Strengths and weaknesses where appropriate. Every lawyer follows a code of ethics when practicing law. If an attorney works on a case where there is a conflict of interest, they risk losing their license. For example, if you propose a case and the lawyer represented the defendant in the past, a conflict of interest arises. All attorneys must remain impartial to make sound judgments regarding law enforcement.
For example, Peter Bertling of the Bertling Law Group has been defending healthcare providers in medical malpractice actions for more than 30 years. He now represents injured parties in medical malpractice actions against health care providers and, instead of defending them, he is suing them. It would be a conflict of interest for Bertling Law Group to sue a health care provider that it has previously represented. It is common and considered good practice for an attorney to reject a case if it is outside their area of expertise or if they have limited experience in the requested legal field.
Every lawyer and law firm has their own areas of law and domains in which they specialize. It's safe to assume that there are few lawyers or law firms that can handle all types of legal matters. Lawyers must comply with a strict set of ethical guidelines. If they violate these guidelines, they may risk losing their professional license. An attorney may reject a client if they previously represented the defendant.
One of the main reasons why an attorney may reject a case is related to payment agreements.
Contingency fees where an attorney is only paid if the case is won are common in certain areas of the law, such as personal injury
. However, in other practice areas, such as commercial law, real estate disputes, or contractual matters, attorneys generally don't offer contingency fee agreements. If a client seeks representation on a contingent basis for a case outside of these typical areas, an attorney may choose not to accept the case.The ethical standards that govern the legal profession require that lawyers avoid conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest could arise if an attorney has previously represented an opposing party or if the new case could in any way compromise your obligations to an existing client. To maintain ethical standards and protect the interests of all clients, an attorney may refuse to accept a case in which there is a conflict. When an attorney refuses to take charge of your case, it doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have a valid claim. In a nutshell, an attorney could analyze the numbers of a specific case and decide not to go ahead if he doesn't think he's going to make enough money with it.
There may be cases where it is difficult to find a suitable solution outside of lawyers or law firms that deal with a large number of cases in this field. You'll want to interview a few different personal injury attorneys before deciding which lawyer to hire. Because most personal injury cases are taken on a contingent fee basis, this means that the attorney can invest a significant amount of time in a case with no guarantee that they will be paid for their time. On the other hand, you can still turn to other attorneys for help, so your case isn't a lost cause yet.
The process of selecting an attorney for these awards may vary and may not include a review of the attorney's competence in specific areas of practice. But do they choose you too? Yes, an attorney has a set of criteria that they use to determine if they think your claim will be successful. Since the content of the consultation is a legal issue, a lawyer judges whether it can be resolved from a legal point of view. When a case is accepted, an advance fee is usually paid, so be careful with attorneys who accept cases that are impossible to win for the purposes of the down payment fee. However, it is to be expected that this lawyer will respond by providing you with the address of another legal professional who can be responsible for your case.
As a plaintiff, you may find it better to partner with a different attorney if you can't find common ground with the one you currently have. In a situation like that, you'd also be better off looking for help elsewhere because you don't want a distracted attorney dealing with your case. The client and the lawyer want to build a good relationship while working together to resolve the issue. Likewise, if the case involves government immunity, the jurisdiction of a federal court, or other jurisdictional issues, the lawyer may want to avoid the complications that these factors may entail.