Hiring a competent lawyer is nothing like buying a mattress. Personal injury lawyers who advertise on TV, practice law the same way that Mattress Mac sells mattresses – high volume. A high volume personal injury law practice must focus on the bottom line instead of the needs of the client. To be well served, clients need a Houston personal injury attorney who

1. Has the qualifications and experience to handle each case effectively
2. Will treat each client as an individual and recognize the unique facts of each case
3. Will keep the client informed as the case moves through the process. A high volume law practice will not meet these needs.

“A high volume law practice must focus on the bottom line instead of the needs of the client.”

To justify the cost of advertising, TV lawyers need lots of cases. They must hire large staffs of people whose only purpose is to quickly screen cases to see if the case meets the TV lawyer’s bottom line requirements. A person looking to hire a Houston personal injury attorney should be asking questions about whether the lawyer is qualified to handle the case, not answering questions about whether the case qualifies to be handled by the lawyer. A system like this does not look to the needs of the client nor does it take into account the unique facts of each case. I heard a lawyer advertisement the other day where the actor said, “Brand X lawyer takes calls from over ten thousand people a year!” That tells you that when you call Brand X lawyer you become a number, not a client.

The main reason people call TV lawyers is because they do not know a personal injury attorney. When a consumer calls that telephone number he saw on TV, he is intimidated as he is shuffled through the TV lawyer’s system. He doesn’t ask questions, and he assumes that, because these people are on TV, they will provide quality legal services. But high volume means that when a TV lawyer takes a case, it is almost always delegated to an underling who lacks the qualifications and experience to provide quality legal services. I have represented people who have come through this kind of TV lawyer system and it is appalling the low quality of legal services they have received.

Ultimately, the best weapon that a Houston personal injury lawyer has is the credible threat that he will file a lawsuit and win at trial if his client is not offered a reasonable settlement. Although most personal injury cases settle without going to trial, you must have a legitimate threat of a successful trial to get the best value in a settlement. That is why hiring a qualified and experienced trial lawyer will bring value to your case.

I am a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer. In my 23 year career as a personal injury specialist, I have tried many personal injury jury trials and I have successfully handled many personal injury cases, ranging from wrongful death cases to whiplash cases. I have many satisfied clients who have first hand knowledge of the high quality of the legal services I provide. Most of you reading this article will call me if you need representation in a personal injury matter. But for those who would consider calling a TV lawyer, ask yourself: “Do I want a lawyer or do I want a mattress?”