5 critical · malpractice cases. if you contacted our office with a case that does not fall into...

5CriticalFactorsYouMustConsiderBeforeYou

HireaLawyer

TimothyR.MileyAttorneyatLaw

TheMileyLegalGroup229WMainStreet,Suite400

Clarksburg,WV26301(304)326‐1800

[email protected]

TimothyR.Miley www.MileyLegal.com

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TableofContents

Introduction 3 CriticalFactor#1 7 ThePercentageofPractice DevotedtoYourTypeofCase CriticalFactor#2 9 How‘Knowledgeable’isthe Lawyer CriticalFactor#3 11 ReferencesfromFormerClients CriticalFactor#4 13 Results CriticalFactor#5 14 CommunicationPolicy Conclusion 16


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IntroductionWhyIwrotethisbook IknowmanyofyouarewonderingwhyIwouldwritethistypeofbook.WhywouldIofferyouadviceonselectinganattorneythatcouldleadyoutoafirmotherthanmine?Well,firstandforemost,ItakeprideinthefactthatTheMileyLegalGrouphasaprimarygoalofhelpingpeople.Thatincludeshelpingyoufindthebestlawyerforyoursituation,whichintheend,maynotbeme.Ifthatsurprisesyou,youarenotalone.Don’tgetmewrong,Iwantyourbusiness.ThatishowIpaymybills,payouremployeesandprovideformyfamily.However,Ialsowantyoutobesuccessfulandpartofthatistoselecttheattorneythatfitsyouandyourcase. Anotherreasonforwritingthisbookisthatwedonothandleeverytypeofcase.Currently,TheMileyLegalGrouphandlespersonalinjury,autoaccidents,motorcycleaccidents,slipandfallcases,dogbites,workplaceinjuriesandmedicalmalpracticecases.Ifyoucontactedourofficewithacasethatdoesnotfallintothesecategories,wewillrecommendalawyeroraseriesoflawyersthatcanandwillassistyou.TheattorneyswerecommendaretheonesthatIwoulduseifIhadacasethatourfirmcouldnothandle.Again,thisisaserviceweoffertoensureyouarewellcaredfor.Weonlyrecommendthebestlawyersinourregionthathandleyourtypeofcase. ThelastreasonIdecidedtowritethisbookwastoensurethatyoutookyourtimeinevaluatingallyouroptions.Therearemanylawyersthatadvertiseontelevision,billboards,online,innewspapersandontheradio.Somehave


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memorablejinglesandmostclaimthattheywillgetyouthemoneyyoudeserve.Justlikeanyotherad,youneedtodiscoverforyourselfiftheclaimsholdtrue.Youhavetomuddlethroughtheadvertisementsandmakeaneducateddecision.Yourattorneywillbetheoneworkingforyoutoensurethatyougetfairrepresentation.Youwantthebestattorney,theonewiththemostexperienceandtheonewhocanensurethatyouandyourfamilyaretakencareofthroughoutthewholeprocessandwellafter.Thebettereducatedyouareinthisprocess,thebetteritwillserveyouandyourattorneyinthelongrun.Intheend,ofcourseIwantyoutoselectTheMileyLegalGroupforthecaseswehandle.Background Justaquickbackgroundonmeandthenwewillgetintowhatisimportant,you.Afterall,youarereadingthisbookandIwantyoutounderstandnotonlywhatmybackgroundis,butwhattypeofbackgroundyoushouldbelookingforinanattorney.

Ihavebeenapracticingattorneyforover20years.Irunaverysuccessfulpracticewithastaffofeightemployees,includingmywifeSusan.Asafirm,wehavesuccessfullyobtainedover$17,000,000inverdictsandsettlementsforourclients.Iworktirelesslytoensurethattheprimaryfocusofourfirmistheclient.Ihaveputinplacepoliciesandproceduresthatkeepmyclientsinformedandthatworkinamannertoensurethateachclientreceivesthefundsthattheyareentitledto. InmysparetimeIenjoyspendingtimewithmyfamily.IamanavidWestVirginiaUniversitysupporterand


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enjoyourlocalhighschoolsports.YoumayalsoknowthatIservethepublicintheWestVirginiaHouseofDelegates.IhaveservedasChairoftheHouseCommitteeontheJudiciary,asSpeakeroftheHouseandcurrentlyasMinorityLeaderoftheHouse.IdedicatemytimetomakingWestVirginiaabetterplaceforyouandyourfamily.MyphilosophyisbasedontheideathatwehavebeenplacedonthisEarthbythegoodLordtonotonlyprotectitbuttoleaveitabetterplaceforourchildrenandgrandchildren.IservethisideathroughdevelopingpoliciesthatnotonlyprotectourGreatStatebutalsoenhanceitthrougheconomicdevelopment,jobgrowthandenhancededucation. That’senoughaboutme,let’smovebacktoyouandyoursituation.Wheredoyoustart?

