PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

A personal injury lawyer is 
a lawyer who provides legal 
representation to those who 
claim to have been injured, 
physically or psychologically, as 
a result of the negligence or 
wrongdoing of another person, 
company, government agency, 
or other entity. Thus, personal 
injury lawyers tend to be 
especially knowledgeable and 
have more experience with 
regard to the area of law
known as tort law, which 
includes civil wrongs and 
economic or non-economic 
damages to a person's 
property, reputation, or rights.

Even though personal injury 
lawyers are trained and 
licensed to practice virtually 
any field of law, they generally 
only handle cases that fall 
under tort law including, but 
not limited to: work injuries, 
automobile and other accidents, 
defective products, medical 
mistakes, slip and fall accidents, 
and more.

The expression "trial lawyers" 
can refer to personal injury 
lawyers, [citation needed] even 
though most cases handled by 
personal injury lawyers settle
rather than going to trial and 
other types of lawyers, such as 
defendants' lawyers and criminal 
prosecutors, also appear in 
trials.

Contents

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1 Responsibilities

2 Certification and education

3 Career structure

3.1 Doing business

3.2 Compensation

4 Professional regulations and 
associations
5 Criticis

Responsibilities

A personal injury lawyer has 
numerous responsibilities in 
serving his or her clients. These 
responsibilities encompass both 
professional and ethical rules 
and codes of conduct set forth 
by state bar associations where 
the lawyers are licensed. Once 
licensed to practice law by their 
state bar association, lawyers 
are legally permitted to file 
legal complaints, argue cases in 
state court, draft legal 
documents, and offer legal 
advice to victims of personal 
injury.

Also referred to as a plaintiff 
lawyer, a personal injury lawyer 
is responsible for interviewing 
prospective clients and 
evaluating their cases to 
determine the legal matter, 
identify the distinct issues 
rooted within the plaintiff's 
larger problem, and extensively 
research every issue to build a 
strong case. The ultimate 
professional responsibility of a 
personal injury lawyer is to help 
plaintiffs obtain the justice and 
compensation they deserve for 
their losses and suffering 
through advocacy, oral 
arguments, client counseling, 
and legal advice.

Personal injury lawyers must 
also adhere to strict standards 
of legal ethics when dealing with 
clients. While the guidelines vary 
according to state, the basic 
codes of conduct state that a 
lawyer must knowledgeably 
evaluate legal matters and 
exercise competence in any 
legal matter undertaken. 
Moreover, personal injury 
lawyers owe their clients a duty 
of loyalty and confidentiality 
and must work to protect their 
clients' best interests.

Certification and 
education

In order to practice law in the 
United States, a personal injury 
lawyer must pass a written bar 
examination and, in some cases, 
a written ethics examination. 
Bar examinations vary on a 
state-to-state basis. However, 
most states require applicants 
to have completed a four-year 
college degree and a law 
degree from an accredited law 
school (California is one notable 
exception, but the non-
accredited law school must 
meet 

certain requirements.) [1]

In all states, a personal injury 
lawyer is required to take the 
Multistate Bar Examination
(MBE), the Multistate Essay 
Examination (MEE), and the 
Multistate Professional 
Responsibility Examination
(MPRE) and a state bar exam. 
Some states require another 
exam, the Multistate 
Performance Test (MPT), as well.

Once admitted to the state bar, 
personal injury lawyers must 
remain up-to-date on the 
latest legal and non-legal 
developments in their field of 
practice, by completing a 
required number of continuing 
legal education (CLE) courses to 
help personal injury lawyers 
stay abreast of developments 
in their field.

Lawyers can concentrate their 
practices to certain areas of 
law, which is typically true of 
personal injury lawyers. By 
limiting the range of cases they 
handle, personal injury lawyers 
are able to acquire specialized 
knowledge and experience. 
However, to be certified as a 
specialist in personal injury, a 
lawyer must complete a 
specialty certification program 
accredited by the American Bar 
Association (ABA).

Certification programs have set 
standards of competence, 
knowledge and experience that 
lawyers must meet in order to 
be recognized in their area of 
practice as a specialist. Lawyers 
who have completed a specialty 
certification program in 
personal injury law at an 
accredited certifying 
organization are recognized as 
personal injury specialists. Some 
states, such as New Jersey, 
offer a certification as a 
"Certified Trial Attorney", which 
can be for both plaintiff and 
defense attorneys.

