Almost all personal injury attorneys will offer a free consultation prior to hiring them to represent you. We advise against any attorney who will not provide an initial consultation at no charge. In most cases, you will not be asked to pay for the attorney’s fee’s out of pocket. Typically cases are take on contingency, which means that the fees attributed to your case will be taken out of any settlement you receive. These fee’s are usually expressed as an hourly rate or as a percentage of the settlement amount.
If your attorney is wasting your money – Get rid of them!
As probably outlined in your retainer contract, even if you do let your attorney go, the fees attributed to your case and the time spent working on it will still be owed. Typically these fees are attached to your settlement in the form of a lien, and are not expected to be paid out of pocket. Sometimes another lawyer may be unwilling to take a case that has any liens attached to it, so therefor your choices for new legal counsel may be limited.
If necessary, sit down with your attorney and discuss the reasons you are unhappy with their work before making the decision to cut ties. Although it may seem that nothing is getting accomplished your attorney may very well be negotiating with your insurance company of that of the party responsible for your injuries. More often than not, personal injury cases take time and the best practice is usually patience.
