Questions To Ask When Hiring an Attorney

Mr. Reed:
Most folks have never hired an attorney before. It's not the thing that you do for fun. You don't go to a lawyer because you are going to have a good day. In most instances, you go to an attorney because you need help.

Mr. Bemis:
I think that when you're looking and trying to choose a lawyer, the first thing you can do is talk to your friends, family members, other attorneys and see if they've had a good experience with a lawyer. That's how we get the majority of our cases... from family members, from former clients and from other attorneys. The second thing is look at the qualifications. How long have they been practicing? The attorneys in our firm have been practicing for a combined 70 years.

Mr. Reed:
Bemis, Roach & Reed handles three kinds of cases. We handle personal injury cases, we handle disability cases and we handle Social Security cases.

Mr. Roach:
I meet with a lot of people who have disability claims. Some of them have already been denied, some of them have not been denied. The one thing that I tell virtually all of them is that at some point, they probably will be denied.

Mr. Bemis:
Usually a person, when they are involved in an accident, the first thing they need to do, obviously, is take care of themselves medically. But then soon thereafter, they really ought to talk to an attorney. Most attorneys, like our firm, will work on a basis where they will see them under a free consultation.

Mr. Reed:
We have had numerous clients who come in with us and take advantage of our free consultation and have walked out happier because we have told them that they don't need an attorney. In some instances they probably saved thousands and thousands of dollars because of that advice. Now if they need an attorney, we are certainly going to get on board with them and help them out. But not everybody does need an attorney. If you need one, however, you need one who is qualified, who is capable and who is going to be able to relieve some of the pressures on the client.

Mr. Roach:
When people are denied their claim and they are talking to attorneys, there are some questions they should ask them. You have to remember, because these are difficult cases, and because they are litigated in federal court, you need to know whether your attorney is willing to go to the mat for you. You need to know whether your attorney is willing to fight that lawsuit if that's what it takes in order to get your benefits. One good way to find this out is to ask him if he's done it before.

Mr. Reed:
If you are going to be hiring an attorney on a personal injury case, you probably need to look to see whether or not that lawyer is board certified in personal injury trial law. A board certification establishes a couple of things. One, you've established a knowledge of the area because you've been tested on it. You actually have to take a test provided by the Legal Board of Specialization. But you can't just take the test, you have to have the experience that allows you to take the test and that means going to the courthouse. That means getting up in front of a judge, getting up in front of a jury and actually having success in doing so.

Mr. Bemis:
One thing that people need to understand is that there are a lot of lawyers that practice in the personal injury field. And just because you are a lawyer, doesn't mean you are board certified. Just like you can be a doctor and you're not board certified in a certain specialty, such as neurology.

Mr. Reed:
You get the personal service at Bemis, Roach & Reed and I really liken it to a playground situation where you've got your big brother behind you or you've got friends behind you. It gives you a level of confidence that you ordinarily wouldn't have because you know they are there to help you. And that's what we do at Bemis, Roach & Reed.