Injury lawyers seem to be everywhere today. Local television has ad after ad with many injury lawyers blaring the same thing. On top of that, most people only use an injury lawyer once in their life (if they are lucky). After an accident, many don’t know who to call or they call the lawyer with the most ads or just the ad that they remember seeing the last time they watched the news. It’s hard to know what questions to ask or how to choose the right lawyer. Choosing the right one can make a big difference at the end of the day and can impact a client’s experience. In our opinion, one of the most important questions to ask in today’s age is whether the injury lawyer embraces and is driven by technology.
More specifically, a client may want to ask whether the lawyer has abandoned paper files, has instituted a paperless system, and uses a matter management software to keep track of his cases. These systems are vital for client experience. Digital files, for example, allow the lawyer to quickly access his files from anywhere. This allows him to quickly answer questions that may come from clients, and well-organized digital files also allow the lawyer to access the information he needs quickly to keep the client’s case moving towards a resolution. It’s important that injury lawyers work to fix the following two most common complaints from clients to improve their experience: 1) my lawyer never calls me back and 2) the case took too long. It can be done by well-organized digital files.
Another great example is whether the lawyer utilizes electronic signature applications. Why is this important? Again, this improves a client’s experience. Using electronic signature applications allows the client to quickly sign the documents a lawyer may need signed to keep moving the case along. Otherwise, the client has to wait for a meeting to meet the lawyer or, worse, mail the documents. Of course, good old-fashioned face-to-face contact is extremely important for client experience but sometimes a lawyer just needs a quick signature to keep things moving along.
The above are just some examples of ways that a technology driven lawyer can improve a client’s experience at the end of the day. There are other considerations in choosing a lawyer, but, in the 21st century, this is a must ask question when making such a decision.