1. Pick your lawyer the same way you pick your laundry detergent.
You've seen those ads on television, hawking lawyers like laundry soap. Chances
are your first reaction was to think: "Well, they're
on t.v., they must be good." Not so fast. The truth
is that buying an ad on television is as easy for
lawyers as it is for used car salesmen. Slick ads
and boastful claims don't win lawsuits, good lawyers
do.
At Kirk, Kirk, Howell,
Cutler & Thomas, we're proud of our reputation in the North Carolina legal community
for first-rate, ethical representation. You won't
find us on t.v. or the back of your phone book. Where
you will find us is in courtrooms and boardrooms
across this state, working hard for our clients and
letting our results, not a t.v. spokesman, speak
for us.
2. Neglect to ask
your friends, relatives, or co-workers for referrals.
If you had a serious
medical problem and needed an operation, chances
are you would ask people you trusted for a recommendation
of a competent surgeon. You should choose your lawyer
the same way. Ask the people you know who have had
the same kind of legal matter for recommendations.
Ask them what they did and didn't like about their
legal representation. Then look for a law firm that
has the experience and qualifications to handle your
case.
The majority of new
clients of Kirk, Kirk, Howell, Cutler & Thomas are referred to us by our past clients and by other lawyers. We never
forget that our success depends upon client satisfaction,
not clever marketing. We're confident that proper
investigation of your choices in law firms will be
beneficial to you and may very well lead you to us.
3. Neglect to ask
your lawyer hard questions.
When a lawyer sits
down to interview you about your case, you should
also interview the lawyer and the lawyer's firm.
Don't be afraid to ask pertinent questions about
the firm's experience with your type of case. The
lawyer should be prepared to answer the following
questions to your satisfaction:
• How familiar is
the lawyer with this type of case?
• How long has the
lawyer been handling this type of case?
• Has the lawyer been
successful in handling this type of case?
• When was the last
time the lawyer handled this type of case?
• Has the lawyer tried
this type of case to a jury verdict?
• Is the lawyer familiar
with expert witnesses who might testify in this type
of case?
At Kirk, Kirk, Howell,
Cutler & Thomas, we welcome questions like these and are glad to answer them. We want
you to feel completely at ease that we can competently
handle your legal matter.
4. Believe that your
case is just like everybody else's.
No two legal cases
are exactly the same. A high volume, cookie cutter
approach to service may be okay for fast food restaurants,
but not law practice. You have a right to expect
a law firm to take the time to listen to you and
then make informed decisions regarding how to best
represent your interests.
Kirk, Kirk, Howell,
Cutler and Thomas does not aspire to be a high volume
legal factory and never will. We don't take on every
case that comes through our door. We have to be selective
about the cases we take because we intend to give
those cases the time and attention they deserve.
Our lawyers take a hands-on approach to the individual
matters they handle and pride themselves on regular
communication with their clients. We never forget
that the most important legal matter to you is your
own.
5. Believe that you
can't afford quality legal representation.
The "keys to the
courthouse" should be available to everyone, regardless
of their economic circumstances. Unfortunately, all
too often government and corporations who possess
large pocketbooks try to use their ability to spend
money on legal representation to gain advantage over
individuals and small businesses. That's wrong.
At Kirk, Kirk, Howell,
Cutler & Thomas we make every effort to structure our fee arrangements in a way that's
affordable to our clients. Many of our cases are
taken on the basis of a percentage of recovery in
which our clients pay no attorney fee unless we make
a recovery in their favor. We always remember that
individual and small business clients are what built
this law firm and we are honored to represent them.
