Questions to Ask Your Personal Injury Attorney

Are you a board certified trial lawyer?

Yes. The Florida Bar has established a board certification program to help people find a lawyer who has demonstrated ability and experience in a particular specialized field of law. The program also improves competence by requiring continuing legal education within the specialty field. To become board certified, a lawyer must pass a written examination to […]

Do you specialize in civil trial cases?

If the answer to the first question was no, the lawyer cannot claim to be a specialist in this field. Only lawyers who are board certified by the Florida Bar may claim to be specialists in the field. It is a violation of our professional ethics for a lawyer who has not obtained board certification […]

Are you going to refer my case to some other firm?

No. Some of the most prolific advertising lawyers handle only a small number of the cases they accept. Instead they refer cases out to different law firms and receive a significant portion of the fees as the “secondary” or “referring” law firm. Under this system, the original attorney is sometimes only a broker. It is […]

Does your firm represent insurance companies?

Many law firms attempt to represent both insurance companies and injured people who have claims against insurance companies. Unless the insurance company is the same one in both cases, there is usually nothing illegal or impermissible about this practice. However, there are times when a client’s interests require a position to be taken about the […]

How will I pay for this?

Lawyers can be expensive! The Haverman Law Firm handles many cases based on non-contingent hourly fees, calculated upon the amount of time the case requires, billed monthly. However, we know that many people need us most at a time when they can least afford us. A serious accident, with medical bills and missed work, can […]

How much experience have you had conducting actual trials of large civil cases?

Don’t be afraid to ask. You may be surprised! The overwhelming majority of cases, especially smaller ones it seems, are settled before trial. The result is that many “trial lawyers” have spent shockingly little time in the courtroom. Don’t be afraid to ask. You may be surprised! The overwhelming majority of cases, especially smaller ones […]