Guides
Three short briefings for people who are about to hire a lawyer, pay a lawyer, or sit through the middle of a lawsuit. They are the playbook, not advice about your facts, and they do not create an attorney-client relationship.
Read this before you sign a contingency contract, or before you take the first sales call.
How to hire a lawyer with confidence
Confirm the bar card, ask who will actually handle the file, and know the red flags before you sign.
- · What this site is, and is not
- · The five calls
- · Red flags
Read this when someone quotes you a percentage, or when another lawyer may be added to the file.
What you pay, and who else might get a cut
Contingency percentages, costs if you lose, and what must be in writing if another lawyer is added to the fee.
- · Contingency
- · Model Rule 1.5(e) is lawyer-to-lawyer
- · When another lawyer is added to the fee
- · Florida's 25% cap on a referring lawyer's share
- · What you should see in writing
Read this after a case is filed, before a deposition, a defense medical exam, or a request for your phone.
Depositions, medical exams, and your phone
What usually happens after a case is filed, in the order it usually happens.
- · Depositions
- · Independent medical examinations
- · Evidence preservation (spoliation) and your devices