1. Experience Counts.

  • Find an attorney that has practiced for a number of years. Experience counts in all situations, particularly in litigation.  You want an attorney that understands the complexities and nuances of your particular case. The law is not easy to understand, and many cases are mishandled because an attorney lacks the skills, experience or focus to conduct the case appropriately.

2. Find A Small Firm With A Proper Ratio Of Attorneys To Support Personnel.

  • The structure of the firm is important. You want a firm that has sufficient resources to take on your case, but small enough to give you the personal attention you deserve.
  • Firms run by just one attorney will likely not have the resources to take on large and important cases. At the same time, when a firm has many lawyers the interest in your specific case is minimal.
  • The absolute worst type of firm for important and complex matters, is one in which the paralegals or support people far outnumber attorneys. In those firms, attorneys are not involved in the cases, are unaware of the issues, and your case will be settled for less than it is worth.
  • Warning. If you retain an attorney – but never speak with that attorney, you should be concerned. It’s likely that your case is merely one of many, and that the attorney assigned to your case has little working knowledge of the specifics in your case.

3. What Type Of Questions Should You Ask Your Prospective Attorney?

The following is a brief list of questions to ask?

  • What are the areas that you specialize in?
  • How many cases like mine, have you handled in the past two years?
  • Tell me your best and worst case results?
  • Have you ever been disciplined by the Georgia Bar? Have you ever been sued for malpractice? What was the results of each?
  • How will my case be administered? Do you use associate attorneys and paralegals for most of the day to day activities? Can I meet them? When can I speak with you, not your assistant? What is the ratio between attorneys and staff?
  • What do you do to prepare clients for depositions? How much time do I need to prepare for my deposition?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of my case?
  • Do you really have the time for my case?

4. How Does Lawyer Advertising Really Work?

  • Attorneys that spend significant time advertising, such as you find on TV, or who participate in the “pay per click” programs, and generating numerous blogs, are attorneys who spend less time practicing law and more time marketing. In some markets, attorneys pay close to $100 for someone to click on their website. Advertising on TV costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many lawyers are very good advertisers or self-promoters, but few of them are actually very good lawyers.

5. Find an Attorney Who Understand Work/Life Balance

  • Some attorneys simply have too many cases or have no other interest outside of work. You want an attorney that has the ability to take on your case and to truly think about your case. You want an attorney who has some experience presenting to other attorneys, or leading bar groups, or even acting as a leader in the community. An attorney who is happy in their personal life will be better able to present your case to a jury of peers.

6. Go With Your Gut.

  • After considering all the issues, go with your gut. Do you like this attorney or not? Do you feel the attorney is truthful when explaining the risks and the rewards of the case? In the injury arena, the general rule is a large recovery only occurs when there is a serious loss. If your loss is small, then your recovery, in general, will be small. Beware of a small case that is presented as a potentially huge windfall.

7. Why KGW?

  • The attorneys at KGW have the right mix of skills and experience in injury cases, medical malpractice, wrongful death cases as well as insurance disputes, contract disputes and collections. Collectively, we have over 50 years of litigation experience. There is little or nothing that we have not seen before. We would encourage you to meet with us and discuss your individual needs.
  • We formed KGW, in part, because Roger and Bob would often refer each other.
  • At KGW, each attorney has only one paralegal. This means that your assigned attorney will be responsive to your inquiries and knows the details of your case. Of course, the attorneys may not always be immediately available, because they’re working on another matter or in trial, but as a general rule they are accessible.
  • KGW takes time to prepare your case and to prepare you for your depositions and trial. We’ve been asked to take over many cases which a client’s former attorney did not adequately prepare them for depositions, and did not adequately prepare the case to be tried. We keep KGW small on purpose so that attorneys are involved in all aspects of your case.