Inthisbookyouwillfind5ofthemostimportantfactorsthatyouneedtoconsiderbeforeyousignthedottedlineonanattorneyagreement.Whyjust5?Ipicked5sothatitwouldnotbealongdrawnoutprocessforyou.Iknowthatyouareprobablyinadifficultsituation,oryouwouldnotbereadingthisbook.Youcouldbehurt,introubleorfeeltakenadvantageof,Idonotwanttoaddanystresstothosefeelings.Icouldhaveaddedmorethingsyoushouldconsider,butIalreadytoldyouthatmymaingoalwastoensurethatyouweretakencareof.SoIwhittledthelistdowntomakeitefficientforyouandyourfamily.

Sostartwiththelist.Finishthisbookinitsentirety;it

isnotalengthyread.Donotskipaquestion,asIdidnotprioritizethem.Eachfactorshouldbereviewed.Iwouldnot


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recommendmeetingwithanattorneyuntilyouhavefinishedthisbookandarepreparedtoaskquestions.Youneedtohaveallthefacts.Ifafteryoufinishreading,youstillhavequestionsorneedadditionalinformation,donothesitatetocontactouroffice.Visitourwebsiteatwww.MileyLegal.com.Itakeprideinknowingwehavebecomeanauthorityinprovidinglegalinformationtothepublic.Ourwebsiteisfullofinterestinginformationthatwillallowyoutobereadyforyourcase.

Remembertheultimategoalthroughthisprocessis

foryoutofindanattorneythatmatchesyou,yourpreferences,andyourcase.

Note:Thisbookisnotlegaladvice.Iamonlytryingtoprovideyouwithinformationthatishelpfulforyoutoconsiderwhenselectinganattorney.


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CriticalFactor#1

ThePercentageofPracticeDevotedto

YourTypeofCase Thefirstcriticalfactorthatyoushouldconsiderwhenhiringalawyeris‘whatpercentageoftheirlegalpracticeisdevotedtothetypeofsituationthatyoufindyourselfin.’Inotherwords,howmuchoftheirtimedotheyspendhandlingcasesthataresimilartoyours.Manyconsiderthisthemostimportantfactortoconsiderbeforemakingyourdecision.Thereasonyouneedtoknowissimple–YOUneedtoknowhowqualifiedandknowledgeablethatattorneyisregardingyourspecificlegalsituation.Ifthatlawyerdoesnotspend80%ormoreoftheirtimerepresentingpeoplesimilartoyou,thenyouprobablywanttohireadifferentlawyer.Themoreexperiencealawyerhasinaspecificarea,thebetterheorshecanhelpyou.Theywillknowwhatyoushouldexpectduringyourcaseandcanbetterguideyoutomaketherightdecision. Youshouldbewareofwhatthelegalcommunityreferstoasthe“generalpractitioner.”Ageneralpracticelawyerisverydifferentfromageneralpracticedoctor.Whereadoctorthatoperatesageneralpracticehasanoverallgeneralknowledgeofmedicineandcanhelpyoudeterminewhatissueyoumayhaveandreferyoutoaspecialist,ageneralpracticinglawyercanonlycauseyouproblemsthroughoutyourcase.Generalpracticelawyerspracticeinabitofeverythinganddonotspecializeinonearea.Ifalawyertellsyouthattheypracticelawinmultipleareassuchassocialsecuritydisability,DUIcaseandfamilylaw,youmightnotgettheattentionyouneed.Notonlythat,theattorneymaynot


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havetheknowledgetoensurethatyoureceiveallthebenefitsyouareallowedbylaw.However,iftheattorneyyouareconsideringhiringspends75‐100%ofhisorhertimepracticingintheareaoflawthatyouneed,theyprobablyknowthatlawwellandareinanexcellentpositiontoassistyou. Justtobeclear,Iamnottryingtobecriticaloflawyerswhoconsiderthemselvestobe‘generalpractitioners.’Ijustthinkeventheywouldhavetobehonestandadmitthatitisverydifficulttokeepupwiththechanginglawsinsomanydifferentareas.Goingbacktothedoctorwhorefersyoutoaspecialist,theyhavesomeknowledgeofallaspectsofmedicine,butknowwhenyoushouldbereferredtoaspecialistthathasyearsofmedicalpracticeinaspecificfield. Also,pleasedonotgetthewrongimpressionthatanattorneywhohaspracticedlawforonlytwoyearsinonceareaoflawhasenoughexperience.Yourgoalshouldbe,atminimum,afocusedareaofpracticewithatleast10+yearsofexperience.Lookingforthattypeoflawyeristhefirststepingettingalawyerwhoisknowledgeableandonthecuttingedgeoftheinformationthatwillhelpyouwinyourcase.


