When you have your initial consultation with a Tampa personal injury attorney, you are under no obligation to work with each other. Even if you think that you like the attorney, they are not required to accept your case. Here are three reasons why a Tampa personal injury attorney may decline your matter.
They Don’t Think it Is a Winner
Personal injury attorneys live by the proverbial “eat what you kill” motto. They are paid on a contingency basis, meaning that, if they do not recover anything on your behalf, they do not receive any money. They are only compensated out of the proceeds of your settlement or lawsuit. For the attorney, this could mean that countless hours of plying their craft go unrewarded if they are ultimately not successful.
As a result, the attorney is always assessing a possible case from the very outset to determine the chances of success. After that, they are trying to value the claim to see how much they can be paid. Ultimately, attorneys have bills to pay just like everyone else, and they will govern their practice of law accordingly. Any case that they work on takes time from another case that may possibly pay them more so they are valuing their own time in their decision whether or not to work with you. Some attorneys may accept a case while others may not. Thus, if one attorney declines your matter, keep your search going.
You Do Not Have a Rapport With Them
For better or for worse, an attorney and their client are a team so long as they are working together. The attorney is counting on you to provide them with what they need to advance your case in a timely manner. If an attorney sees many clients, they will not want to be dragged down in dealing with a difficult person.
In addition, the attorney’s own reputation may depend on their work with you. A lawyer is the product of their reputation, and if they think that their standing may take a bit from taking your case, they may not do it. This would include the possibility that you may not speak well of them after the matter because you did not get along well over the course of the case. Especially if the attorney has multiple possible clients, they may forgo possible money from a case of a client with whom they do not have a good relationship.
They Don’t Think You Are Being Truthful
A lawyer has certain obligations not to you, but to the licensing board of the state in which they practice law. One of these requirements is not to lie on behalf of a client. If a lawyer thinks that the client is not telling the truth, they cannot knowingly present to the court what they think may be a falsehood.
Further, the lawyer will be in court with other clients after your case is complete. They do not want to look foolish in front of a judge since, chances are, they will see that judge again in the future. One way to lose face in front of a judge is to bring a witness into court who lacks any form of credibility. Thus, they will be assessing you from the moment of the first meeting
