Groups » Finding The Best Personal Injury Lawyer In New Jersey
When you’ve been involved in an accident and you’re ready to sue, the next step is to figure out who is the best personal injury lawyer you can hire. When shopping for a personal injury lawyer, you should vet each option to ensure they meet certain criteria. These criteria include the number and quality of awards they’ve received as well as their track record of litigating big cases and their personal ethic for maximizing results.
Awards and Accolades
It is easy for a lawyer to tell a client “I am the best” but a lawyer that is truly the best should be able to present legitimate credentials and bona fides to vouch for their quality. Like any other profession, lawyers are awarded for their excellence and ranked for their level of quality by various publications and organizations. Super Lawyers is an annual legal publication that lists the best lawyers in the country by state and region. Their selection process is hailed by the legal community as one of the most rigorous and comprehensive that includes nomination, independent research, peer evaluation, followed by the final selection. To be featured in Super Lawyers means you are considered to be in the top 5% of the country’s lawyers. Another legal publication that honors the best lawyers annually is The National Law Journal. They are the curators of the Plaintiffs’ Hot List,which profiles the twelve best claims court law firms, and Elite Trial Lawyer directory.
In New Jersey, there are several accolades for which lawyers should aspire. The New Jersey Law Journal, the state’s most prestigious legal publication, celebrates the best local attorneys in a variety of categories including Litigation Department of the Year (for personal injury) and Lawyer of the Year. They also induct members into the Personal Injury Hall of Fame annually. Another mark of a lawyer’s quality in New Jersey is if they are certified to appear before the state Supreme Court.
Track Record for Big Cases
A big case means taking on the biggest defendants. The best lawyers will not back down from a challenge, but rather rise to the occasion and win the damages to which their clients are. This is a quality that can be quantified into numbers. The best law firms will have no problem telling you the biggest cases they’ve litigated and won.
The best lawyers should be able to shine in the biggest cases by producing favorable verdicts with large settlements. A lawyer that can win cases for damages totaling in the millions would have no trouble litigating smaller claims cases. The best lawyer will litigate a $135,000 claim in the same fashion that they would a $135 million dollar case.
Ambition for Results
Many lawyers will simply be happy to accept their retainer fee and receive their hourly rate to only go through the motions. They will be indifferent to the case’s verdict as they’ve already been paid. The best lawyers however see the opportunity in a personal injury case and are prepared to litigate until they get the big number settlement they know they can receive. It is this drive to get the number they want and not the number offered to them that makes these lawyers the best. Bad personal injury lawyers will see an initial settlement offer from a defendant has manna from heaven and they will graciously accept it. The best personal injury lawyers will see that settlement offer as a sign that the defendant is willing to pay so they will continue to press and litigate until they get the number they seek.