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CriticalFactor#2

HowKnowledgeabletheLawyerisAbouttheLegalIssuesofYourCase

Thesecondmostcriticalfactoryoumustconsiderbeforehiringalawyeris‘howknowledgeableisthelawyeryouareconsideringhiringaboutthelegalissuesofyourcaseorlegalproblem.’AsImentionedinthefirstfactor,youneedtothinkabouthowmuchofthelawyerstimeisspentfocusingontheareasinwhichyouneedalawyerandhowmuchexperiencetheyhave.Themoreexperiencetheyhave,thelargertheknowledgebasetheyhavebuilt.Let’sfaceit,themoretimeyouspendonthejob,themoreyoucomeacrossalltypesofcasesandthemoreyoulearn. Youmightdeterminetheknowledgetheattorneyhasbyreviewingtheirwebsite.Theyshouldprovideyouwithampleinformationonthetopicoflawthattheycoverandhowlongthattheyhavedoneso.Ifyouvisitourwebsite,MileyLegal.com,youwillnotethatwehaveextensiveinformationonpersonalinjurylaw.Weprovidenewsitems,aquestionandanswersection,blogpostsandplentyofinformativevideos.Thisdayandage,anylawyerofvalueshouldhaveaninformativewebsitethatanswersmostofyourquestions,beforeyouenterhisorheroffice. However,agoodreviewoftheirwebsitealonewillnotgiveyouthewholepicture.Youneedtomeetwiththeattorneyandlistentowhattheytellyou.Askquestionsaboutyourcase.Undermostcircumstancesyouwillnothaveexperienceindealingwithinsurancecompanies,medicalproviders,lawenforcementorotherinterestedparties,soask


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questions.Youprobablyareunfamiliarwiththeprocessesofyourcaseandyoushouldunderstandthemandyourattorneyshouldhelpyouunderstand. Mostimportantly,donotfeelpressuredtosignanydocumentbeforetakingthetimetogetafeelfortheirknowledgeofthetopic.Youdonotwantarealestateattorneythatjusthandlesclosingswhenyouareattemptingtonegotiateamineralleaseonyourproperty.Likewiseyoudonotwantanattorneythathasonlyhandledpropertydamagecaseswhenyouhavehadasevereinjurycausedbyawatertruck.


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CriticalFactor#3

ReferencesfromFormerClients Thethirdmostcriticalfactoryoumustconsiderbeforehiringalawyeristheirlistofreferencesortestimonialsfromotherclientswhohavehadcasessimilartoyours.Iftheyhavebeensuccessfulandhavehadsatisfiedclients,theyshouldhavetestimonialsfromthoseclientstellingthemhowhappytheyarewiththeattorney.Iftheydonothavetestimonialsonhand,theyshouldattheveryleastbeabletoprovideyouwithnamesofclientsthatwillserveasreferencesforthem. Referencesareimportant.Businessesusethemwhentheyhireanewemployee,doctorsgivethemforotherdoctorsandlandlordscheckreferencesbeforerentingtoapotentialtenant.Whywouldyounotwanttofindoutwhattypeofexperienceapastclienthashadwithaparticularlawyer?Areferencecannotonlytellyouwhatresultstheyreceived,buthowtheytreatedthemasclients.Didtheykeeptheminformed?Didtheattorneyconsultwiththeclientbeforedecisionsweremade?Didtheclientfeelathomewhenvisitingtheiroffice?Weretheysatisfiedwithhowtheircaseturnedout?Theseareallimportantquestionsthatyoucanonlyfindoutbyaskingpastclients. Ifalawyerdoesnothavealistofpastclients,thatshouldbeahugeredflag.However,ifyouwanttogivetheattorneythebenefitofthedoubt,youcanalwaysheadbacktotheinternet.ManylawfirmshaveaFacebook,TwitterorGoogle+account.Theseaccountsshouldprovideinsightonclientinteractionsthroughreviewsandevenposts.Youcan


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seeifreviewsarepositiveandhowwelltheattorneyinteractswithclientorpotentialclientsonsocialmedia.Ifyoufindnothingonsocialmedia,youcanalsocheckattorneyrecommendationsiteslikeAvvo.com.Thesesitesalsoprovideareasforreview. Ifaftermeetingwiththelawyerandlookingontheinternetyoufindnoreviewsthatarehelpful,Iwouldsuggestmovingontothenextpossiblecandidate.Theymaybeagoodattorneywithexcellentresults,butyoucanandshouldnotriskyourcase.


