The Executive Suite: How to Start a Personal Injury Law Practice

Monday, July 22, 2013

How to Start a Personal Injury Law Practice

The first step in beginning a law practice is determining what area of law you want to specialize in. Personal injury cases are one of the better-known choices available. These types of cases typically cover automobile accidents, but they can also relate to injuries sustained from an accident on someone else's property or in a public place. Whatever the circumstances, in order to get the best cases and clientele, you need to establish a strong personal injury law practice.

Suggestions

Associating with an Established Firm

Obtain a position as a law clerk for a personal-injury firm while in law school. This will give you hands-on experience in the field.
Pursue a position as an associate for a personal injury law firm upon graduation from law school. You don't want to start your own personal injury practice right out of the gate because you need to build a reputation. Only pursue jobs with reputable firms that are well-known for taking solid cases and winning them.
Treat the clients the firm passes to you with the utmost respect and put your all into each and every case. Word of mouth is the best way to build a great reputation. If you treat the clients you are assigned with the best you have, then people will start coming to the firm to hire you as their attorney because they've heard about how great you are at your job.
Establish a file filled with contact information for medical experts that you use through the firm you work for, so that you can call on them to help you out when you're on your own. You should also network in the community to meet experts in your area. Research your own experts through databases in addition to the resources the firm has in order to build a stronger file.
Branch out on your own when you feel like you've established a strong clientele and reputation as a successful attorney.Once you're on your own, you may need to periodically take on non-personal-injury cases to build your resources and income, since personal injury cases are usually paid on a contingency basis.

Building a Reputation All Your Own
- Build relationships with other local attorneys who specialize in a vast array of practice areas. That way, when another attorney is offered a case that's outside his field, he may refer that call to you instead. That's the strongest word-of-mouth advertising you can get.
- Join the trial lawyers association in your state. Attend networking events, read the publications, and do anything you can to help establish those relationships with other attorneys in the area.
- Maintain Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and meet the requirements each year to keep your license to practice law in good standing. There's nothing like a license in default to harm your reputation as a reliable attorney.
- Establish authority in your area by speaking to local law classes and lawyers' groups and publishing in periodicals.
- Take on cases that you know you will win, especially while you are trying to build your reputation with the public. Word of large settlements or trial verdicts in your clients' favor will spread like wildfire throughout the community.

Tips

Use reliable expert witnesses in your cases. Your experts need to have a great reputation so that it reflects well upon your reputation. Personal injury attorneys handle cases on a contingency-fee basis. In other words, you don't get paid for your time unless your client wins the case. Most attorneys charge 33 percent of settlement proceeds or 40 percent of the funds won at trial, in addition to the reimbursement of costs (such as travel expenses, expert witness fees, copying costs, and the like).