Career structure

The career structure of most 
lawyers varies widely. Once 
licensed, a lawyer may take on 
any kind of case whether or 
not they have much experience 
in it. However, legal ethics 
require an inexperienced lawyer 
to enlist appropriate help or 
take the time to learn the 
issues to competently 
represent the client. Most 
lawyers prefer to stick to one 
area of the law to gain the 
knowledge and experience 
necessary to provide the 
highest quality legal 
representation to their clients.

Personal injury lawyers choose 
to delve into a more specialized 
area involving only personal 
injury litigation. Personal injury 
litigation involves a large 
number of claims including 
accidents, medical malpractice, 
product liability, workplace injury
, wrongful death, and more. 
Some personal injury lawyers 
choose to devote the majority 
of their time and energy to one 
area of litigation within personal 
injury law, thus becoming more 
experienced at handling very 
specific types of cases (e.g. 
medical mistakes, aviation 
accidents, work accidents).

Doing business

As with other types of lawyers, 
personal injury lawyers may 
choose to start a solo practice 
or join a small, mid-size, or large 
law firm as an associate. 
Personal injury lawyers may 
also be partners (owners) of a 
law firm or strive to be a 
partner.

Sole practitioners of personal 
injury law offer a number of 
benefits to potential clients, 
which include more personal 
attention and a one-on-one 
working relationship between 
the lawyer and the client. Sole 
practitioners are also more 
willing to take on smaller cases 
and often have lower fees and 
costs.

A small law firm generally 
consists of two to ten lawyers 
who can provide more expertise 
in a given area of personal 
injury law and can handle a 
wider range of legal issues. Mid-
size law firms with ten to 50 
lawyers offer legal 
representation in almost every 
major area of litigation and may 
house several highly 
experienced and knowledgeable 
personal injury lawyers. Large 
law firms with more than 50 
lawyers are often the most 
reputable, having built up the 
firm for a number of years and 
consisting of lawyers with high 
levels of expertise.

[edit] Compensation

Typically lawyers' fees are 
based on a number of factors, 
which may include the time and 
energy spent on a case, the 
outcome of a case, the difficulty 
of a claim, the experience and 
prominence of the lawyer, and 
the costs associated with the 
case. There are several 
standard payment options a 
personal injury lawyer may 
offer his/her clients. These 
options include contingency fees
, hourly rates, flat fees, and 
retainers.

A contingency fee is a prior 
arrangement between lawyer 
and client in which the lawyer 
receives a set percentage of 
the amount of recovery 
awarded to the plaintiff in a 
case. This means that a client 
has no obligation to pay his/her 
lawyer unless the case is 
successfully resolved. Most 
personal injury lawyers work on 
a contingency fee basis. An 
hourly rate is also a common 
payment option that involves 
an agreed amount of 
compensation for each hour the 
lawyer spends on the case until 
its resolution. In some cases, 
personal injury lawyers charge 
a flat fee, which is a set 
amount, or a retainer, which is 
an arrangement where a 
certain amount of money is paid 
before legal representation 
begins. These fee arrangements 
may also be combined.

[edit] Professional 
regulations and associations

Personal injury lawyers are 
regulated by codes of conduct 
established by state bar 
associations, which have the 
power to take disciplinary 
action against lawyers who 
violate professional or ethical 
regulations. The American Bar 
Association (ABA) Joint 
Committee on Lawyer 
Regulation offers assistance to 
state bars, helping them to 
draft, implement, and/or 
promote regulatory policies 
regarding personal injury 
lawyers.

Personal injury lawyers may 
belong to any number of 
professional associations, some 
of which are mandatory and 
others voluntary. For instance, 
personal injury lawyers are 
licensed by their state bar 
associations, of which they must 
be members. Among the more 
common professional 
associations that personal 
injury lawyers may voluntarily 
join are the following:

American Bar Association - a 
professional association 
dedicated to improving the legal 
system and providing 
accreditation for law schools 
and continuing legal education 
programs
Association of Personal Injury 
Lawyers - an association 
founded in 1990 by personal 
injury lawyers on behalf of 
accident victims

Association of Trial Lawyers of 
America - also known as ATLA, 
an association of trial lawyers 
that was founded in 1946 by a 
group of plaintiff's attorneys 
committed to safeguarding 
victims' rights. In 2007, ATLA 
changed its name to the 
American Association for Justice, 
also known as the AAJ, however 
the internet web site may still 
be located at 
http://www.atla.org/.

Criticism
The aggressive representation 
of injured parties by personal 
injury lawyers has spawned 
movements to establish tort 
reform in the United States in 
recent years.