Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog
The Chicago Car Accident Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. know that being involved in an auto wreck is stressful enough, in and of itself. For many victims, understanding legal rights, entitlement to financial compensation, and the claims process in general, can caused added anxiety during a period that is difficult. Similarly nerve-wracking can be the process of selecting a lawyer—and not just any lawyer—but one that has the legal know-how to maximize your financial recovery, while also providing you with the personal attention you need to have peace of mind. Our firm offers both.
For those reading this following an auto accident-related injury or death, you probably already know the benefits of pursuing your claim through an attorney-represented approach. Arriving at this conclusion is the easy part—however choosing a car accident attorney in one of the largest cities in the U.S.— this can be challenging. However, by knowing what to look for, particularly with regard to attorney advertising techniques that may be potentially deceptive, misleading or illusive, selecting legal representation can become less of a challenge, and more of a process of elimination. Just a few things to take into consideration are:
Guaranteed Results. Any law firm or attorney that guarantees specific results in a particular case or type of case raises cause for concern. Pre-determining the outcome in legal proceedings goes against principles of justice and the very purpose of having a judicial system. In fact, making promises or guarantees regarding the outcome of a case (i.e. assignment of fault or the precise amount of financial recovery that you will obtain) is a violation of the professional code of conduct. However, what an attorney can do is evaluate your case based upon their legal knowledge and actual practice experience, discuss your legal rights, options available, and the potential results based upon the facts of your case, the applicable law, and the legal approach to be taken.
Firm Size. While you me drawn to selecting a large firm that has numerous attorneys, it is important to keep in mind that bigger is not always better, and quantity of attorneys does not always mean quality of representation. Larger firms tend to have much higher caseloads, which can cause delays in the claims process and/or encumber their ability to provide you with the one-on-one attention you deserve. In addition, cases that are perceived as less valuable to a large firm may be assigned to a lower-level and/or less-experienced attorney, as opposed to firm partners or seasoned veteran attorneys. It is helpful to consider the advantages that small firms have to offer – knowing ahead of time which attorney will be handling your matter, and having peace of mind in knowing that you will receive personal attention, as well as effective and efficient management of your case.
Experience. Selecting representation with an experienced firm is certainly a critical consideration, but it is important to understand precisely what a particular firm means in statements made regarding extent of experience. Experience is often advertised in terms of the combined experience of all the attorneys to the firm. Consequently, it is necessary to consider experience in conjunction with firm size. Take, for example a firm that advertises over 100+ years of experience, but that has over a dozen attorneys—here, evaluating experience can be difficult, especially if you do not know which attorney will handle your case. At Zneimer & Zneimer P.C., the name of our firm represents precisely what you will get in regard to both experience, as well as the actual attorney(s) that will represent you. Attorney Peter Zneimer has been practicing since 1991—that’s 24+ years of experience—combined with Attorney Sofia Zneimer’s 11 years—that’s over 35 years of combined practice experience that you can expect to receive by selecting our firm.