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CriticalFactor#4

ResultsofSimilarCases Anotherimportantconsiderationistheresultsthattheattorneyhasreachedincasessimilartoyours.Youwanttohaveanexperiencedlawyerthathasexpertiseinwinningresultsincasessuchasyours.Mostgoodattorneyswillhavetestimonialsandcaseresultsontheirwebsite.YoucanfindexamplesofwhattolookforonourwebsiteatMileyLegal.com.Acaseresultshouldgenerallygiveyouanideaofwhatthecasewasaboutandwhatwastheendresult.Keepinmindthatinmostcases,attorneysareonlygoingtoadvertisepositivecaseresults. Itwouldbeagoodideatomakesurethatthewebsitereflectsafewcasesthataresimilartoyours.Donotjustassumethatiftheylistonecaseontheinternet,thattheyhavemoresimilarcases.Feelfreetoasktheattorneythenumberofcasesthattheyhavehandledsimilartoyours.Itisimportantformetonotethateventhoughacasehadaspecificresult,youmaynotgetthatsameending.Allcasesaredifferentincludingyours.

Ifafterreviewingthewebsiteofyourpotentialattorneyandaskingquestions,youstillareunclearifheorshecanhandleyourcaseandgetgoodresults,Iwouldrecommendthatyoumoveon.Showingcaseresultsallowtheattorneytoadvertisewhathecandoforyouwhileshowingwhathehasdoneinthepast.


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CriticalFactor#5

CommunicationPolicy Thefifthcriticalfactoryoumustconsiderbeforehiringalawyeristolookathowtheycommunicatewiththeirclientsandevenpotentialclients.Oneofthequickestwaystodeterminehowwellanattorneycommunicatesistoonceagaintakealookattheirwebsiteandputthemtothetest.Youshouldseeatleasttwowaystocontactthelawfirm.OnMileylegal.comyouwillnotethatwehavefourdirectmethodsandtwoindirectmethods.Thedirectmethodincludesalivechatmessage,contactformonthesidebar,contactforminthefooterandainformationrequestform.Thatisonlythefirststep.Ifyoudonothearbackfromtheattorneyaftercontactingthemthroughtheirwebsiteinanacceptableamountoftime,itismorethanlikelytheywillnotcontactyouregularlyafteryouaresignedonasaclient. Amoreimportantareaofclientcommunicationisduringyouractualcase.Itisimportantthatyourattorneykeepsintouchwithyouonaregularbasiseitherthroughletters,phonecall,emailsorotherdirectmeans.Forsomeguidanceyoushouldlookatwhatwedo.AttheMileyLegalGroup,weareinconstantcontactwithourclients.Youwillhearconsistentlyfromyourattorneyandyourassignedlegalassistant.Wewillforwardyoucopiesofeachcorrespondencethatleavesourofficerelatedtoyourcaseandkeepyouinformedonwhathastranspired.Wewillalsotouchbasewithyouasyoumovethroughyourtreatment. Therearespecificstepsthatwillbetakenasyourcasedevelops.Keepinmindthatsomecasesdomoveslowerthan


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othersdependingonthefactorsofthecase.Communicationisverycritical.Yourattorneyshouldimmediatelyaskhowtheycangetintouchwithyoueitherbyphoneoremail.Withtechnologythathasdevelopedthereisnoreasonwhyyoushouldeverfeelunclearastothestatusofyourcase.Mosterrorsincasesoccurwhentheattorneyisnotindirectcontactwiththeclient.Ifatanytimeduringyourinitialcontactwithanattorney,youfeelthattheyhavenotreachedouttoyou,thenIwouldsuggestmovingtoyournextoption.


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Conclusion Ihopetheinformationprovidedinthisbookishelpfultoyou.Choosinganattorneyisadifficultdecision.Youneedtofindonethatfitswithyou.Onethathasexperience,knowledge,testimonials,communicatesandgetsresults.Thosefactorsarecriticaltothesuccessofyourcase. Ifatanytimeyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontactouroffice.Evenifyoudecidetochooseanotherlawfirmordecideyoudonotneedanattorney,TheMileyLegalGroupwillansweryourquestions.Itrulybelievethatitisimportantthataboveallyouarecaredforandreceivethetreatment,whethermedicallyorthroughthelegalsystem,whichyoudeserve.

5 critical · malpractice cases. if you contacted our office with a case that does not fall into...

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