If you’ve been hurt as the result of somebody else’s negligence, then any good personal injury attorney will tell you that you deserve to be compensated accordingly. However, the lawyer you choose can significant impact the overall outcome of your case. For this reason, it’s important to evaluate your options carefully when going through the attorney selection process.
When choosing a personal injury lawyer, there are numerous factors to look out for, such as fee structures, experience, and general attitude. However, there’s another aspect that you might also wish to focus on when making a final decision – the use of technology.
Robert Dewey of the Dewey Law Firm is a Charlotte, North Carolina, personal injury lawyer with more than 30 years of experience under his belt, and according to him, in this day and age, the use of technology at a law firm is practically a must. Technology can make the legal process quicker and better for clients on multiple levels. Therefore, if an attorney’s office seems fairly behind the times, then you might want to think twice before hiring him to represent your interests.
The great thing about technology is that it makes the act of representing clients a whole lot easier and, most importantly, faster. When Dewey first started practicing, the most advanced piece of equipment he had at his disposal was an electric typewriter. At the time, cell phones and computers weren’t part of the picture, so Dewey took what he could get.
These days, technology can play a pivotal role in moving legal matters along. Since most personal injury cases require a fair amount of research, the use of computers is essential when looking up case law and preparing documents. Additionally, email and scanning capabilities can make the art of negotiation a whole lot faster. Instead of waiting for settlement agreements under debate to go back and forth by courier or even fax, the use of email and scanning software can help any given point of contention get resolved sooner. And as someone who has seen technology evolve through the past three decades, Dewey will be the first to admit that technology has made his professional life much more streamlined on a whole.
As a client, you might be thinking, “Why should I care how long my attorney spends doing his job as long as he gets it done right?” While your lawyer might not necessarily be billing you by the hour, consider the fact that the sooner your attorney is able to work out a settlement agreement on your behalf, the sooner you’ll be able to potentially get paid. And when you have stacks of medical bills piling up in your home office with no potential end in sight, the idea of waiting around for your settlement money is unlikely to put your mind at ease. Therefore, when evaluating your options as far as attorneys go, be sure to find someone who is willing and able to embrace technology and use it to the greatest extent possible.
One additional thing to keep in mind with respect to technology is that the use of email and cell phones can help an attorney make himself more available to his clients. As someone who has recently been through a traumatic experience, the last thing you’re going to want to do is spend days chasing down your attorney because he’s involved in a court case and refuses to purchase any sort of device that will enable him to communicate while on the go. Remember, the lawyer you hire to represent your interests is a person you’re going to have to learn to trust – which can be hard to do if he’s not easily reachable.
Recovering from an injury is no easy task. Even in some less extreme scenarios, there can be numerous physical and mental obstacles to overcome. Therefore, when it comes to dealing with the legal side of the matter, you’ll want to find a lawyer who will do his job efficiently and effectively. Remember, the sooner your personal injury attorney is able to work out a favorable settlement on your behalf, the sooner you’ll be able to truly move on with your life. So as you go about the process of finding the right lawyer, try to remind yourself that technology exists for a reason; and after all that you’ve been through, there’s no reason in the world why you shouldn’t want your lawyer to use it your advantage.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
