When you’ve been injured in an accident and decide to seek legal help, the process of finding the right personal injury attorney can be daunting. You want to make sure you choose the right person to represent your interests and fight for the compensation you deserve. But what happens if you’ve already chosen an attorney, only to find out they’re not the right fit?
Reasons to Change Attorneys
The short answer is yes, you can change personal injury lawyers in most cases. Although there are some limitations, you can generally switch at any stage of your case. Many reasons may cause a client to want to switch legal representation during their personal injury case.
Some reasons to change attorneys include:
- Ineffective communication
- A client’s case stalling
- Fundamentally different opinions on case direction
- Ineffective case strategy
- An attorney using unethical practices
- Lack of trust between the attorney and their client
- Clients wanting more control over their case
- An attorney not properly explaining to their client how the legal process works
- Pressure to accept a settlement the client is not comfortable with
Limitations to Changing Attorneys During a Case
As previously mentioned, there are some limitations to changing attorneys in the middle of your case. While it is unlikely, a judge may not allow you to change your representation if the switch might delay court proceedings. The longer you wait to switch personal injury attorneys, the higher the risk a judge may deny your request, so make the switch as soon as possible.
A judge may also not allow you to change lawyers if your new lawyer has a conflict of interest with the court. For example, if they represent one of the other parties involved in the case, you will likely be unable to hire them. Ensure that your new attorney checks for potential conflicts of interest before taking your case.
What to Consider When Changing Personal Injury Lawyers
Before deciding to switch personal injury lawyers during your case, there are a few factors to consider, including contingency fees and the timing of the change.
Fees
One factor to consider when changing personal injury lawyers is contingency fees. A contingency fee is a type of payment a legal representative receives if they win your case. If you terminate an attorney with this payment structure, they are entitled to recover the reasonable value for the services they rendered. Paying the reasonable value of one lawyer’s services plus the contingency fee of your new lawyer may be more than you can afford.
Timing
Timing is another crucial factor to consider before deciding to change lawyers. The longer your case remains with your old attorney, the more difficult it will be for a new attorney to influence the case with their ideas and methodology. This may deter potential lawyers from taking on your case. If you want to make a change in lawyers, make this decision sooner rather than later.
Hire An Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer
In an ideal situation, you shouldn’t need to change personal injury attorneys and should choose an experienced and trustworthy team from the start, such as Grabb & Durando. Our team has 29 years of experience fighting for injured Tucson victims and can help you achieve the best possible outcome in your case.
