number of cases won by different injury lawyers also matter a great deal. When you are represented by a lawyer who has a low success rate, your chances of winning the case will be next to zero.
Reputation
It is imperative you check the reputation of the shortlisted injury lawyers. You want to hire a trusted and respected lawyer in the Maine legal circles. Therefore, you have to search the web for lawyer reviews and testimonials. Be sure to also check how different lawyers have been rated before making a decision. If you are represented by a lawyer with a poor reputation, your case may be adversely affected.
Legal Fees
It is crucial you compare the legal fees charged by the shortlisted injury lawyers. This is crucial because some lawyers usually charge as much as 50% contingency fee. This means that if the case leads to a $500,000 award, the lawyer will take $250,000 as legal fees. Since you do not want to lose a lot of money to legal fees, you have to compare the legal fees charged by different lawyers before committing yourself.
