Is Zoom the Wave of The Future for Lawyers Who Represent Injured Workers and Automobile Accident Victims
Let’s get one thing straight: in the picture directory of life, my picture is beside the word “old school”. I mean that I would never embrace some of the new technology of the younger lawyers out there trying to establish a workers’ compensation or auto accident practice.
Polls are taken every day about everything from who I would vote for to what is my favorite ice cream. But I have not seen any polls that asks this question: if I was getting ready to hire a lawyer to represent me in my workers’ compensation claim or in my auto accident claim, would I prefer to meet the lawyer in person, or would a Zoom call be just as good? Furthermore, do I even need to meet the lawyer or would a 15-minute conversation with the paralegal, secretary or even a call center from another state do just fine? I will bet you that 99% of the respondents to that poll would say they would much prefer to meet the lawyer in the lawyer’s office and spend time with the lawyer and his staff in person.
I am shocked by how many new clients of mine have fired their previous lawyer after NEVER having met that lawyer but after doing a “DocuSign” initial representation procedure. Yes, I really am old school. I meet with every potential client. I like to do a telephone interview first (30 minutes). In about 25% of the time, I tell them NOT to hire a lawyer YET. It is too early, and nothing would be gained by an early representation.
People want to see who they are going to work with. I find that the more I listen to my new client, the more I will learn about their case and maybe, just maybe, I will uncover another very important fact or right that I can explore if I listen intently. (Surely, I don’t have “all day” to listen but a guided interview can bring out nuances that otherwise would not be uncovered.)
Don Henley, drummer for The Eagles, has a line in one of The Eagles’ tunes that I am reminded of: “Lawyers dwell on small things.” But I submit that many times it is the “small things” that I discover in a one-on-one interview that can turn a case around for the injured workers or auto accident victim.
So when your relative, your friend or acquaintance say they need a lawyer to represent them, tell them at least this one thing-insist on a face to face meeting with their new lawyer. Anything short of this should tell you that the lawyer is too busy to pay attention to you and your case. As Frazier says on the sitcom program that lasted for years on TV, “I’m listening.”